Brief History

The Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, originally called the Department of Archaeology, was established in 1951 and is the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa. Until 1963, the Department functioned primarily as a research Department, except for short courses given once a year to the students of the History Department. In 2008, the Department was renamed the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies. This also ushered in new programmes in heritage studies. Currently, the Department has a vibrant undergraduate Bachelor of Arts programme on the main and City Campuses of the University of Ghana with an enrolment of over four thousand students as well as four graduate programmes on the main campus of the University of Ghana.

These are a Master of Arts and Doctor of Philosophy programmes in Museum and Heritage Studies; and a Master and Doctor of Philosophy Programmes in Archaeology which comprise coursework, practical field research, and internship through which students are trained and equipped with skills that enables them to oversee and manage museums, historical monuments and sites, and cultural property at large, in alignment with the country’s heritage and tourism sector needs. The objective of the programme is to produce graduates capable of serving in museums and heritage institutions in Ghana and elsewhere as managers, curators, exhibitionists, conservationists, and educators. It is also tailored to enable them to conserve and exhibit a variety of material objects from Ghana and other parts of Africa for the purposes of tourism development and heritage conservation.

The Department has an archaeological museum, a conservation and visual anthropology laboratory, a forensic science laboratory, and a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) unit to support the programme. Some students may undergo internships at local museums such as the Museum of Archaeology at the University of Ghana, the Ghana National Museum in Accra, and other regional museums across the country. Students may also gain internship experiences with international museums such as the British Museum, the Norwegian and Danish Museums, the West African Museums Programme (WAMP), the Museum of West African Arts Institute, and other museums and institutions with which the Department and the University of Ghana have partnership agreements. Such avenues will provide students with immediate opportunities to gain invaluable practical experience through internships. The Department, over the years, has had and still partners with institutions such as the University of Michigan, Syracuse University, University of Rochester, Western Illinois University, all in the USA; University of Freiburg, Germany; the Universities of South Bohemia and Hradec Klave, Czech Republic, and many others