Deciding which is the best university, where you’ll spend the next three years of your life, is an almighty task. I have therefore come up with three incredible simple reasons why the University of York is an amazing university for you to study Archaeology at.
1. King’s Manor
The Department of Archaeology is not actually based on the University of York campus, but rather in the city centre in the beautifully architectural historic building of King’s Manor. As it was originally the Abbots house for St Mary’s Abbey (which is located just behind King’s Manor), it has seen a vast history. What better building to study Archaeology in?
Making the dreaded journey into lectures at 9am is INSTANTLY made better when you see its beautiful, charming character.
And York Minster is just around the corner in all its glory for you to see every single day!
Even those who turn into Mr Grumpy (like me shown in the photo) when it snows, you just can’t deny that smile to see it all dusted in the white, glistening snow. This shows that King’s Manor looks great in all seasons!
You will probably spend a lot of your time at King’s Manor, especially when all the facilities make it so easy to not leave the premises. The King’s Manor café and common room is a great place to get lunch, coffee, snacks and do work, socialise and get to know others on your course. King’s Manor also has its very own library, filled with books and study spaces to help you when writing essays, while taking aesthetic ‘working hard’ Instagram photos.
So instead of getting all your texts from the library at campus, you can get it all while you are at King’s Manor. EASY.
However, I bet you are all reading this thinking- but where is Kings Manor? What do you mean it’s not on campus? I LIVE ON CAMPUS! How am I going to get there? Do not panic, the University and the Department of Archaeology have a bus that goes from campus straight to King’s Manor every hour, which is easy, convenient and cheap! Here is the 56 Kings Manor bus route and timetable and here are the termly or yearly bus passes.
Don’t want to get the bus? No problem, the walk from campus is only 25 minutes, with lovely views of York as you walk!
So with it being so convenient and easy to travel to this beauty in the city centre, the Department of Archaeology is definitely the best building to study in!
2. The Practical Experience
The Department of Archaeology emphasise that its students should gain as much practical archaeological field work as possible while studying at York. In your third term of your first year you will take part in an excavation at a chosen site, and those studying Archaeology and Heritage will take part in a heritage field school creating a heritage related product. This is extremely vital to all students as it allows them to gain a first-hand insight into the world of archaeology, and this is a unique opportunity to those studying at the University of York. It looks great on your CV and to future employers.
Indeed, the 2016 undergraduate field school had tonnes of fun while excavating the sites of Breary Banks and Malton! Even in the glorious English weather (this is April)!!
3. The Archaeology Society
The University of York overall has many great societies for everyone to get involved in! Studying Archaeology at York will give you the great opportunity to be a part of the Archaeology Society (Arch Soc). The society hosts lots of great events, such as socials, quizzes and balls so you can socialise and get to know others on your course, which is always an important factor to enjoying university and your degree.On the other hand, they also invest their time in providing educationally beneficial workshops that all students can get involved in. These can be things such as helping out with post excavation finds processing, and trips to archaeological sites such as Creswell Crags and also museums.
These workshops and trips have proved beneficial in helping students choose second and third year modules, as they can discover and learn more about areas of Archaeology they are interested in.
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