Archaeology & Palaeoecology - Research

Overview

By joining Archaeology & Palaeoecology you will become part of a dynamic group of researchers in one of two interdisciplinary Research Clusters: Environmental Change & Resilience (ECR) for more environmentally-related projects, and Culture & Society (C&S) for more humanities-related Archaeology projects.



Projects involving Palaeoecology or Scientific Archaeology focus on themes such as long-term changes and resilience in ecosystems, humans, environments and climate, using approaches such as pollen analysis, tephra dating, dendrochronology and radiocarbon dating. Much of our research spans several disciplines – for example projects on the hydrogeology and restoration of bogs.



Research in the C&S cluster explores the material manifestations of culture through time and space. We combine innovative scientific methods with theoretically-informed analyses to understand past human experience, bringing together the humanities and the sciences.



The combination of environmental archaeology, and especially bio-archaeology, with more traditional approaches to the past, helps to differentiate Queen's from most other Archaeology departments and is seen as both a strength and stimulus to future developments.



Subject Summary

As a member of the Society & Culture Research Cluster you will join a thriving research community that explores the material manifestations of culture through time and space, focusing particularly on the development of agriculture, domestic and ritual space; populations and palaeodiet from Ireland to Eurasia; religion, society and material culture in the ancient Mediterranean, prehistoric, medieval and post-medieval Ireland; Irish connections with the New World, and social and bio-archaeological approaches to death. As a member of the Environmental Change & Resilience Research Cluster you will join a vibrant palaeoecology research group studying past environment and climate change, using a variety of records from around the world. Our research focuses on how Earth’'s environments have changed, or are changing, over a range of timescales, and covers carbon dynamics and climate change, geoforensics, geographical information studies and geostatistics, glacial and periglacial landscapes, human-environment interactions, climate and environmental change, and scientific dating and chronological techniques.



Course structure

You will carry out original research under the guidance of your supervisory team. There is no specific course content as such. This independent research is complemented by postgraduate skills training organised by Queen’s Graduate School, and other internal and external training courses organised through your supervisor.



You will normally register, in the first instance, as an ‘undifferentiated PhD student’ which means that you have satisfied staff that you are capable of undertaking a research degree. The decision as to whether you should undertake an MPhil or a PhD is delayed until you have completed ‘differentiation’.



Differentiation takes place about 9-12 months after registration for full time students and about 18-30 months for part time students: You are normally asked to submit work to a panel of up two academics and this is followed up with a formal meeting with the ‘Differentiation Panel’. The Panel then make a judgement about your capacity to continue with your study. Sometimes students are advised to revise their research objectives or to consider submitting their work for an MPhil qualification rather than a doctoral qualification.



To complete with a doctoral qualification you will be required to submit a thesis of no more than 80,000 words and you will be required to attend a viva voce [oral examination] with an external and internal examiner to defend your thesis.



A PhD programme runs for 3-4 years full-time or 6-8 years part-time. Students can apply for a writing up year should it be required.



The PhD is open to both full and part time candidates and is often a useful preparation for a career within academia or consultancy.



Full time students are often attracted to research degree programmes because they offer an opportunity to pursue in some depth an area of academic interest.



The part time route is a suitable option for those unable to study for a PhD full time. This may be due to family commitments or those already in employment. On the former, studying part time for a PhD can be very accommodating in juggling different responsibilities. On the latter, part time candidates often choose to research an area that is related to their professional responsibilities.

Graduate

The minimum academic requirement for admission to a research degree programme is normally an Upper Second Class Honours degree from a UK or ROI HE provider, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University. Further information can be obtained by contacting the School.

3 academic years full-time, 6 academic years part-time.

Entry Year: 2024/25

Career Prospects

Many of our PhD alumni have moved into academic and research roles in Higher Education while others go on to play leading roles in educational practice, the public sector or within NGO’s. For further information on career opportunities at PhD level please contact the Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences Student Recruitment Team on askEPS@qub.ac.uk. Our advisors – in consultation with the School – will be happy to provide further information on your research area, possible career prospects and your research application.

Research information

Associated Research

Members of the C&S and the ECR research clusters work closely to develop research that takes into consideration both the social and environmental context of human society (see also Geography and Palaeoecology: Environmental Change). Integrated within C&S is the Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork, a financially self-supporting excavation unit with an exceptional record of publication and a high media profile, reflecting a strong commitment to community engagement.

The cluster undertakes research in Ireland, Great Britain and abroad, in particular, the Mediterranean region, territories of the former Soviet Union, the North Atlantic, west Africa and North America, where both staff and research students undertake collaborative projects.

Students maintain their own research seminar series and attend the fortnightly seminars of the Archaeology and Palaeoecology research clusters, which routinely bring outstanding scholars from abroad as well as Great Britain and Ireland.

Being based in the recently built 14CHRONO Centre has expanded our research facilities and allowed us to extend our research agenda.

Facilities include an AMS 14C dating facility, an NEC accelerator mass spectrometer, cold storage for biological materials, drawing office, laboratories for post-excavation, human bone analysis, palynology, plant, snail and insect macrofossils, dendrochronology and animal bone analysis.

Current postgraduates come from Ireland, Great Britain, the USA, France, and the Netherlands