Archaeology (BA)
Career prospects
The combination of practical knowledge and academic skills makes you valuable to many employers. You will be ready to take on various positions in commercial companies, the government, research institutes, heritage agencies, laboratories, or museums.
Mariëlle Portier
Junior Educator at Rijksmuseum
I am currently working as a junior educator at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Creating programmes, products and events for the general public, families and school classes. Already during my archeology studies I loved sharing stories and knowledge. I wanted to focus on how to make all the cool projects archeologist do more visible to the public. This motivated me to pursue a master's in Heritage Management, focusing on public engagement. That this could lead to a job in the Rijksmuseum I could have never imagined.
Elsbeth Tjon Sie Fat
Head of Public Services
As Head of Public Services at the National Museum of Antiquities (RMO), I lead the museum's visitor-focused departments, including visitor services staff and museum educators, the events team, and the museum shop. Together, we ensure that every visitor feels welcome and leaves the museum with a positive experience. Each year, around 200,000 people discover our collection. I still find it remarkable that some of the objects I studied during my Archaeology degree are now part of my everyday working environment.
Sectors in which graduates of Archaeology are employed
Broad array of skills
The broad array of skills that you will acquire as an archaeologist will make you an attractive target for a wide range of employers. These skills will equip you for a variety of positions in the Netherlands or abroad, in government or in business. They will also make you an objective, critical and, above all, articulate and creative thinker.
Creative thinkers have the ability to draw logical and accurate conclusions from incomplete information, and to come up with practical and original solutions. This ability will make you a great fit with many different professions.
Stepping-stone to the job market
Your archaeology master’s can be a stepping-stone up to a career in almost every sector of the job market. It is the winning combination of practical knowledge and academic skills that fuels employers’ demand for Leiden University’s archaeology graduates.
Our graduates find employment as:
- field archaeologists
- researchers
- PhD candidates at Leiden University or other universities
- policy advisors at governmental institutes or NGOs
- consultants with independent or commercial companies
- museum curators
- cultural resource managers (Heritage)
- university or secondary school teachers
- journalists
- publishers
- public relations officers
- project managers
- digital education officers at museums
- digital specialists