Develop the knowledge and practical skills required to excavate and analyse human skeletal remains. This MSc prepares you for a related career in the police force, forensic practice, archaeology or anthropology, and provides a firm foundation for further PhD research.
Our one-year taught Master’s course in Forensic Osteology and Field Recovery Methods provides the theoretical knowledge and advanced practical skills you need to identify, excavate and recover human skeletal remains, and reconstruct biological profiles from hard tissue.
Supported by laboratory and practical based training, you will deepen your knowledge of osteology and anatomy, growth and disease of the human skeleton and forensic identification. You will learn relevant topics, opinions and methodologies in your area of research and develop your analysis and identification skills in your fieldwork.
A first or second class honours degree in biological anthropology or other associated fields (eg., Forensic Science; Archaeology; Anatomy). In certain circumstances, we will consider students who have not followed a conventional education path. These cases are assessed individually.
All applicants are considered on an individual basis and additional qualifications, professional qualifications and relevant experience may also be taken into account when considering applications.
Please see our International Student website for entry requirements by country and other relevant information. Due to visa restrictions, students who require a student visa to study cannot study part-time unless undertaking a distance or blended-learning programme with no on-campus provision.
This course requires a Good level of English language, equivalent to B2 on CEFR.
Details on how to meet this requirement can be found on our English Language requirements webpage.
Examples:
IELTS 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each component
PTE Academic 63 with a minimum of 59 in each sub-test
A degree from a UK university
A degree from a Majority English Speaking Country
Please note that if you are required to meet an English language condition, we offer a number of pre-sessional courses in English for Academic Purposes through Kent International Pathways.
The following modules are indicative of those offered on this programme. This list is based on the current curriculum and may change year to year in response to new curriculum developments and innovation. Most programmes will require you to study a combination of compulsory and optional modules. You may also have the option to take modules from other programmes so that you may customise your programme and explore other subject areas that interest you.
How do we begin to analyse and interpret biological remains from an unknown source? How do you ensure that such remains are handled and managed in an ethical and sensitive way? You will learn how to identify morphological structures from human hard (bones and teeth) and soft tissues (muscles) by utilising one of the largest collections of human skeletons in the UK. By gaining an understanding of core anatomical landmarks, you will be able to assess the size and shape variation that is present between males and females, adults and juveniles, and amongst people of differing ethnicities. Upon completion of this module, you will have gained systematic training and foundations in a core biological science that underpins all human skeletal biology and forensic anthropology.
How do Forensic Anthropologists construct a biological profile? By gaining an advanced practical skill set that builds upon the modules ‘Advanced Human Osteology and Anatomy’, and ‘Growth, Disease and Taphonomy’, you will learn how to detemine age-at-death, biological sex, and stature from hard tissue. You will extend your knowledge of skeletal disease into non-specific and specific infections. You will learn protocols for disaster victim identification and be introduced to the most up-to-date soft-tissue biometric identification methods. You will become proficient in presenting biological profiles to an audience, which is essential for a practicing forensic anthropologist. Upon completion you will have gained a skill-set that transitions directly into the professional world.
How does the physical environment affect how buried human remains change over time? How can we derive information pertaining to an individual’s health from their bones after death? Human skeletons (hard tissue) are often the only evidence that is recovered during a forensic excavation of a clandestine grave but forensic investigators can still provide a huge amount of information about an individual’s life. By introducing you to the key principles underlying the way in which hard tissues grow, and by providing ‘hands on’ experience that utilises a world-class collection of pathology, you will learn how to identify trauma and basic disease processes. You will gain knowledge about post-mortem environmental (taphonomic) events and how these can be isolated and differentiated from events that occurred during life. Upon completion you will have gained theoretical knowledge and practical experience identifying markers of growth, diagnosing skeletal trauma and disease, and distinguishing these processes from taphonomy.
Why is it important to understand the influence of bias within forensic science? What are the expected professional standards for practicing forensic scientists? How do forensic laboratories adhere to the strict standards the legal system expects of them? What is it like to give evidence in a court of law? This module illustrates a range of contemporary topics in forensic science that underpin professional practice for those students wishing to enter the forensic science profession. The module content draws upon guidance published by the UK Forensic Science Regulator, UKAS, ENFSI, CSFS as well as academic and professional commentary, with a particular emphasise on evaluative reporting, case assessment and interpretation (CAI), quality standards, ethics in forensic science and bias. You will be provided training in writing expert witness court reports before undergoing a mock courtroom exercise in which you will deliver expert testimony in a courtroom environment, an essential skill for future case reporting forensic scientists.
