Diploma for Graduates in Archaeology

The University of Otago

Archaeology seeks to understand earlier human communities through the study of material evidence from the past. This evidence can include assemblages of portable artefacts such as stone tools, larger monumental structures like Mayan temples, and entire humanmodified landscapes. Archaeologists generate data through fieldwork and excavation, and use both laboratory science and interpretive theory to study that data. Archaeology is essentially a humanities discipline, since it studies human societies and their history, but it draws on a range of other fields, particularly from the sciences.Archaeology is our primary source of knowledge about the deep history of humankind, and the gradual developments in culture and society that led to the present-day arrangement of human communities. Otago offers a range of stimulating archaeology papers, including opportunities for postgraduate students to carry out supervised field and laboratory research, particularly in New Zealand and the Pacific.The Diploma for Graduates (DipGrad) can be used for many purposes, and in some cases, effectively provides an additional major. It requires you to do at least seven papers, of which at least four are at 300-level or above. The programme is designed for graduates and may be completed by full-time candidates in one year or by part-time candidates over more than one year.A DipGrad is a great way to retrain or to update existing qualifications. Many students also find it a convenient way to continue learning and that it is a useful bridge to postgraduate study.