Designed and coordinated in partnership by Aix-Marseille Université, the French Ministry of Culture’s Department of Subaquatic and Underwater Archaeological Research and the Camille Jullian Centre, the Master’s in Maritime and Coastal Archaeology prepares future international managers specialising in the study, protection, management and promotion of coastal and submerged archaeological heritage.
Knowledge and skills acquired
- State of the art and current scientific issues in port and coastal archaeology, naval archaeology, archaeology of maritime exchanges and palaeoenvironments, from a diachronic perspective (from prehistory to the contemporary period)
- Techniques for detecting, studying and documenting coastal and submerged remains and their environments (instrumented detection, topography, GIS, scientific photography, 3D surveys, etc.)
- Management of archaeological operations: administrative planning, intervention in compliance with regulations, processing and exploitation of results
- Challenges and strategies for the protection, management and enhancement of maritime heritage
- "Certificate of Fitness for Hyperbaric Conditions/Class 0 - honours B “submarine and subaquatic archaeology” (certifying training included in the course)
Strengths of the course
- An interdisciplinary teaching team recognised internationally for its expertise in maritime archaeology over more than 50 years
- Theoretical and practical training, including field schools and methodological and technical workshops based on genuine research projects
- A network of host sites throughout the Mediterranean to complete and customise training courses
- Privileged access to industry professionals in France and around the world
Career prospects
- Doctoral studies and academic careers
- Research support professions
- Preventive archaeology
- Local, national and international institutions responsible for the protection and management of maritime cultural assets
- Museums, archaeological parks and cultural mediation professions
Teaching team and professional partners
The courses are taught by teacher-researchers from Aix-Marseille Université and staff from the Drassm, supported by researchers and engineers from the Institute for Mediterranean Archaeology’s partner laboratories and many national and international guest lecturers.
In addition to theoretical teaching, students benefit from an active teaching approach (field schools, technical training, research dissertations, case studies, site visits) involving a wide range of institutional and socio-economic partners (design offices, museums, local authorities, associations, UNESCO, etc.).
Course identification
Aix-Marseille Université faculty: Faculty of arts, letters, languages and humanities
Field: Humanities and social sciences
Honours: Masters in Archaeology, Archaeological Sciences
Programme: Master’s in Maritime and Coastal Archaeology (MoMArch)
Programme leader: Jean-Christophe Sourisseau
Information (prerequisites, enrolment, course content): Faculty of arts, letters, languages and humanities
Partners
Field schools and host sites
Regarding the course, a distinction is made between the field schools (marked with an asterisk*), organised during university time as part of a compulsory teaching unit and leading to an assessment, and the host sites organised by the institute’s scientific members and partners, in which students take part on their own initiative as part of placements to complete their training.
Testimonials
The result of a partnership between the university and the French Ministry of Culture's Department of Underwater Archaeological Research, the Master's degree in Maritime and Coastal Archaeology prepares students for careers in research and the protection of submerged heritage. We train our students in real operations with the professionals who will become their potential recruiters tomorrow.