The University of Reading’s museums and collections are an amazing, diverse and often surprising resource, cutting across many disciplines and subjects in their themes and strengths. We encourage their use in university teaching and learning, and work to enable this across the University.
Below, find out how the Univeristy collections support its teaching.
The MERL, Special Collections and Art Collections
All three of these collections offer hands-on group sessions for all disciplines, as well as a wide range of digital teaching options. This involves providing archives, manuscripts, rare books and objects. Aimed at both undergraduate and postgraduate students, these sessions are available for University of Reading staff and to other Higher Education teachers. We also offer support student placements and all seeking to use original material in their dissertations.
To find out more and make a booking:
If you wish to teach with materials from more than one collection, then please use The MERL/Special Collections booking form.
Other Museums and Collections
From the history of Typography through to 300,000 specimens of plants and fauna, our teaching collections form a nationally authoritative resource that can support teaching in many ways. Please contact the individual curators to learn more about can be offered.
Museum Studies
Our Museum Studies programme is nationally acclaimed and gives students a unique chance to combine a heritage qualification with Archaeology or Classics at an undergraduate level.
Doctoral Training programme
Our nationally distinctive postgraduate training provides an outstanding pathway to a PhD, and is underpinned by a focus on museum and archives skills training.