Archaeology unlocks the mysteries of humanity’s past. Archaeologists discover and excavate archaeological sites and interpret the material recovered from them.

Our well-regarded degree is specifically designed to prepare you for a successful career in archaeology, either as a researcher or heritage consultant.

You will be trained in methods of archaeological investigation and develop both skills, experience and knowledge of fieldwork, museums and heritage and community engagement. Unique to Australia, this degree takes a global outlook on the practice of archaeology and the production of knowledge about past societies.

Throughout the ANU Bachelor of Archaeological Practice you will have exciting opportunities to participate in local or international fieldwork experiences.

Maintaining the balance between our environment and human development is challenging. The future needs you to work on sustainable solutions to issues including increasing biodiversity loss, urbanisation and climate change.

The ANU Bachelor of Environment & Sustainability is a contemporary degree, covering environmental science, policy and social sciences, allowing you to address the complex challenges of sustainability by giving you a broad environmental education.

You’ll learn to link perspectives from the natural and social sciences with their applications in your chosen major and minor.

Find out more about the Bachelor of Environment & Sustainability, the degree structure, the university experience, career opportunities and student stories on our website.

Get the inside story on what it’s like to be an ANU student by visiting our student blog.

Employment Opportunities

The technical and analytical skills learned through this program provide highly practical knowledge, skills and training in the methods of archaeological investigation. Graduates may find work in Commonwealth heritage agencies, national parks, mining companies, as independent consultants, advisors to Aboriginal Land councils and many other fields.

The technical and analytical skills learned through this program provide highly practical knowledge, skills and training in the methods of archaeological investigation. Graduates may find work in Commonwealth heritage agencies, national parks, mining companies, as independent consultants, advisors to Aboriginal Land councils and many other fields.

Learning Outcomes

1. undertake archaeological fieldwork using different techniques and approaches to locate, map, record, collect and excavate archaeological materials by determining the conditions in which those techniques and approaches are optimal;

2. critically analyse archaeological materials, including the examination of human remains, artefacts, archaeo-fauna and archaeo-flora, archaeological sediments and other materials;

3. apply interpretative approaches and skills including archaeological theory and quantitative analysis;

4. design ethical research frameworks and practise their application, including Indigenous community and stakeholder consultation and collaboration; and

5. reconstruct humanity’s evolutionary history, archaeological sequences, past human practices, culture histories, and palaeoenvironments.

1. Evaluate current understandings of environmental science, natural resource management and sustainability, and of a range of response strategies for sustainable resource management and development.

2. Integrate knowledge from relevant scientific areas and from policy approaches across disciplines into approaches designed to address complex contemporary environment and sustainability issues, in global, national and local contexts.

3. Apply a range of written, oral and visual communication skills to effectively convey and discuss information about environmental science, sustainable development and resource management decisions and relevant policies across discipline

4. Engage with ongoing debates on environmental science, resource management and sustainability issues, recognising the importance of biophysical and socio-political and cultural contexts.

Admission Requirements

At a minimum, all applicants must meet program-specific academic/non-academic requirements, and English language requirements. Admission to most ANU programs is on a competitive basis. Therefore, meeting all admission requirements does not guarantee entry into the program.

In line with the university's admissions policy and strategic plan, an assessment for admission may include competitively ranking applicants on the basis of specific academic achievement, English language proficiency and diversity factors.

The University reserves the right to alter or discontinue its programs and change admission requirements as needed.

Domestic applicants

Before applying for a program, you should review the general information about domestic undergraduate admission to ANU programs and how to apply, and the program-specific information below.

• Applicants with recent secondary education are assessed on:
  • completion of Australian Year 12 or equivalent, and the minimum Selection Rank (from their academic qualifications, plus any adjustment factors) requirement for this program; and
  • co-curricular or service requirement (applies to applicants who complete secondary education in the year prior to commencing at ANU); and
  • English language proficiency; and
  • any program-specific requirements listed below.
• Applicants with higher education study are assessed on:
  • previous higher education studies; or secondary education results if completed less than one full-time equivalent year (1.0 FTE) of a degree; or the result from a bridging or preparatory course; and
  • English language proficiency; and
  • any program-specific requirements listed below.
• Applicants with vocational education and training (VET) study are assessed on:
  • previously completed VET qualifications at AQF level 5 or higher (i.e. a Diploma or above); or secondary education results if the VET qualification is not completed; and
  • English language proficiency; and
  • any program-specific requirements listed below.
• Applicants with work and life experience are assessed on:
  • ATAR or equivalent if secondary education was completed; or the Special Adult Entry Scheme (SAES); or work experience; and
  • English language proficiency; and
  • any program-specific requirements listed below.

International applicants

Applicants who complete a recognised secondary/senior secondary/post-secondary/tertiary sequence of study will be assessed on the basis of an equivalent selection rank that is calculated upon application. A list of commonly observed international qualifications and corresponding admission requirements can be found here. Applicants must also meet any program specific requirements that are listed below.

Diversity factors & English language proficiency  
As Australia's national university, ANU is global representative of Australian research and education. ANU endeavours to recruit and maintain a diverse and deliberate student cohort representative not only of Australia, but the world. In order to achieve these outcomes, competitive ranking of applicants may be adjusted to ensure access to ANU is a reality for brilliant students from countries across the globe. If required, competitive ranking may further be confirmed on the basis of demonstrating higher-level English language proficiency.

Further information is available for English Language Requirements for Admission

Adjustment Factors

Adjustment factors are additional points added to an applicant's Selection Rank (for example an applicant's ATAR). ANU offers adjustment factors based on performance and equity principles, such as for high achievement in nationally strategic senior secondary subjects and for recognition of difficult circumstances that students face in their studies. 