This module will introduce students to research and survey design, and hypothesis testing, drawing upon different scientific approaches. The principles of experimental design and how these can be applied to field projects will be explained, together with the nature of both quantitative and qualitative data. An introduction to sampling strategies and the role of probability in inferential statistics will lead into the role of descriptive statistics and measures of variability in data exploration. This will be complemented by consideration of the application of both parametric and nonparametric statistics in data analysis (t-tests, ANOVA, regression, correlation, their nonparametric equivalents), including multivariate tests. The rules underlying the appropriate presentation of statistical data in research reports will be discussed. Upon completion students will understand the principle quantitative analytical approaches to research, and the best ways of presenting results.
This module will teach students the steps of recovery and excavation of human remains. Starting with finding human remains (mapping and carrying out a survey) to taking the remains into the lab for analysis. Students gain experience in designing and laying out an excavation grid, learning how to record and photograph human remains and contextual evidence found in the field. Finally, the students will have hands on learning experience in recording and bagging the finds and creating a chain of evidence. This module will look at the challenges of single and multiple burials and mass disasters.
How do we innovate within forensic science to provide entirely new knowledge to our scientific and global communities? The field of forensic science is continually evolving and changing as we respond to scientific advancement and needs from the judicial system. For new methodologies or techniques to be adopted within the field they must first be rigorously and carefully researched within the laboratory or computationally. This module will give you the opportunity to immerse yourself in cutting-edge independent forensic science research. You will implement the skills you have learned throughout your degree to plan, conduct and troubleshoot research in your chosen forensic field. You will learn new analytical and modelling techniques and perform complex data analysis to provide new insight in the forensic sciences, preparing you for roles within industry research and development teams and academic research pathways.
Modules are taught using a variety of methods including practical based modules taught in the field, lectures and seminars, demonstration, group projects, weekly bone quizzesand practical lab sessions that are supported through textbooks. Current journal articles on methodologies and theories support both the labs and lectures.
Assessment will be though practical demonstrations during lab sessions, lab reports, independent and group course work exercises and research dissertations.
For course aims and learning outcomes please see the course specification.
Kent has a lively postgraduate community drawn together not only by shared resources such as postgraduate rooms, computer facilities (with a dedicated IT officer) and laboratories, but also by student-led events, societies, staff/postgraduate seminars, weekly research student seminars and a number of special lectures.
You'll have access to well-equipped research laboratories for genetics, ecology, visual anthropology, virtual paleoanthropology, Animal Postcranial Evolution, biological anthropology, anthropological computing, botany, osteology and ethnobiology. The state-of-the-art visual anthropology laboratory is stocked with digital editing programmes and other facilities for digital video and photographic work, and has a photographic darkroom for analogue developing and printing.
Kent has outstanding anthropology IT facilities. Over the last decade, We provide an electronic information service to other anthropology departments, for example by hosting both the Anthropological Index Online and Experience-Rich Anthropology project. We encourage all students to use these facilities (no previous experience or training is necessary).
Kent has close links with the nearby Powell-Cotton Museum, which has one of the largest ethnographic collections in the British Isles and is particularly strong in sub-Saharan African and Southeast Asian material. It also houses an extensive comparative collection of primate and other mammalian material. Human skeletal material is housed at the Kent Osteological Research and Analysis Centre.
All students registered for a taught Master's programme are eligible to apply for a place on our Global Skills Award Programme. The programme is designed to broaden your understanding of global issues and current affairs as well as to develop personal skills which will enhance your employability.
Staff publish regularly and widely in journals, conference proceedings and books. Among others, they have recently contributed to: American Ethnologist; Current Anthropology; Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute; American Journal of Physical Anthropology; Proceedings of the Royal Society B; and Journal of Human Evolution.
Our research encompasses a broad range of topics within biological and evolutionary anthropology, including bioarchaeology, forensic anthropology, archaeological science, human reproductive strategies, hominin evolution, primate behaviour and ecology, modern human variation, and cultural. We have three dedicated research laboratories, as well as a commercial osteology unit.
Our research takes us to many regions of the world (Asia, Africa, Europe, South America and United States). We collaborate with international research organisations, including the Instituto de Biología Subtropical (Argentina), German Primate Center, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, and Budongo Conservation Field Station (Uganda). Members of staff provide a wide research network offering research opportunities in Africa, Southeast Asia and South America.
