Best Archaeology Colleges in India - Courses, Fees, Admissions 2026

About 60+ best Archaeology colleges are there in India, of which 52 are government-owned, 6 are owned privately, and 3 are owned by semi-government institutions. CUET and CUET-PG are the top entrance exams for admission to the best Archeology colleges in India. The top Archaeology colleges in India are Kerala University, BHU, University of Madras, and MSU, etc. 

Know more about -

Archaeology Colleges in India

The table here gives some top Archaeology college options in India 

College Name	Tuition Fee	Eligibility / Exams
Calcutta University	INR 2,400 - INR 12,000	Merit-Based
Kerala University	INR 3,360	Merit-Based
BHU	INR 9,530 - INR 20,000	CUET-PG
University of Madras	INR 3,000 - INR 68,000	Merit-Based
St. Xavier's College Mumbai	INR 72,500	Merit-Based

Note - This information is taken from the official website and may vary.

Know more about -

Archaeology Colleges in India

Hope this helps!

Yes, you can get admission to best Archaeology colleges in India without any entrance exam but it is advised to go for entrance exams like CUET PG to increase your chances of getting into most colleges. However you can refer below for the best Archaeology colleges in India that accept students on merit-basis:

College Name	Tuition Fee
MSU	-
K J Somaiya Institute of Dharma Studies	INR 15,000
Tamil Nadu Open University	INR 3,500
Maharaja's College	INR 41,580
Dr. Ram Manohar Lahia Avadh University	-

Disclaimer: This information is sourced from the official website and may vary.

Hope this helps!

As the Arts & Humanities stream is mostly preferred by students to pursue a graduate degree course in Archaeology, it is not an essential requirement. Most of the top universities in India do not demand a stream specification in 12^th board for taking admission to their BA Archaeology program.

So, to answer your question, yes. You can pursue an undergraduate course in Archaeology after completing your 12^th class in Science stream or any stream.

K J Somaiya Institute of Dharma Studies courses' admissions are based on entrance exam scores. The university also accepts CUET UG or CUET PG scores as per respective courses. Students can check the list of course eligibility from the table presented below:

Course Name	Eligibility
BA	Class 12
MA	Graduation with a 55% aggregate in any stream
Certificate	Class 12 or equivalent
PG Diploma	Graduate in any stream
UG Diploma	Class 12 or equivalent

You can refer below for the top specialisations offered by best Archaeology colleges in India.

Top Specialisations	No. of Colleges
Ancient History	20+
Indian Cuisine & Culture	2
Heritage Management	2

Note - The information is taken from the official website of the college.

Know more about -

Archaeology Courses

No, Archaeology courses aren't necessarily expensive. In fact, there are 49 colleges where it is offered at a course fee of less than INR 1 Lakh. Some colleges with low tuition fees have been mentioned in the table below:

College Name	Average Tuition Fees
Utkal University of Culture Fees	INR 1,200
Central University of Haryana Fees	INR 2,000
Calcutta University Fees	INR 2,400-12,000
Visva Bharati University Fees	INR 2,400-2,520
UNIRAJ (University of Rajasthan) Fees	INR 2,410

Disclaimer: This information is sourced from the official website and may vary.

The colleges with the highest placement after Archaeology courses have been mentioned below, along with their average placement salary and top recruiters.

College Name	Average Placement Salary	Top Recruiters
Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Solapur University Placement	INR 14.86 LPA	Cipla, Lupin, Infosys, TCS, etc.
Calcutta University Placement	INR 9.2 LPA	IDBI Bank, HDFC Bank, YesBank, Bank of India, etc.
3 Hindu University Placement	INR 9 LPA	IBM, Infosys, Wipro, Genpact, etc.
Acharya Nagarjuna University Placement	INR 8 LPA	Amazon, Deloitte, Cognizant, etc.
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar University Delhi Placement	INR 7.5 LPA	American Express, Info Edge, EY, HCL Technologies, etc.
Tumkur University Placement	INR 7.2 LPA	Wipro, IBM, etc.

Disclaimer: This information is sourced from the official website and may vary.

