Master of Studies in Classical Archaeology

Differences from 2017/18 to 2023/24

  • 1. WithinThe the Division of Social Sciences, the courseprogramme shall be administered byunder the supervision of the Graduate Studies Committee forof the School of Archaeology. The regulations made are as follows:

     
  • 2. Each candidate will be Candidates for admission must applyrequired to the Committee for the School of Archaeology. They will be required to produce evidence of their appropriate qualifications for the proposed course, including their suitable proficiency in relevant ancient or modern languages.

  • 3. Candidates must follow for three terms a course of instruction in Classical Archaeology for three terms full-time.

      
  • 43. The registration of candidatesCandidates will lapse on the last day of the Trinity Term in the academic year of their admission, unless it shall have been extended by the committee.

  • 5. The written examination shall comprise three subjects:

    • (a ) one subject oncomplete a periodmodule selected from Schedule A belowas set out in the Course Handbook, to be examinedassessed by written paper;

      examination at the end of Trinity term.
    • (b4. )Candidates will  two subjects selected from Schedules A–C [not more than one subject may normally be taken from Schedule C] examined bysubmit two pre-set essays (each of no more than 5,000 words) on a module from Schedule B as set out in the Course Handbook, by noon on Tuesday of week 0 of Hilary term.

       
    • 5. Candidates will submit either: 
      • (a) Two pre-set essays (each of no more than 5,000 words) as set out in the Course Handbook, by noon on Tuesday of week 0 of Trinity term on either: 
        • (i) a module offered and available from Schedule C as set out in the Course Handbook of the MSt in Classical Archaeology, or 
        • (ii) a module offered and available from List B in any subject stream of the MSc in Archaeology, or
        • (iii) a module offered and available for the MSc in Archaeology Science. 
    • or
      • In lieu of one of the subjects in (b ) above,With M.St. (but not normally M.Phil.) candidates may offer, with the permission of the committeeGraduate Studies Committee, a dissertation of notno more than 10,000 words (excludingon bibliography and descriptive catalogue or similar factual matter, but including notes and appendices).

      • Thea topic ofagreed thewith dissertation must be approved by the candidate’stheir supervisor and by the School of Archaeology Committee for Graduate Studies. The topic of the dissertation must be clearly distinct from the pre-set essay titles. The dissertation must be the work of the candidate alone, and aid from others must be limited to prior discussion of the subject, bibliographic advice, help with access to study material and advice on presentation. The dissertation must be a new piece of work, substantially different from any dissertation previously submitted by the candidate for a degree of this or another university. When the dissertation is submitted, it must be accompanied by a statement, signed by the candidate, confirming that these conditions have been met. The proposed title of the dissertation, countersigned by the supervisor, must be submitted for approval by the committee by noon on Tuesday of week 5 of Trinity term.

    • 6. With the Tuesdaypermission of the eighthGraduate weekStudies ofCommittee, candidates may substitute a module offered from Schedule C with a module offered for another relevant degree programme. 
    • 7.  All assessments must be submitted using the MichaelmasUniversity Fullapproved Termonline precedingsubmission thesystem. examination.  CandidatesTechnical must upload their dissertation to the Assignments section of the course WebLearn site no later than nooninformation on the Mondayrequirements offor theonline fifthsubmissions weekis of Trinity Full Term and should bear the candidate's examination number but not his or her name. 

    Schedule A: Periods

    Aegean Area, 2000-1100 BC

    Early Iron Age Greece, 1200-700 BC

    Archaic, 800-480 BC

    Classical, 500-300 BC

    Hellenistic, 330-30 BC

    Late Republican, 200-30 BC

    Early Imperial, 30 BC-AD 120

    Middle Imperial, AD 70-250

    Late Antiquity, AD 280-650

    Byzantine, AD 600-1453

    Schedule B: Subjects

    Aegean Bronze Age trade: interaction and identities

    Aegean Bronze Age Scripts

    Aegean Bronze Age religion

    Topics in Aegean Prehistory

    Aegean and the East, 1200-600 BC

    Burials, settlements, and society in Early Greece, 1200-650 BC

    Archaeology of the Early Greek polis, 800-450 BC

    Early Ionia, 1000-450 BC

    Etruscan Italy

    Greek sculpture

    Greek vases

    Achaeology of Athens and Attica 600-50 BC

    The archaeology of ancient Macedonia, 600-100 BC

    Greek funerary archaeology, 600-100 BC

    Archaeology of Greek women

    Greek coinage

    Greek and Roman wallpainting

    Roman sculpture

    Historical narrative in Hellenistic and Roman art

    Problems and methods in ancient art-history

    Roman architecture

    Topography of Rome (This may be taken in conjunction with the British School at Rome taught course only if accepted by the British School at Rome on its programme, and it involves attendance at the residential course organised by the British School at Rome in Rome.)

    Pompeii and Ostia

    Greek and Roman housing

    Archaeology of the Roman economy

    The archaeology of Roman urban systems

    Roman North Africa

    Landscape archaeologyprovided in the GreekCourse and Roman world

    Maritime archaeology of the Greek and Roman Mediterranean

    Myth in Greek and Roman Art

    Roman Britain

    Roman coinage

    Byzantine Constantinople

    Late Roman and Byzantine mosaics and painting

    Late Roman and Byzantine architecture

    History of collections: classical art

    Roman Portraits

    Roman Provincial Art

    Schedule C: Other subjectsHandbook. 

    Any subject offered in the M.St. in Archaeology, Byzantine Studies, Greek and/or Latin Languages and Literature, Greek and Roman History, History of Art, Women’s Studies.

    Candidates may apply for other subjects, to be taken under Schedule B, to be approved by the committee, which shall define their scope and inform both the candidate and the examiners of this definition in writing.

    Not all subjects may be available in any one year.

    • 6. Candidates will be expected to show a general knowledge of Ancient History and Geography, so far as they are concerned with their periods and subjects.

    • 78. Candidates must present themselves for an oral examination as required by the examiners.

    • 8. The period and subjects to be offered by candidates and their chosen method of examination, duly approved by their supervisors, must be submitted for approval to the committee in time for its meeting in eighth week of the Michaelmas Full Term preceding the examination. Notice of options to be offered by candidates must be given to the Registrar not later than Friday of the eighth week of that same term.

    • 9. Candidates offering pairs of pre-set essays will propose essay topics in consultation with their supervisor or relevant course provider. The proposed essay titles, countersigned by the supervisor, must be submitted for approval of the Chair of Examiners by no later than noon on Friday of the seventh week of the term in which the instruction for that subject is given. Candidates must upload their preset essays to the Assignments section of the course WebLearn site no later than noon on Monday of the first week of the term following that in which the instruction for that subject was given. Essays should bear the candidate's examination number but not his or her name. 

    • With respect to preset essays and theses, only the file submitted via WebLearn constitutes a valid submission, no concomitant hard-copy submission may be submitted for any purpose.  Each submission must be accompanied by a declaration indicating that it is the candidates's own work. 

    • 10. The examiners may award a distinction for excellence in the whole examination.

    • 11. In the case of failure in just one part of the examination, 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.