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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Should I do a master's in forensic archaeology?

22 replies

Marakech · 17/04/2019 17:13

I'm finishing my undergrad archaeology degree in a couple of months and have found any analysis of bones really fascinating.

I've started idly thinking about pursuing forensic archaeology as a career and working with police, excavating mass graves after conflict and natural disaster etc.

Does anyone know whether I am at all likely to be able to get a job in forensic archaeology after pursuing this masters? I'm wary of wasting lots of money on something that may turn out to have not been necessary

OP posts:
Marakech · 17/04/2019 17:14

By not necessary I really mean 'that won't get me to the career I desire'

OP posts:
harajukubabe · 17/04/2019 17:16

Sounds very interesting!!

harajukubabe · 17/04/2019 17:17

Why don't you work for a year and then do the masters if you then really want to?

StephenQueenBooks · 17/04/2019 17:19

I completed a degree in forensics. Google Caroline sturdy-colls and her husband Kevin Colls. Both experts in forensic archaeology and lecturers (lovely people too). Lots of interesting lectures. Caroline takes students to Poland to escavate (sp?) Potential hidden mass graves. Very interesting.

snarferson · 17/04/2019 17:20

Sounds very interesting but the job prospects are difficult. I have a degree in forensic anthropology. I found you had to pay to get any dig experience (needed if you ever hope to work in this field) which I couldn't afford. I do work in a scientific graduate post but its neither forensics or anthropology related.

Marakech · 17/04/2019 19:53

Thank you all. @snarferson does the dig experience need to be specifically related to crime scene/mass grave work or would any excavations involving human bone do?

OP posts:
HBStowe · 17/04/2019 20:31

I’ve just read a really interesting book on this! Called something like ‘A life in death’. Think the author is Sue Black or maybe Susan Black? It was excellent.

Northofsomewhere · 17/04/2019 20:44

I'm an archaeologist (with a good undergrad and masters from good universities) and found it really hard to get paid work generally and even more so in my specialist field. This is despite having loads of practical experience (compared to many others on my master's) and other additional things on my CV (volunteering outside the field, conference attendance and presentation). The main thing that seemed to matter was a driving license. I'd really recommend getting one or start working towards it if you don't have one already.
Secondary to the license would be practical experience! If you haven't got much digging experience (and all the supporting aspects eg, finds processing, digital and non-digital recording methods, survey, etc) on a range of sites from urban to rural, domestic/industrial/graves/ritual I'd look at improving that this summer. A good forensic degree masters (or osteo course) from a reputable university (definitely consider applying outside your undergrad uni even if the discount is attractive) would help you get more specialised experience once you start. Really take a hard look at what the courses have to offer and what you really want to specialise in (is it disease or trauma, certain time period?) And what course best fits that. Go and visit the department's and email them to ask all the questions you have (even the mundane). I found visiting the two uni's that offered my chosen course really helped me to choose between them. If you can get in touch with past students (especially those that have gone onto other universities) about what the courses are really like.
Definitely get some career advice from your PAT, they will definitely be able to help you explore your options and prioritise your ambitions as well as help you look realistically at your prospects and what you can do to improve them.

Namechanger4dis · 17/04/2019 20:45

I have an Bioarch degree and was very keen on pursueing a forensic arch masters. I chose not to due to the fact I would have to invest a lot of time and money in volunteer digging etc before applying for a job.

If you are looking at it because you want to follow a passion then do it. If you are doing it for money I would suggest getting on a Grad Scheme with a large building consultancy like WSP or Atkins.

snarferson · 17/04/2019 20:45

Marakech I don't think you would be able to work on remains in a forensic context so all the work is archeological. For experience in the UK check out the Poulton Research Project.

Aurignacian · 17/04/2019 20:53

I’m doing a MSc in archaeology atm. The osteo students are almost all, 90+%, from North America. There very few jobs here but they do exist! There are some specialist forensic courses but the key to getting a job is practical experience and a large amount of luck.

Littlecaf · 17/04/2019 20:54

Yes! Do it!

