Program Overview

Combine research skills training in palaeoanthropology with tailored theoretical and methodological approaches aligned to your proposed research project. Under expert supervision, you’ll produce a major piece of independent research that makes an original contribution to knowledge and offers ideal preparation for PhD study.

This MRes provides a personalised and focused introduction to postgraduate research. It will enable you to develop into an independent researcher and produce an original research project, supported by an expert in the study of human evolution.

The programme provides intensive preparation for doctoral research and your future career. We’ll guide you through the research process, equipping you with transferable skills, including critical thinking, project management, written and verbal communication, and problem solving.

Training in research methodologies will be tailored to palaeoanthropology and your specific research proposal. You’ll co-design a bespoke reading list and individual assessment tasks in preparation for a substantial piece of research.

You’ll discover how to develop a research proposal, identify relevant evidence and sources, plan and undertake the research, and analyse and present your findings. Contemporary frameworks for researching human evolution and early hominid settings will be explored and the challenges of drawing conclusions about early hominid behaviour examined.

You’ll be supported by academic experts in the Department of Archaeology, Classic and Egyptology. Our team of MRes supervisors are actively engaged in research, ranging from early prehistory to late antiquity. Their specialisms include evolutionary theory, cultural evolution, Upper Palaeolithic art, and human osteology.

What you'll learn

• Contemporary frameworks for researching human evolution
• The nature of early hominid settings
• The potential and limitations of inferences around early hominid behaviour
• How to design a robust research proposal
• How to identify relevant evidence and sources
• How to plan and conduct a major piece of original, independent research
• How to collect, interpret and analyse data and present your findings
• Project management and problem-solving skills
• How to review material and prepare a bibliography