Open Days
We can't wait to meet you and welcome you to our School!
Our School mission is to be international leaders of research, teaching and practice in archaeology and the relevant sciences. We research not only what it is to be human, but also the environments in which humans have existed over the last 3 million years. What drives us is our curiosity and need to understand the past, and to share our knowledge of it. Responsible practice of archaeology includes respect, preservation, collaboration, transparency, education, and reporting, within a safe teaching and working environment.
Our 2026 Open Days will take place on Wednesday 1 July, Thursday 2 July and Friday 18 September. You only need to attend one of these days. Click here to open the main University guide website
What happens at the School on each open day?
The Open Days are very busy, fun and exciting events. We recommend you bring a packed lunch because there is so much to see and do! Other than our set programme of talks (see below) in our building on South Parks Road, we highly recommend you also visit at least two of our colleges (Hertford, Keble, St Hugh's, St John's, St Peter's, and Harris Manchester for mature students), and you should also pop into one of our University museums.
Location: School of Archaeology, 1 South Parks Road, OX1 3TG
When: 09:30–15:00pm
The key times to be at our School are 11am and 2pm. The rest of the day is yours but we've included some recommendations for you below:
From 9:30am - Pop in and meet our staff and students for tea, coffee and biscuits in our School Common Room
Or, visit some of our colleges - St John's and Keble College are just a 5 min walk from our School on Parks Road. Hertford and St Peter's are both in the centre of town and St Hugh's is a 15 minute walk up Banbury Road.
11:00–11:30: Taster lecture - we challenge one of our course tutors to give you a half hour lecture on their research. We've had talks on the anthropology of love, what we can learn about you by testing isotopic values in your teeth, African rock art and what drawings of creatures having nose bleeds signify, how languages develop, and many more fascinating talks. These talks are so good, our staff will sometimes sit in on them too!
Before the next talk you might want to visit a college or pop into the Ashmolean Museum
Grab lunch along the way - there are some lovely cafes on Little Clarendon Street, just off St Giles.
14:00–15:00: Archaeology and Anthropology at Oxford talk - one of our course tutors will share with you all the information you need to make a successful application and you'll be able to ask them questions too!
15:00 onwards: Why not cross the road and visit the Pitt Rivers Museum and Natural History Museum
