Human Osteoarchaeology MSc

Level: Postgraduate taught

Subject: Archaeology

Year of entry: 2026

Study options

Mode of study

On campus

Full-time
  • MSc | 1 year | Start date: September 2026

Key facts

School

School of History, Classics and Archaeology

College

College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Study location

Central Area

Accreditation

Not available

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About the degree programme

The scientific investigation of archaeological skeletal remains, also known as Bioarchaeology or Biological Anthropology, gives unique insights into human history. Demographic shifts, environmental changes, living conditions, migrations, the spread of diseases and the impact of violence and conflict all leave traces on the skeleton.

The MSc in Human Osteoarchaeology provides students with theoretical knowledge and practical skills to understand these important skeletal biographies and interpret them in their cultural context (biocultural approach), at the individual and the population level, combining theoretical learning with hands-on practice.

The programme draws on a variety of techniques, ranging from visual examination of the whole skeleton to the biomolecular analysis of small bone samples. Students gain invaluable hands-on experience with the School's extensive Scottish skeletal collection. There is also the opportunity to participate in a mock training excavation situated in the scenic veterinary school at the foot of the Pentland Hills.

It is an exciting interdisciplinary field that draws on a variety of techniques, ranging from visual examination of the whole skeleton to the biomolecular analysis of small bone samples. 

This MSc provides the skills required to:

  • identify human remains, through detailed analytical skills
  • apply a wide-range of methods employed in the study of human remains, including analysis of skeletal pathology
  • quantify and analyse scientific data
  • understand skeletal biographies
  • apply social theory
  • interpret human remains within their cultural context at both an individual and a population level

Combining theoretical learning with hands-on practice, we will provide you with the theoretical knowledge and practical skills essential to your handling and analysis of remains recovered from archaeological sites.

Teaching and student research projects benefit from our wide range of lab facilities and the programme has a close relationship with the nearby National Museum of Scotland, Museum of Edinburgh, and Surgeons’ Hall Museums.

Focal areas of research of staff involved in the MSc Human Osteoarchaeology programme include:

  • Bioarchaeology/ Human Osteoarchaeology/ Palaeopathology / Biological Anthropology
  • Interpersonal violence and conflict
  • Experimental bioarchaeology
  • Professional standards, ethics and legislation in human osteoarchaeology.
  • Historical bioarchaeology
  • Bioarchaeology of children and childhood
  • Palaeodietary reconstruction
  • Archaeology of identity
  • Human–environment interactions
  • The transition from hunter-gatherer to farming communities
  • The development of complex societies
  • Social and health inequalities in the past
  • Diet and health
  • Cultural heritage perspectives on the past, present, and future

This short video gives you an introduction to our MSc Human Osteoarchaeology programme from Dr Linda Fibiger

Study options

The full-time MSc lasts for 12 months from September to the end of August in the following year. To be awarded the MSc degree, you must also complete a dissertation.  

The taught courses are worth a total of 120 credit points and are assessed by coursework. Provided you achieve the required standard, you will proceed to a period of individual research from May to August, resulting in a final dissertation worth a further 60 credits.

Programme benefits

  • Combines theoretical learning with hands-on practice
  • Access to the School's extensive Scottish skeletal collection
  • Opportunity to participate in a mock training excavation situated in the scenic veterinary school campus
  • Edinburgh is an ideal venue for archaeological study and research, allowing you to benefit from national institutions and heritage agencies, such as the excellent collections and resources of the National Museum and the National Library of Scotland

Edinburgh was the perfect choice for me for many reasons including the school’s reputation as a quality research University, the instructors of the programme itself, and of course, this beautiful and unique capital city. 

Lauren MSc Human Osteoarchaeology, graduated 2017

Tuition fees

Tuition fees by award and duration

Tuition fees for full-time and part-time options are listed for one academic year.

Full-time

Graduate discount

If you are a University of Edinburgh graduate, you will be eligible for a 10% discount on your tuition fees for this programme. You may also be eligible if you were a visiting undergraduate student.

