The inter-university Master’s Degree in Classical Archaeology confers a joint degree between Sapienza Università di Roma, one of the oldest universities in Italy and worldwide, with a secular heritage of leadership in Classics and archaeological studies, and Università Degli Studi di Roma Unitelma Sapienza, its online university, which has been a flagship of excellence in Italian distance learning for over ten years.

Objectives

The Master’s Degree in Classical Archaeology represents a great innovation among Italian university courses. The renowned studies in Archaeology of Sapienza Università di Roma are combined with UnitelmaSapienza University’s online tools, providing Italian and international users with an exclusive and prestigious training project.

The Master’s Degree in Classical Archaeology aims to provide thorough training in the field of Classical Archaeology. Through a didactic methodology combining traditional (archaeological, linguistic-philological, artistic) and innovative resources (applying the most advanced methods to the knowledge of the material culture), it intends to train the second-level graduates in archaeological and historical skills.

Career Opportunities

Graduates can aspire to be future researchers with solid theoretical and practical training in archaeological disciplines within European and Middle-Eastern territories. The acquired knowledge and competencies will allow the graduates to be employed as professional archaeologists or cultural experts in a wide range of potential institutions, such as those connected to cultural heritage management, protection and valorisation, e.g. museums, archaeological sites, local authorities managing cultural projects; public administrations; universities and other academic and research entities; archaeological excavations associations or cooperatives; organisations working in the field of tourism, history, architecture, art, etc.; entities engaged in the promotion of archaeological heritage at national or international level.

Program overview

The Master’s degree program is in English and follows the Unitelma Sapienza’s e-learning model. The student is required to complete a fieldwork apprenticeship held in one of the archaeological excavations carried out by Sapienza University of Rome. The exams will be held exclusively in person at Unitelma Sapienza headquarters in Rome or at Unitelma exam venues in Italy and abroad.

Traineeship

Students enrolled in the Master’s Degree in Classical Archaeology must complete a curricular traineeship to obtain the degree.
Fieldwork experiences at excavation sites, archaeological parks, museums, or laboratories are essential to gain experience by combining study and work through practical training activities that facilitate professional choices for a future career.
The period of curricular traineeship is determined by the number of University Credits (CFU) established in the study plan. Each CFU corresponds to 25 hours of training.
Once the traineeship is completed, the student must submit the Traineeship Certificate to the University by filling out an online form.
Please note: the form can be filled out and signed only using the Unitelma Sapienza institutional account.
Once the student digitally signs the form, the system automatically forwards the certificate to the interested email addresses to collect the necessary signatures (Professor, President of the Master’s degree course, Director of the Department).
Once all the necessary signatures have been collected via Adobe Sign, the Credits (CFU) will be recorded in the student’s study plan. The University will record and update the students’ careers within 30 days of submitting the signed documentation.
In case of any irregularities in completing the online certificate, the student will receive a notification to make the necessary corrections.

Exams calendar

Fees

Enrollments are open throughout the year with no time limit. One can follow lessons, book exams, print certificates and connect with Unitelma Sapienza 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, from any computer, tablet, or smartphone. The enrollment fee is € 2.300,00 per year + € 140,00 per year for regional student tax + € 16,00 for stamp duty that can be paid in three instalments:

1. € 856,00 (€ 700,00 + € 140,00 for regional student tax + € 16,00 of stamp duty)
2. € 800,00 to be paid within 60 days after the previous payment
3. € 800,00 to be paid within 60 days after the previous payment

For associate members of Unitelma Sapienza, the total enrolment fee is € 1.800,00 per year + € 140,00 per year for regional student tax + stamp duties that can be paid in three instalments.

Additional fees include:

• € 300,00 for the degree fee + € 32,00 for stamp duties for the Master’s degree diploma to be paid at the end of the second year
• € 200,00 + € 16,00 for stamp duty to be paid only in case of withdrawal from studies.

Admission requirements

To be eligible to apply, you need to hold a Bachelor’s degree awarded by an accredited Italian or foreign university, obtained after a minimum of 3 years of study at university level, having obtained at least 180 ECTS. In case you obtained the high school diploma after 10 or 11 years of schooling, be aware that the Italian system requires at least 12 years of previous education.

1) Candidates are expected to have achieved an undergraduate degree (Laurea or equivalent international qualification) in Classical archaeology or related fields (e.g., Ancient history, Classics, etc.), including at least 90 ECTS in the following scientific-disciplinary sectors (SDS):

• At least 30 ECTS in: L-ANT/01 Pre- and Proto-History; L-ANT/04 Numismatics; L-ANT/06 Etruscan and Italic Civilisations; L-ANT/07 Classic Archaeology; L-ANT/08 Christian and Medieval Archaeology; L-ANT/09 Ancient Topography; L-ANT/10 Archeological Research Methodologies; L-OR/02 Egyptian Studies and Coptic Civilization; L-OR/03 Assyriology; L-OR/04 Anatolian Studies; L-OR/05 Archaeology and Art History of the Ancient Near East; L-OR/06 Phoenician and Punic Archaeology; L-OR/11 Archaeology and History of Muslim Art; L-OR/16 Archaeology and Art History of India and Central Asia; L-OR/20 Archaeology, Art History and Philosophy of East Asia.
• At least 60 ECTS in: from L-ANT/01 to L-ANT/10; L-ART/01, L-ART/04; from L-FIL-LET/01 to L-FIL-LET/12; L-LIN/01; from L-OR/01 to L-OR/18; from L-OR/20 to L-OR/23; M-DEA/01; M-GGR/01; M-GGR/02; M-STO/01, from M-STO/06 to M-STO/09; from BIO/01 to BIO/05, BIO/07, BIO/08, BIO/10; from CHIM/01 to CHIM/06, CHIM/12; FIS/07; GEO/01, GEO/02, GEO/04, GEO/07, GEO/08, GEO/09, GEO/11; ICAR/06, ICAR/15, ICAR/17, ICAR/18, ICAR/19; ING-INF/05; IUS/01, IUS/09, IUS/10, IUS/14; SPS/05, SPS/13, SPS/14.

For international bachelor’s degrees, the Admission Committee will evaluate the correspondence between the Italian scientific-disciplinary sectors mentioned above and the disciplinary field of exams taken in the non-Italian University.

2) A B2 Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) English level is required for admission. Students must provide evidence of written and spoken English at a level that will enable successful studying. A Certificate of English issued by an accredited language institution can be provided as evidence (e.g., IELTS, TOEFL, Cambridge, Pearson Test of Academic English, Trinity ISE, etc.). If you lack a language certificate, the Admission Committee will assess your language skills with an interview.

Enrollment into the Master’s Degree is possible at any time of the academic year.

Send an email to infoarcheologia@unitelmasapienza.it to verify if you are eligible to enrol in the Master’s degree program. Please insert in your inquiry the following supporting documents:

• Copy of the Bachelor’s Diploma (and of any other academic qualifications);
• Official Transcript of records of the Bachelor’s Degree (in English or Italian), and of any other academic qualifications;
• High School Diploma;
• Certificate of adequate knowledge of the English language (at least B2 CEFR level);
• Diploma Supplement or Statement of verification and comparability of your academic qualification (Bachelor’s degree) issued by the Italian ENIC-NARIC Centre (CIMEA).

Single courses

Students who do not meet the curricular requirements for access to our Master’s Degree Courses can supplement their curriculum with university exams (single courses) before enrolling in the Master’s Degree Course in which they are interested.

If you have requested the career evaluation and you need to take single courses to reach the curricular entry requirements for the Master’s Degree in Classical Archaeology, follow this link.