Archaeology field provides various career aspects at graduate level, post graduate level and PhD level. It depends on where you are at right now and what type of career you wish to pursue as an archaeologist. Let's make it clear for you by categorizing on different levels.

Graduate Level – You can take admission to BA Archaeology courses after qualifying your class 12^th board with at least 50% marks. Complete your 3-years degree programme in archaeology at your preferred college. You can choose careers as assistant professor, assistant researcher or consultant archaeologist.

Post-Graduate Level – After completing undergraduate course in Archaeology, you can go for post-graduation which is a 2 years course and contains more detailed study in Archaeology field. A post-graduate degree in archaeology offers associate level career opportunities.

PhD Level – 5-years doctoral research programme in Archaeology allows deeper research scope in your specialised with a chance to publish your research work. At this level, you can opt for advance career jobs as research specialist, heritage manager, archivist, museum manager, and others.

University of Madras is a state government university in Chennai. Madras University has also been recognised by the UGC. BTech & MBA are the flagship courses of the university. It has been ranked 38th under "University" category, 68th under "Overall" category & 18th under "State Public Universities" by NIRF 2025. The total course fee ranges between INR 28 K - 6 L, depending on the chosen specialisation. Overall, it is a good government college.

Hi, please refer below for the top courses offered by best Archaeology colleges in India:

Courses	No. of Colleges
MA	55
BA	14
PG Diploma	12
MSc	2
UG Diploma	2

Hope this answered your question!

I think the course fee for Archeology in India is generally inexpensive. The costliest Archaeology college comes in a range of around 1.5 lakh rupees. 

Colleges Name	Average Course Fees
St. Xavier's College, Mumbai	INR 72,500
Karnataka University, Dharwad	INR 15,800
MSU Baroda	INR 16,460 - 22,590
Banaras Hindu University	INR 25,160
University of Madras	INR 3,000 - 68,000

Note - The information is taken from the official website and may vary.

CUET PG is the top entrance exam for admission to best Archaeology colleges in India followed by CUET, Andhra Pradesh PGCET, IPU CET, etc.

Here are some top Archaeology book recommendations for you

• Handbook of Archaeology by Tejas Chadha and Dipankar Agarwal.
• Pre-Historic Archaeology by D K Bhattacharya.
• Archaeology: The Essential Guide to Our Human Past by Paul Bahn.
• Ancient Lives: An Introduction To Archaeology And Prehistory by Brian M. Facan.
• Spooky Archaeology: Myth and the Science of the Past by Jeb J. Card.
• Michel Foucault's Archaeology of Western Culture.

Yes, BAMU is a good university as the university is ranked 83 by NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework) 2022 under the University category. BAMU offers various facilities to students like a library, cafeteria, hostel, sports complex, and also provides various other facilities to undergraduate and postgraduate course students. To get admission to various courses offered by this university, the candidates must qualify the accepted entrance exams. The accepted entrance exams for MCA, NEET, JEE MCA, and others are JEE Main,  MHT CET, NEET, and others. For passing the JEE Main exam, candidates must attempt the JEE2 Main question papers, and hence prepare well for the entrance exams. 

Archaeologists can look deeply into specific aspects of human history and cultural heritage thanks to these specializations. People may decide to specialize in one or more of these categories, depending on the place, era, or kind of archaeological site of interest.

Candidates can check the table to learn about Archaeology specializations

Specializations in Archaeology
Indian Cuisine & Culture	Environmental Archaeology
Battlefield Archaeology	Heritage Management
Experimental Archaeology	Urban Archaeology
Marine Archaeology	Ancient History

Disclaimer: The information given in the above table is taken from external sources and may vary.

There is no age limit to pursue MA Archaeology course. You can pursue this course at any age. The colleges and entrance exam conducting bodies do not prescribe any minimum or maximum age limit for you to pursue MA Archeology course. Some colleges especially private colleges may have their own eligibility rules. So, it is better if you check the individual college's eligibility criteria before applying. Make sure that you satisfy other eligibility parameters such as academic qualifications and marks criteria.

You need to have excellent research skills, the ability to work methodically, planning & project management skills, an interest in History & research, cultural awareness, and so on to become an Archaeologist. These skills will help you succeed in your field. 