Selection Rank adjustments are granted in accordance with the approved schedules, and no more than 15 (maximum 5 subject/performance-based adjustment factors and maximum 10 equity-based adjustment factors) can be awarded. 

You may be considered for adjustment factors if you have:

• applied for an eligible ANU Bachelor degree program
• undertaken Australian Year 12 or the International Baccalaureate
• achieved an ATAR or equivalent at or above 70
• not previously attempted tertiary study.

Please visit the ANU Adjustment Factors website for further information.

Scholarships

ANU offers a wide range of scholarships to students to assist with the cost of their studies.

Eligibility to apply for ANU scholarships varies depending on the specifics of the scholarship and can be categorised by the type of student you are.  Specific scholarship application process information is included in the relevant scholarship listing.

For further information see the Scholarships website.

Program Requirements

The Bachelor of Archaeological Practice flexible double degree component requires completion of 96 units, of which:

A maximum of 36 units may come from completion of 1000-level courses

The 96 units must include:The Bachelor of Archaeological Practice flexible double degree component requires completion of 96 units, of which:

A maximum of 36 units may come from completion of 1000-level courses

The 96 units must include:

12 units from completion of the following compulsory courses:

ARCH1111 Archaeology Uncovered

ARCH1112 From Origins to Civilizations

A maximum of 30 units from completion of courses from the following list:

ARCH2004 Australian Archaeology

ARCH2007 Archaeological Laboratory Methods

ARCH2022 Study Tour: Cultural Landscapes and Environmental Change

ARCH2037 Post-Roman Archaeology of Britain: From Arthur to the Black Death 

ARCH2041 Introduction to Environmental Archaeology

ARCH2050 Archaeology of Southeast Asia

ARCH2052 Archaeology in Film and Fiction

ARCH2056 Britons and Romans: Archaeology of the Western Roman Empire 

ARCH2058 European Prehistory from Cultivation to the Celts

ARCH2060 International Archaeological Field School Extension

ARCH2061 Archaeological Field Methods

ASIA2203 Archaeology of China

ASIA2301 Human Migration and Expansion in the Rise of the Asia-Pacific

BIAN2015 Human Skeletal Analysis

BIAN2128 Forensic Anthropology and Archaeology

HUMN2051 Introduction to Cultural Heritage Management

INDG2001 Indigenous Cultural and Natural Resource Management

A maximum of 12 units from completion of courses from the following list:

ARCH2055 Archaeological Fieldschools and Fieldwork Practice

ARCH2059 International Archaeological Field School

A minimum of 6 units must come from completion of courses from the following list:

ARCH3023 Thinking Through the Past: Archaeological Theory from 1950

ARCH3026 History of Archaeology: Discovering the Past

ARCH3028 Archaeology of Death and Mortuary Practices

ARCH3030 Archaeology of Ritual and Religion

ARCH3108 Animal and Plant Domestication

ASIA3051 Study Tour: Archaeology in Asia

BIAN3010 Scientific Dating in Archaeology and Palaeoenvironmental Studies

BIAN3113 Human Evolution

BIAN3125 Ancient Health and Disease

ENVS3029 Palaeo-Environmental Reconstruction

48 units from completion of the two following minors:

Advanced Environmental Archaeology

Archaeology of Aboriginal Australia in its Regional and Cultural Context

The Bachelor of Environment and Sustainability flexible double degree component requires the completion of 96 units, of which:

A maximum of 36 units may come from completion of 1000-level courses

A minimum of 30 units must come from completion of 3000-level courses from the Science course list

A minimum of 96 units must come from completion of courses from the Science course list

A minimum of 6 units must come from completion of quantitative research skills courses from the following list, which may contribute towards meeting the requirements of a major, minor or specialisation in the Bachelor of Environment and Sustainability:

BIAN3014 Research Design and Analysis in Biological Anthropology (6 units)

BIOL2001 Introduction to Quantitative Biology (6 units)

BIOL2202 Experimental Design and Analysis in Biology (6 units)

ENVS1003 Introduction to Environmental and Social Research (6 units)

ENVS2002 Environmental Measurement, Modelling and Monitoring (6 units)

PSYC2009 Quantitative Methods in Psychology (6 units)

PSYC3018 Advanced Research Methods (6 units)

Any 1000-, 2000- or 3000- level course from the subject area MATH- Mathematics or STAT- Statistics, with the exception of MATH1042

The 96 units must consist of:

48 units from completion of one of the following majors:

Environmental Science

Quantitative Environmental Modelling

Resource and Environmental Management

Sustainability Studies

Either:

24 units from completion of one of the following minors:

Australian Indigenous Studies

Biodiversity Conservation and Management

Climate Science and Policy

Environmental Policy

Forest Science and Policy

Geography

Human Ecology

Soil and Land Management

Sustainable Development

Water Science and Policy

24 units from completion of courses from the Science course list

Or:

48 units from completion of a second major from the following list:

Agricultural Innovation

Biodiversity Conservation

Climate Science

Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology

Earth Science

Environmental Science

Quantitative Environmental Modelling

Resource and Environmental Management

Geography

Sustainability Studies

A maximum of 12 units from completion of 1000-level courses may contribute towards meeting the requirements of two Science majors with common 1000-level course requirements.

In such cases, an equal number of units must come from the completion of additional courses from the Science course list .

Majors

Bachelor of Environment and Sustainability Majors

Minors

Bachelor of Archaeological Practice Minors

Bachelor of Environment and Sustainability Minors

Study Options