Master of Science by Coursework in Archaeological Science
Differences from 2022/23 to 2023/24
1.
WithinThethe Division of Social Sciences, the courseprogramme shall beadministeredunderbythe supervision of the Graduate Studies Committee of the School of Archaeology.The regulations made are as follows:2. Each candidate will be
Candidates for admission must applyrequired tothe School of Archaeology.3.Candidates mustfollow a course of instruction in Archaeological Science forat leastthree termsandfull-time.- 3.
forCandidatesawillsubstantialcompleteparttwo of the following threesubsequent vacationsmodules,aseachdeterminedassessed bythe course timetable. 4.Thewritten examinationshallinconsistearlyofTrinity term:(
ai) Principles and practice of scientific dating- (ii)
threeBio-archaeology - (iii)
papersMaterialsonanalysis and thesyllabus described in the Schedule, to be taken as written examinations in the second weekstudy ofTrinitytechnologicalTerm,andchange
(b)4.exceptCandidateswherewillcandidatescompletetake an option in lieueither:- (
see section (c)a)oneOne pre-set essay as set out in the Course Handbook of no more than 8,000 words, the subject and length of which must be submitted for approval to the Chair of Examinersby noon onthe FridayTuesday oftheweeksixth week0 ofHilaryTrinityTerm.term AND the third module listed in clause 3, assessed by written examination in early Trinity term; or - (b)
CandidatesOnemust upload theirpre-set essaytoas set out in theUniversityCourseapprovedHandbookonlineofassessmentnoplatformmore than 4,000 words by noon onthe MondayTuesday offirstweekweek0 of TrinityTerm.termEssaysANDmust bear the candidate's examination number but not his or her name, and must include a statement of the number of words. (c)submitin lieu of one of the three papers described in the Schedule, candidates may, with the permission of the School of Archaeology's Graduate Studies Committee, take one of the options from the MSc in Archaeology or MSc in Classical Archaeology (Schedule B only), to be examined bytwo pre-set essays,(each of no more than 5,000 words.)Candidatesasmustsetuploadouttheir essays toin theUniversityCourseapproved online assessment platformHandbook, by noon onthe MondayTuesday offirstweekweek0 of TrinityTerm.term onCandidates taking such an option would be examined on one pre-set essay of no more than 5,000 words oneither:- (i) a
topicmodule offered and available from List B inArchaeologicalanySciencesubjectin lieustream of therequirements laid outMSc in Archaeology, or - (
bii)abovea module offered and available from Schedule C of the MSt in Classical Archaeology.
- (i) a
- (
5.
Each candidateCandidates willbe required to submitcomplete a dissertation of no more than 16,000 words, (excluding bibliography and/or catalogues),on aresearchtopicarea selected in consultationagreed withthetheir supervisorand approved by a person designated for this purpose by the Chair of Examiners for Archaeological Science.ProposedThetitlesdissertation must be submittedfor approval to the Chair of Examinersby noon on theFridayfirst Tuesday ofthe sixth week of Hilary TermSeptember.6.
Candidates must upload their dissertation to the University approved online assessment platform no later than noon on the Friday four weeks and two days before the start of the following Michaelmas Term.With respect toAll essays anddissertations, onlythefile submitted via the approved assessment platform constitutes a valid submission; no concomitant hard-copy submissiondissertation must be submittedforusinganythepurpose.UniveristyEachapproved online submissionmustsystem.beTechnicalaccompaniedinformationbyonathedeclarationrequirementsindicatingforthatonlineitsubmissions is provided in thecandidate'sCourseown workHandbook.7. The examiners may require to see the records of practical work carried out during the course.
8. Candidates must present themselves for an oral examination
This may be on one of the candidate's written papers, or dissertation, or both.9.In the case of failure in just one part of the examination (written papers, extended essay(s), dissertation), the candidate will be permitted to retake that part of the examination on one further occasion, not later than one year after the initial attempt. Written papers would be retaken the following year. Pass or failure in the written papers will be taken as an average of all written papers and in the case of failure all written papers must be retaken. If the candidate passes all parts of the examination except the dissertation, the dissertation may be considered as a practical report as defined in the schedule for the MSc and, if of a sufficiently high standard, the candidate may be granted permission to supplicate for the degree of MSc.
Schedule
(i)Principles and practice of scientific datingThe principles of scientific dating methods including radiocarbon, luminescence, uranium series and dendro-chronology. The practical aspects of these methods and the problems encountered in their application. The statistical analysis of chronological information in the study of archaeological sites and cultures.(ii)Bio-archaeologyScientific methods for the study of biological remains from archaeological sites; introduction to the analysis of plant and faunal remains including indicators of disease and artefactual analysis; theoretical and practical aspects of quantitative methods for diet reconstruction by isotopic analysis; introduction to ancient DNA studies; residue analysis.(iii)Materials analysis and the study of technological changeIntroduction to the history of technology; theoretical and practical aspects of materials analysis methods—SEM, microprobe, TIMS, ICP, ICP-MS, XRF, XRD, PIXE, FTIR, and NAA; application of analysis to different material types—stone, ceramics, vitreous materials and metals; provenance of raw materials; case studies of application to archaeological problems.