Find out how to receive your graduate discount

Deposit

You do not have to pay a deposit to secure your place on this programme.

Costs

Accommodation and living costs

You need to cover your accommodation and living costs for the duration of your programme.

We estimate that you might spend £1,167 to £2,330 per month if you are a single student.

Living costs include:

  • food
  • utility bills
  • travel, clothes, books and stationery
  • recreational costs (for example, TV subscriptions and social events)

Living costs

Accommodation costs depend on where you live while studying and the type of accommodation you choose.

University postgraduate accommodation options and costs

Funding opportunities

Funding for postgraduate study is different to undergraduate study, and many students need to combine funding sources to pay for their studies.

Most students use a combination of the following funding to pay their tuition fees and living costs:

  • borrowing money
    • taking out a loan
    • family support
  • personal savings
  • income from work
  • employer sponsorship
  • scholarships

Explore sources of funding for postgraduate study

Search for other funding opportunities

You can find scholarships, bursaries and other funding you might be eligible for on our Scholarships and Student Funding site.

Postgraduate funding opportunities

These entry requirements are for the 2026-27 academic year and requirements for future academic years may differ. Entry requirements for the 2027-28 academic year will be published on 1 Oct 2026.

Qualifications

A UK 2:1 honours degree, a minimum US 3.25 GPA or international equivalent, in a relevant subject such as Archaeology, Anthropology, Anatomy, Medical Sciences and related fields. No previous knowledge of human osteology is required. Depending on the number of eligible applicants, we may need to limit the number of students admitted, based on academic merit.

We will also consider relevant experience, or professional or other qualifications.

International qualifications

To find international equivalent qualifications, select where you studied from the country or region list.

English language requirements

You must prove that your English language abilities are at a high enough level to study this degree programme.

This is the case for all applicants, including UK nationals.

You can meet our English language requirements with one of the following:

  • an English language test
  • a degree that was taught and assessed in English
  • certain professional qualifications

English language tests we accept

We accept any of the following English language tests, at the specified grade or higher:

  • IELTS Academic: total 7.0 with at least 6.0 in each component We do not accept IELTS One Skill Retake to meet our English language requirements.
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition): total 100 with at least 20 in each component We do not accept TOEFL MyBest Score to meet our English language requirements.
  • C1 Advanced (CAE) / C2 Proficiency (CPE): total 185 with at least 169 in each component.
  • Trinity ISE: ISE III with passes in all four components.
  • Oxford ELLT: total 8 with at least 6 in each component.
  • Oxford Test of English Advanced: total 155 with at least 135 in each component.
How old your English language tests can be
Tests no more than two years old

The following English language tests must be no more than two years old on the 1st of the month in which your programme starts, regardless of your nationality:

  • IELTS Academic
  • TOEFL-iBT (including Home Edition)
  • Trinity ISE
  • Oxford ELLT
  • Oxford Test of English Advanced
Tests no more than three and a half years old

All other English language tests must be no more than three and a half years old on the 1st of the month in which your programme starts, regardless of your nationality.   

Degrees taught and assessed in English

We accept an undergraduate or postgraduate degree that has been taught and assessed in English in a majority English-speaking country, as defined by UK Visas and Immigration.

UKVI list of majority English speaking countries

We also accept a degree that has been taught and assessed in English from a university on our list of approved universities in non-majority English-speaking countries (non-MESC).

Approved universities in non-MESC

How old your degree can be

If you are not a national of a majority English-speaking country, then your degree must be no more than five years old on the 1st of the month in which your programme starts.

This time limit does not apply to your degree if you are a national of a majority English-speaking country.

Find out more about our English language requirements

Find out about other English language qualifications we accept, including professional qualifications.

English language requirements

What you will study

You will normally take seven courses across two semesters of teaching, including six compulsory courses and an option of your choice. You will then undertake a research project and produce a dissertation, which is submitted on an assigned date in mid-August.