Know more about -

Archaeology Career

Yes, a CUH degree is valid everywhere in India. Since it's a government-accredited university. Central University of Haryana is a government University established under the Central Universities Act 2009. The degree and overall performance help students to get good placements in popular courses and professional courses offered by the university. It is popular for courses like B.Tech, M.Com, M.A, LLB, MBA, B.Sc, MCA, B.Ed and many more. It's degree is accepted for post-graduation courses as well as other entrance exams eligibility.

It offers various degree programme in a variety of fields. The range of packages offered overall college is INR 7 lakh per annum to 1.5 lakh per annum. 

Patna University offers over 135 courses, including 18 undergraduate, 42 postgraduate, and 38 doctoral programmes in the streams such as Science, Commerce, Law, Management, Arts, Mass Communication, Education, etc. The university also offers a range of Diploma courses and certificates. The entrance exams accepted by the university include MAT. CMAT BEET, MEET, PUCET, etc.

For Visva Bharati University admissions to various UG & PG courses, candidates have to fulfil the minimum eligibility criteria, followed by the other selection rounds. Find below the course-wise eligibility and selection criteria related to Visva Bharati University course admissions 2025:

Course Name	Eligibility	Selection Criteria
BSc	Class 12 with 50%	CUET
BA	Class 12 with 45%	CUET
MSc	Graduation with 45%	ICAR AIEEA, CUET-PG
MA	Graduation with 45%	CUET PG
UG Diploma	Class 12	CUET

HNBGU Pauri Campus gives postgraduate (PG) & UG - (undergraduate) programmes to the university students. HNBGU Pauri Campus programmes are given across the Law, Zoology, & several other streams. At the UG (undergraduate) level, the available programmes are BSc, BA, & others. At the PG (postgraduate) level, the available programmes are MSc, MA, & others. 

Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith offers all the necessary campus facilities to its students. Some of the facilities include:

• Well-equipped classrooms
• Library
• Sports and medical facilities
• Labs

National Forensic Sciences University (NFSU) is generally considered a Tier 1 institution. The university has an academic reputation as it has been accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) with an A grade and recognised by the UGC. NFSU offers a wide range of programs from Diploma to doctoral levels in various forensic disciplines. 

Pandit Ravi Shankar Shukla University Raipur admisison is based on merit and entrance exams. The university accepts national entrance exams such as CAT, MAT, XAT, ATMA, and others. Candidates need to take the course-specific entrance examinations at PRSU. The applications for PRSU admissions are accepted via both online and offline modes.

Admissions to NEHU Shillong is offered on the basis of merit and valid scores of accepted entrance exams. Candidates must secure a minimum aggregate in Class 12 for admission to UG level courses. Whereas, for PG level courses, candidates must secure valid scores in accepted entrance exams such as JEE Main, CUET UG/PG, CAT/MAT/AIMA and other national-level examinations suitable for the chosen course.  

Direct admissions are not possible for many courses offered at Acharya Nagarjuna University. The mode of ANU College course admissions is online. Admission to various courses is based on entrance exams and merit. The accepted entrance exams are AP EAMCET,  JEE Main, and others. Students applying through JEE Main must first register for the JEE Main exam. Then appear for the JEE Main exam. Then with valid scores, apply on the official website of Guntur Nagarjuna University.

Yes, UNIRAJ offers admissions based on NIOS as a government-recognised board on equivalent standing with CBSE or ICSE. The university accepts the course eligibility through NIOS scores, though candidates must also ensure that they complete the selection process and finish their NIOS exams before admissions.

HPU Shimla accepts several entrance exams for various courses. The university also conducts in-house exams. Interested students must appear for the exams followed by the interview round. Accepted entrance exams include:

• NEET UG for BAMS
• HPCET and JEE Main for BTech 
• HPU MAT for MBA
• GATE for MTech
• HPCET for MCA
• HPU Entrance Exam for BEd and Masters program

Latest CMAT exam pattern is given below:

• Question paper carries 100 MCQs
• Each section has 20 question
• Exam duration is 180 minutes
• Each question carries 4 marks 
• There is no negative marking