Global Utilities

La Trobe University
University Handbook 2010

Single degrees

Bachelor of Archaeology (ABAR) – Melbourne (Bundoora)

The pass degree will require 360 credit points (120 at each year level). Students must complete 225 credit points of archaeology subjects, made up of 45 credit points at first year level, 80 credit points at second year level and 100 credit points at third year level including the core subjects ARC3AAR Approaches to Archaeological Research and ARC3HAA Historical Archaeology in Australia.

Elective subjects (75 credit points at first year, 40 credit points at second year and 20 credit points at third year) should be selected on advice, from appropriate subjects in (for example) history, art history, anthropology, Greek studies or geology.

Students will be encouraged to plan their enrolment around a particular area of interest. Students are recommended to select subjects within one of the following three streams:

  • Australian stream
  • Civilisations stream
  • Palaeolithic or hunter-gatherer stream

Details regarding subjects specific to each of these streams is available from the Archaeology Program.

First year (120 credit points)

Students complete the three first year core subjects listed below, and five first year Elective subjects, which can be from anywhere in the faculty or from elsewhere in the university.

Teaching period First year core subject name Subject code
TE-SEM-1 Discovering Archaeology ARC1DAR
TE-SEM-2 Dawn of Humanity ARC1DOH
TE-SEM-2 The Archaeology of Ancient Civilisations ARC1AAC

Second year (120 credit points)

Students complete a minimum of four archaeology subjects (80 credit points) from List A below.

The remaining 40 credit points can be additional archaeology subjects or can be from elsewhere in the faculty or the university, subject to students having gained any prerequisites for those subjects.

Third year (120 credit points)

Students complete the core subjects ARC3AAR (20 credit points) and ARC3HAA (20 credit points) and a minimum of three subjects (60 credit points) from List A below. Again, students are recommended to continue to choose subjects within the stream in which they specialised during their second year. The remaining 20 credit points can be additional archaeology subjects or can be from elsewhere in the faculty or the university, subject to students having gained any prerequisites for those subjects. Please note that subject availability will vary from year to year. Please see Archaeology section for 2010 availability.

Third year core subject name Subject code
Approaches to Archaeological Research ARC3AAR
Historical Archaeology in Australia ARC3HAA
List A (all subjects 20 credit points)
Subject name Subject code
African Archaeology ARC2AFR/ARC3AFR
Ancient Maya Civilisation of Mexico and Guatemala ARC2ANM/ARC3ANM
Ancient Technologies ARC2ANT/ARC3ANT
Applied Cultural Heritage Management ARC2ACH/ARC3ACH
Archaeology Fieldwork ARC3FWK
The Archaeology of Ancient Egypt ARC2EGY/ARC3EGY
The Archaeology of Ancient Mexico, Culminating with the Aztec Empire ARC2AZT/ARC3AZT
Archaeology of East Asia ARC2AEA/ARC3AEA
Archaeology of Indigenous Victoria ARC2AIV/ARC3AIV
Archaeology of the Middle East ARC2AME/ARC3AME
Archaeology of the Modern World ARC2AMW/ARC3AMW
Ice Age Australia ARC2ICE/ARC3ICE
Managing Archaeology ARC2MAN/ARC3MAN
Maya Hieroglyphic Writing ARC2MHW/ARC3MHW
Palaeolithic Archaeology ARC2PAL/ARC3PAL
Reading Course A ARC3RCA
Reading Course B ARC3RCB
Rise and Fall of Civilisations ARC2RFC/ARC3RFC
World Writing Systems: Survey and Analysis ARC2WRS/ARC3WRS

Compatible subjects from other schools

The following subjects are particularly suitable for study in conjunction with archaeology. They are not normally credited towards an archaeology major. Please check discipline lists for subject availability.

Subject name Subject code
First year subjects (15 credit points)
Animal Diversity, Ecology and Behaviour BIO1AD
Culture and Globalisation: introduction to anthropology ANT1CAG
Our Global Village: introduction to anthropology ANT1FET
Processes that Shape the Earth GEO1PRO
The Nature of Language and Communication A LIN1NLA
Second and third year subjects (20 credit points)
Environmental Geoscience: landscape and climate change GEO2EGL
Environmental Geoscience: remote sensing and GIS GEO2EGR
Doing Anthropology ANT2MQA/ANT3MQA
Migration to Australia in the 19th and 20th Centuries HIS2MTA/HIS3MTA

Honours degree

Students who have completed the requirements for the Bachelor of Archaeology degree with a high level of performance in all archaeology subjects will be eligible to be considered for admission to the honours year. The honours year will consist of two fourth year subjects dealing with method, theory and practice, and a research thesis.