Compulsory courses

You will take six compulsory courses.

Compulsory courses previously offered include:

  • Human Musculo-Skeletal Anatomy
  • Analytical Methods in Human Osteoarchaeology
  • Quantitative Methods and Reasoning in Archaeology
  • Skeletal Pathology
  • Bioarchaeological Analysis and Interpretation
  • Research Sources and Strategies in Bioarchaeology

Option courses

Option courses change from year to year and those available when you start your studies may be different from those shown in the list:

  • Practical Zooarchaeology
  • Archaeological Illustration
  • Social Bioarchaeology: Living Conditions, Lifestyles and the Impact of Disease in the Past
  • Biomolecular Archaeology: the Appliance of Science
  • The Archaeology of Children and Childhood

Find courses for this programme

Find out what courses you can study on this programme and how each of them are taught and assessed.

The courses on offer may change from year to year, but the course information will give you an idea of what to expect on this programme.

Full-time

We link to the latest information available. This may be for a previous academic year and should be considered indicative.

Disclaimer

Option courses change from year to year and those available when you start your studies may be different from those shown in the list.

Teaching and assessment

Teaching

Throughout the programme, you will take part in lectures, seminars and practical work with archaeological skeletal assemblages and reference collections. 

Drawing on Edinburgh’s long history in the study of the human body, you will also have the opportunity to visit Surgeons' Hall Museum and the University's Anatomy Department, which provide unique collections of pathological and anatomical study remains. There may also be the possibility of attending field schools.

Assessment

You will be assessed through:

  • reports
  • class tests
  • oral and poster presentations
  • essays
Research dissertation

You will undertake a research project and produce a dissertation which is submitted on an assigned date in mid-August.

The final element of the programme is a 15,000-word dissertation (60 credits), which students complete during the summer months. This is an independent, primary source-based research project supervised by one or more members of academic staff. Students have considerable freedom to define their own dissertation project — so long as it is a feasible project that one or more staff members have the expertise to supervise.

Example dissertation topics

Past dissertation topics have included:

  • An Experimental Investigation of Sharp Force Skeletal Trauma with Replica Bronze Age Weapons.
  • Prisoners versus privileged: A test of the Coimbra method on two Post-Medieval collections in order to reconstruct past social status and lifestyle habits.
  • The Thames beater: an analysis of blunt force trauma and interpersonal violence in the early British Neolithic.
  • A biocultural approach to interpreting the experience of congenitally impaired individuals from Medieval London.
  • Human sacrifice in the royal tombs from the Shang Dynasty.
  • A bioarchaeological study of the relationship between health and socio-economic status in a Classical Greek and Hellenistic skeletal collection from ancient Messembria (Nessebar), Bulgaria.

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of the programme, you will be able to:

  • identify and interpret human skeletal remains from archaeological sites
  • develop hypothesis-testing skills
  • carry out relevant scientific analyses, often in cooperation with experts in other disciplines
  • engage in theoretical and methodological discussions relevant to osteoarchaeology
  • design research strategies based on transferable skills providing a basis for advanced studies (PhD and beyond)

Support for your studies

You will have access to a range of support services if you need them throughout your degree.

We will assign you to a student adviser, and this should be the first person to contact if you need help. They can guide you to other University service teams depending on what support you need.  

How we support you

Where you will study

Study location

The majority of teaching will take place in the School of History, Classics and Archaeology.

The School of History, Classics and Archaeology is located in the heart of the city, in the University's Central Area. The Central Area is located on the edge of Edinburgh's historic Old Town, surrounded by lots of green space.

Our building, the William Robertson Wing of the Old Medical School, is Grade A-listed. The building is in the Northern Italian Renaissance style, incorporating design influences from Venice and Bologna, including red-tiled roofs, a corbelled stair turret and palazzo frontages.

