Top up fees and future archaeology grads

[mercenary]

Interesting. So it's not a reflection of the numbers wanting to study archaeology then?

[Post-Med Potterer]

Well it might be that as well of course, but I think wider things going on in the university world are also responsible. Remember that the main income generator for universities is not UK-based undergraduates but overseas postgraduates.

I do agree that the introduction of fees and loans is also having an impact on non-vocational degrees. I remember when I did my degree getting a grant and being allowed to claim housing benefit over the summer enabled me to get experience in digging rather than working in Burger King. This option is not open to todays students.

[27trowels]

back from site in loverly warm office i'll continue.

quote from slc website

"When will I be expected to start repaying my loan?
You will not have to start repaying your loan until the April after you have finished or left your course. The amount you repay will be linked to your income. You will be expected to repay 9% of your income each year over ?15000, or the monthly (?1250) or weekly (?28:face-thinks: equivalent. "

I dont know many site staff who are on more than ?15000. in fact i think i would probably struggle to name 1.

International students do pay a huge ammount more than british students, some people i know are paying ?10000 a year. Does anyone know if there is a program of financial aid to develope archaeology in other countries by sending people to foreign universities?

I think apathy in the younger generation is definately compounded by the lack of knowledge about the 'real world' of comercial archaeology. I had an idea of what it was like when i was starting my degree, but it wasn't till i started working at a unit this year that i realised how bad it can, and does, get. (thats not saying my current unit is particularly bad by the way) Bradford dont show it as all sunny days and spotless sites but there is an ellement of that at times. Talk to any lecturer who has actually worked in the field though and they will tell you the 'truth' about commercial arch.

There are people who will never really care or do anything to change their situation. There are plenty others who just need some guiding hand to develope a keen interest in many of the matters we discuss.

Another problem is the depth of knowledge that you need to grasp to usefully contribute, it can be quite daunting when you first read posts that mention 10 things you dont really understand, and some people will be put off by that.

I enjoy discussing topics that I think are important to my future career. Im also prepared to give up my time to take action to change the problems with our proffession. The problem I'm having is what form this action can take. I think it is definatly time to not only talk about things but make efforts towards change.

I remember someone ( cant remember who or in which topic but i definatly didnt dream it )mentioning helping with, basically, a publicity campaign in the early nineties that in the end lead to some changes. With the current public interest in archaeology created by Mr Robinson and friends surely it is the ideal time to launch further similar actions. If it doesn't work what do we lose?

[Someone]

What's the value of a degree in archaeology anyway, really?

[i_love_rocks]

quote:Originally posted by 27trowels

Does anyone know if there is a program of financial aid to develope archaeology in other countries by sending people to foreign universities?

some Antiquities Departments do send their employees overseas to the UK or to the U.S. to gain specialist (read: M.A. or MSc) degrees. In those cases they are funded by their respective governments. Jordan, for example, regulary sends staff to European or US universities to receive additional training or even do PhD's.
There also a range of scholarships available from the british council and Commonwealth organisations. How many of those go to archaeologists is another matter, of course.

[27trowels]

It is important for students to research their chosen career and i think most peple do at least some lookin around at the state of the profession before they sign up. Universities should also pull no punches when teaching new students about life in comercial archaeology.

They should also give digging experience to students as soon as possible within the degree structure. Many people find that they either have no desire to do the dirty work or just cant get their head round the processes that happen on site, and this can have major effects on their career path.

Not sure where units sit with this issue. It becomes perfectly clear what life is going to be like within a unit after a few weeks of work and I dont think they treat new grads that different from slightly older site staff.

Units do seem to use the stream of new grad to control the workforce. Ie there is a definate feeling (rightly or wrongly) that if you complain too much then you are easily replaced, which is compunded by the short contract lengths so units can get rid of staff with out too much consequence.

[rachstebbs]

I disagree.
I think that the majority of people choose the course the way I did: I looked through the UCAS website and thought archaeology sounded better than accounting! But seriously, a lot of the people I know studying archaeology were quite interested in history but didn't want to do a straight history degree so did something a bit different. I'll be honest, the only experience I had of archaeology before my degree was watching Time Team while the sunday roast cooked[:I] Thats why its so important to have things like the placement year that Bradford offer. I've learnt more on placement about the way things work than I ever will at uni. I think the main problem lies in the fact that universities are designed to produce academics, not a bad thing but there are no vocational courses really until you get to masters level.
My question is that if I do a masters in archaeology (or 'professional archaeology') will I lose out on jobs because I have too much qualification? (bad English I know) Bearing in mind I don't have a huge amount of experience (yet!)

PS. choosing archaeology over accounting was the best decision I made!!

[1man1desk]

An archaeology masters degree won't cut you out of any jobs in archaeology - but choose what masters you do carefully, as it might determine your career path within archaeology.

1man1desk

to let, fully furnished

[i_love_rocks]

Just saw the digger article on the closure of the Archaeology Department at Newport Uni. Seems like what has been expressed in this thread is slowly taking shape :face-confused:

[Post-Med Potterer]

The Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) grading for this department was 3A in 2001. Some good recent new recruits to the department, but many of those have now found jobs elsewhere.

Here is Current Archaeology's summary of the 2001 RAE.

I am sure this is not the whole picture but it is an important part of it from the point of view of academic institutions.