UtterlyDesperate · 17/04/2019 21:01

This was a previous life of mine. Just be aware that there's really a world of difference excavating archaeological sites and mass graves. I know this seems completely obvious, but a lot of people like the idea but end up not being able to hack it in reality. You see a lot of things that you can't unsee, on a lot fresher bodies than you encounter as an archaeologist.

You'll probably get accepted on the course - it's very unusual nowadays to be rejected from Master's study, apart from anything else, but you may not end up going further. Police in the UK tend to have a university lecturer on call for this kind of thing, rather than a permanent member of staff. To work internationally in this field, you'll usually need a couple of years excavation experience overseas, plus experience of some kind in post-conflict environments. Obviously, it's dependent on the wider situation - mass atrocity crimes don't happen on a schedule or predictably, obviously, and it's not always possible for international teams to go in - in Iraq recently, for example, because of the situation, it was primarily Iraqi teams excavating Yezidi graves etc. This is also very much of a push at the moment - getting the local population the training to enable them to do it.

I'm definitely not saying that you shouldn't start working towards it, but I think it's worth you knowing that it's not generally something you would make a living at, unless you are a super-Prof (and even then, they tend not to do this alone - most also have teaching posts.

If you decide to start the process, I'd recommend building on however much field experience you have got under your belt as an undergrad over this summer and during vacation in your post-grad, and factor in the likelihood of needing a couple of years contract experience thereafter. Once you've worked in the field and a) coped and b) shown you're a good person to work with etc, you'll be asked whenever something comes up. I've done some train-the-trainer stuff in the last couple of years, but I haven't done actual in depth, extensive war crimes stuff for around 15 years. I still get asked, though, whenever they need internationals, and despite now being completely away from archaeology. So once you're in, you will be in as long as you want - but as I say, it's really not for the majority of people even those who think it will be, so consider a Plan B also.

But feel free to pm me if you think I can be of help: it was bloody brilliant work, and I miss it very much. As I say, though, it's a lot more harrowing than you think could be the case, even if you have a brilliant imagination and loads of empathy, and I know far more people who've got into the field and discovered it's not for them than the people I know who have been able to do it - and there's no shame if that's the case.

Claeiai · 20/04/2019 22:14

Thank you for all the advice! Does anyone know which universities are particularly respected in the forensic archaeology world in terms of getting my master's? I keep thinking about the idea. My alternative dream job would be search and rescue in diaster situations or mountaineering etc and I'm not sure if one could maybe lead into the other?

Claeiai · 20/04/2019 22:15

Sorry, name changed

Aurignacian · 20/04/2019 22:19

The Dundee course with Sue Black is good

brizzlemint · 20/04/2019 22:23

I would. My undergrad degree is science but social history fascinates me so I'd do one if I could.

64sNewName · 20/04/2019 22:25

I love it so much when people with fascinating niche professional experience reply to threads that randomly pop up Smile

It’s interesting in itself but it also kind of blows my mind as a reminder of what a big readership MN has. Statistically there can’t be that many folk out there with experience in this field - and yet within hours the thread has picked up these really good detailed replies.

Good luck OP

Offallycheap · 20/04/2019 22:28

Sue Blacks book is excellent. “All that remains” I think. It’s on audible too. Her work in the mass graves in Kosovo is amazing.

cakeandchampagne · 20/04/2019 22:32

If you have the time and money, learning more about something you find “fascinating” would be worthwhile, even if it wasn’t required for your career.

tessiegirl · 20/04/2019 22:33

I've got a degree in archaeology and a masters in forensic anthropology.
I personally found that the masters course provided me with more specialised skills. As part of my dissertation I worked with the police which was fantastic experience. I studied how scavengers interact with a body and clothing . Obviously I wasn't able to use a real human body but I used a deer carcass which was dressed in clothes...
Since my masters I have been fortunate to work in Australia excavating a mass grave of kangaroos (this was great for providing me with practical experience) and then i spent 5 years working in eastern europe on war crime investigation, excavating mass graves. Due to differing stages of decomposition within a grave, I was dealing with both bones and bodies. You need a strong stomach. Wink
I would definitely recommend the masters and getting practical experience.

MummytoCSJH · 20/04/2019 22:55

Following the thread as I'm currently doing an undergrad in forensic archaeology and anthropology :)

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