Academic facilities

The School of History, Classics and Archaeology resources

Our historic building combines study spaces with exhibition areas hosting a number of significant international collections, including the Vere Gordon Childe collection which allows you to handle, draw and learn from artefacts from the Indus Valley and the Near East, including Egypt, and Europe. Additionally we have five archaeological laboratories, including wet processing and bone chemistry labs.

We have our own library, known as the Student Research Room, which is a large airy space used both for study and to house the School’s book collections. Students can also join cross-School research groups which aim to stimulate inter-disciplinary, collaborative research, and widen awareness of individual scholarship.

Laboratories

Postgraduate archaeology students can access a range of laboratories:

Finds processing and thin section laboratory

This dedicated space is for initial post excavation processing and cleaning of artefacts, osteological material, and environmental remains such as soils and sediments. The laboratory is equipped with deep sinks and sediment traps for wet sieving as well as drying ovens and benches for laying out material. It is also equipped with a fume cupboard and cutting, mounting and grinding equipment for the preparation of thin-sections for microscopy.

Chemical laboratory

This room is equipped for pre-treatment and collagen extraction of samples for stable isotope analysis; this area is also used for the preparation of environmental samples involving wet chemistry. The facilities and instruments available include a large programmable furnace, fume cupboards, drying ovens, autoclave, centrifuges, a freeze drier, precision electronic balances, a Millipore water purification system, as well as Endecott sieves and pH meters.

Microscopy laboratory

The microscopy lab is equipped with a suite of microscopes including stereo microscopes, compound incident, transmitted and polarized light microscopes, and USB dinolites. These instruments have a wide range of research applications and are used in the analysis of artefacts, environmental remains (e.g. palynological samples) and ceramic and histological thin-sections.

Archaeology teaching laboratory

This large, well-equipped teaching laboratory houses extensive and comprehensive human and animal bone reference collections as well as hominin and primate casts. It is equipped with microscopes, identification atlases, calipers and osteometric boards.

Osteology laboratory

Located adjacent to the human and animal reference collections, this laboratory is a facility designed for osteological research. Archaeology has facilities for 3D scanning of artefacts and osteological remains.

Additional facilities

Additional facilities and services for materials analysis are available within the University of Edinburgh, including XRD/XRF, scanning electron and confocal microscopy,  and also CT and μCT scans and specialised imaging software. Archaeology also benefits from strong links to National Museums Scotland and the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Centre at East Kilbride.

The University's resources

The University Library is one of the largest university libraries in the UK and contains a substantial collection of primary and secondary materials and a vast collection of rare books and manuscripts.

The City of Edinburgh

Edinburgh is a historic city where the earliest human habitation is traced back to a Mesolithic campsite dated to c. 8500 BC. With numerous archaeological sites (prehistoric, Roman and medieval) on your doorstep, Edinburgh provides the perfect setting in which to study Archaeology.

The Archaeology subject area has links with various museums and heritage agencies (including Historic Environment Scotland) located in the city. Edinburgh is also home to many national commercial archaeological companies, which can provide career advice and development opportunities.

Career opportunities

Following successful completion of the programme, a large proportion of students continue their studies to PhD level and beyond, and the programme provides the necessary osteoarchaeological knowledge for PhD study involving human skeletal remains. 

Examples of career paths available to archaeology graduates (although some may require additional training) include:

  • higher education
  • heritage management and agencies
  • commercial archaeology
  • research
  • consultancy
  • tourism industry
  • government agencies and institutions
  • broadcasting
  • laboratory work

An archaeology degree does not, of course, restrict you to a career in archaeology. The programme also equips you for advanced study.

Further study

After completing this programme, you may wish to consider applying for a PhD or other research programme.

Applying for research degrees

Moving on to a PhD (advice from the University's Careers Service)

Careers Service

Our Careers Service can help you to fully develop your potential and achieve your future goals. 

The Careers Service supports you not only while you are studying at the University, but also for up to two years after you finish your studies. 

