Program Overview

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Graduate Certificate in Hunter-Gatherer Archaeology and Anthropology

The Graduate Certificate in Hunter-Gatherer Archaeology and Anthropology is designed for students interested in the fascinating and remarkable world of hunter-gatherers. It is often claimed that humans have spent 90-99% of their existence as hunter-gatherers. Understanding these ways of life provides vital perspectives on human identity and the challenges and opportunities societies face today. Anthropology provides information about recent hunter-gatherers, but archaeology is the only discipline that can understand our hunter-gatherer past, and hunter-gatherer archaeology therefore has a particular significance.

Programme Overview

Our programme will introduce students to key themes in the archaeology of past hunter-gatherers, the relationship between past and present hunting and gathering communities, and the contemporary context of knowledge production about hunter-gatherers. The primary focus is the archaeology of Homo sapiens hunter-gatherers, with some discussion of non-Homo sapiens.

Programme Structure

The programme is structured as a one-year part-time online programme with three modules one per trimester. The first two modules are thematic reviews of aspects of hunter-gatherer archaeology and anthropology, with the final, Summer Trimester, module being a research project.

Skills and Knowledge

Students will develop skills in:

• Project design and independent research
• Data analysis and interpretation
• Communicating the past to different stakeholders
• Developing different perspectives on the past

Research Group

Students will be part of a dynamic, friendly, and international postgraduate community in a School with a 160-year history of exceptional archaeological research and will form part of the UCD Hunter Gatherer Research Group.

Related Programmes

• MSc/Graduate Diploma Hunter-Gatherer Archaeology

Programme Coordinator

Professor Graeme Warren, a specialist in the Archaeology of Hunter-Gatherers, is the current President of the International Society for Hunter-Gatherer Research and a member of the Royal Irish Academy.

Application Details

Applications for the programme are typically accepted until a specified closing date, with late applications considered on a case-by-case basis.

Graduate Taught Programmes

The School of Archaeology offers a range of graduate taught programmes, including:

• MSc/Graduate Diploma in Archaeology
• MSc in Experimental Archaeology & Material Culture
• MSc/Graduate Diploma Hunter-Gatherer Archaeology
• MSc World Heritage Management & Conservation
• MSc World Heritage Conservation
• Graduate Diploma in Experimental Archaeology & Material Culture
• Graduate Certificate Experimental Archaeology and Material Culture - online
• Graduate Certificate Hunter-Gatherer Archaeology and Anthropology
• Higher Diploma in Archaeology

Scholarships and Bursaries

Various scholarships and bursaries are available, such as:

• The Kay Mahon Bursaries
• Vin Davis Bursary
• School of Archaeology Graduate Scholarship
• National Monuments Service World Heritage Scholarship Programme