Our Skeletal Biology Research Centre is the only UK Centre focusing on analysis of biological hard tissues (bones and teeth). It brings together innovative research, novel methodologies and international collaborations, with expertise and resources from Physical Sciences and Biosciences at Kent, and the Powell-Cotton Museum. Research ranges from analyses of the most important human fossils, histological studies of teeth and bone, isotopic analyses and dietary reconstruction, virtual 3D analyses of the skeleton, and forensic identification that together ultimately aim to better understand humans and our evolutionary history.
The Living Primates Research Group fosters research into the behaviour and ecology of primates. It addresses questions concerning adaptation using living primates as model species, to provide a comparative framework for the understanding of human biology and behaviour, and investigate the biological and social dimensions of anthropogenic impacts on non-human primates (NHPs). Research ranges from functional morphology to behavioural ecology and physiology, cultural primatology, and the interplay of primate biology, ecology and conservation, including primate rehabilitation and reintroduction and human-NHP coexistence.
The regional expertise of our staff has a global reach, with field sites in Europe (including UK), the Middle East, the Balkans, South Asia, Amazonia and Central America, Oceania and Southeast Asia. Themes of conflict, violence, the economic crisis and precarity form a major focus of our current work in these areas, alongside new research on austerity and its social impact, and charity. We have emerging interests in social inequality, work, and organised crime and corruption; and are internationally recognised for our work on ethnicity, nationalism, and identity.
Research extends to intercommunal violence, diasporas, pilgrimage, intercommunal trade, urban ethnogenesis, indigenous representation and the study of contemporary religions and their global connections (especially Islam). History and heritage is another key theme, with related interests in time and temporality, and we host the leading journal History and Anthropology. Other research addresses the anthropology of natural resources; anthropology of tourism; and post-socialist economy and society in Europe and Central Asia.
We research issues in fieldwork and methodology more generally, with a strong interest in the field of visual anthropology. Our work on identity and locality links with growing strengths in kinship and parenthood. This is complemented by work on the language of relatedness, and the cognitive bases of kinship terminologies
A final focus concerns science, medical anthropology and contemporary society. We work on the anthropology of business, biotechnology, and mental health. Related research focuses on policy and advocacy issues and examines the connections between public health policy and local healing strategies. Staff collaborations and networks extend widely across these regions and thematic interests, and Kent is well-known for its pioneering engagement with the anthropology of Europe.
All of our coursess equip you with the tools you need to conduct research, solve problems, communicate effectively and transfer skills to the workplace, which means our graduates are always in high demand. Our links with Kent Police College and regional archaeological units not only provide you with the opportunity to gain work experience during your degree, but also equip you with the general and specialist skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the workplace.
Typical employment destinations for graduates from the MSc Forensic Osteology course include the police force, archaeological units, government agencies, consultancies, emergency services, laboratories, research or academia.
The 2025/26 annual tuition fees for this course are:
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
Tuition fees may be increased in the second and subsequent years of your course. Detailed information on possible future increases in tuition fees is contained in the Tuition Fees Increase Policy. If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk.
The University will assess your fee status as part of the application process. If you are uncertain about your fee status you may wish to seek advice from UKCISA before applying.
For details of when and how to pay fees and charges, please see our Student Finance Guide.
Tuition fees may be increased in the second and subsequent years of your course. Detailed information on possible future increases in tuition fees is contained in the Tuition Fees Increase Policy. If you are uncertain about your fee status please contact information@kent.ac.uk.
You'll need regular access to a desktop computer/laptop with an internet connection to use the University of Kent’s online resources and systems. We've listed some guidelines for the technology and software you'll need for your studies.
Find out more about accommodation and living costs, as well as general additional costs that you may pay when studying at Kent.
Search our scholarships finder for possible funding opportunities. You may find it helpful to look at both:
We have a range of subject-specific awards and scholarships for academic, sporting and musical achievement.
Next steps
Learn more about the application process or begin your application by clicking on a link below.
You will be able to choose your preferred year of entry once you have started your application. You can also save and return to your application at any time.
Supporting your success
Kent ranked top 40 in The Times Good University Guide 2025.
Fees and funding
Kent has risen 11 places in THE’s REF 2021 ranking, confirming us as a leading research university.
Accommodation