With the Careers Service, you can: 

  • access digital resources to help you understand your skills and strengths
  • try different types of experiences and reflect on how and what you develop
  • get help finding work, including part-time jobs, vacation work, internships and graduate jobs
  • attend careers events and practice interviews
  • get information and advice to help you make informed decisions 

Visit the Careers Service website 

How to apply

You apply online for this programme. After you read the application guidance, select your preferred programme, then choose 'Start your application' to begin.

If you are considering applying to more than one programme, you should be aware that we cannot consider more than 5 applications from the same applicant.

When to apply

Due to high demand, this programme operates a gathered field approach to admissions, with two application deadlines as noted below.

Each application round has a decision deadline, also listed below, but note that we will make as many offers as possible to the strongest candidates on an ongoing basis, in advance of the published decision deadline.

We strongly recommend that you apply as early as possible, especially if you intend to apply for funding or a visa. Applications may close earlier than published deadlines if there is exceptionally high demand. If you are considering applying for our pre-sessional English Language programme, please make sure you apply in Round 1.

Please note that for an application to be reviewed, it must be a complete application by the application deadline with all supporting documentation uploaded, including your transcripts. If you already have evidence that you meet the English language entry requirements, such as via an approved English language test, please upload this evidence at the time of your application. If you have not already met your English language requirements, we will still review your application and issue a decision providing it is otherwise complete.

Selection deadlines
RoundApply byReceive decision by
1Friday 09 January 2026Thursday 26 February 2026
2Monday 6 April 2026Thursday 14 May 2026

After Round 2, if there are still places available, applications will remain open. As this is not guaranteed, however, you are advised to apply by the application deadlines above.

Application fee

There is no fee to apply to this programme.

What you need to apply

As part of your online application, you will need to provide: 

You will also need to submit some or all of the following supporting documents:

When you start your application, you will be able to see the full list of documents you need to provide.

References

You do not need to provide a reference when you submit your application for this programme.

There may be certain circumstances when a reference will be required, for example if we need to verify work experience. If that is the case, we will contact you after we have reviewed your application to request a reference.

Apply

Select the award, duration and delivery mode you want to study. Then select the start date you want to apply for.

After you apply

Once you have applied for this programme, you will be able to track the progress of your application and accept or decline any offers.

Checking the status of your application

We will notify you by email once we have made a decision. Due to the large number of applications we receive, it might take a while until you hear from us.

Receiving our decision

What to do if you receive an offer:

What our students say

Ita, a recent MSc in Human Osteoarchaeology graduate, answers some frequently asked questions.

Accommodation

We guarantee an offer of University accommodation for all new, single postgraduate taught students from outside the UK and new, single postgraduate research (typically PhD) students who:

  • apply for accommodation by 31 July in the year when you start your programme
  • accept an unconditional firm offer to study at the University by 31 July
  • study at the University for the whole of the academic year starting in September

University accommodation website

Accommodation guarantee criteria

We also offer accommodation options for couples and families.

Accommodation for couples and families

If you prefer to live elsewhere, we can offer you advice on finding accommodation in Edinburgh.

Accommodation information from the Edinburgh University Students' Association Advice Place

Societies and clubs

Our societies and sports clubs will help you develop your interests, meet like-minded people, find a new hobby or simply socialise.

Societies

Sport Clubs

The city of Edinburgh

Scotland's inspiring capital will form the background to your studies — a city with an irresistible blend of history, natural beauty and modern city life. 

Find out more about living in Edinburgh

Health and wellbeing support

You will have access to free health and wellbeing services throughout your time at university if you need them.

The support services we offer include: 

  • a student counselling service
  • a health centre (doctor's surgery)
  • support if you're living in University accommodation
  • dedicated help and support if you have a disability or need adjustments

Health and wellbeing support services 

Disability and Learning Support

General enquiries

Have a question about postgraduate study?

Postgraduate enquires

Academic contact

Dr Linda Fibiger

Programme Director

Contact details

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