INSTITUTE OF ARCHAEOLOGY
MA in the ARCHAEOLOGY OF EGYPT & THE NEAR EAST
Degree Programme Handbook 2015-16
Programme Co-ordinator: Professor David Wengrow
tel: 020 7679 4720 e-mail: d.wengrow@ucl.ac.uk
Room 601
INTRODUCTION
This is the Handbook for the MA degree programme in Archaeology of Egypt and the Near East. It outlines the aims and
objectives, structure and content of the degree, and includes outlines of the core course and of the most relevant options
available this year.
This Handbook should be used alongside the MA/MSc Handbook, which contains information about all MA and MSc
degrees, and options within them, being taught this year. Students should consult that Handbook if they need information
about an option outside those normally offered within the present programme. The MA/MSc Handbook gives essential
information on a range of topics, from enrolment to guidance on the dissertation, so students should ensure that they read
it carefully. Distributed along with the MA/MSc Handbook are maps of the College precinct and surrounding area of
London, the complete MA/MSc teaching timetable and the list of Personal Tutors to MA and MSc students. Students
should consult this list to find out who is to be their Personal Tutor for the year, and students should make contact with
them soon after their arrival to arrange a meeting.
Degree handbooks, administrative forms, and further information about timetables, marking criteria, Turnitin, and the
Dissertation can all be found on the Institute’s Student Wiki for Masters, accessed from the IoA homepage (click
‘Intranet’ in top left menu, followed by ID and password, which will take you through to the main menu, where you click
‘For Masters Students’).
If students have queries about the organisation, objectives, structure, content or assessment of the degree, they should
consult the Degree Co-ordinator.
AIMS, OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES OF THE DEGREE
Aims
The main aims of the degree programme are:
• to provide a wide-ranging and challenging induction into theoretical and substantive issues in the study of the
Egypt and the Near East, from early prehistory to the end of the Iron Age
• to develop a long-term, comparative perspective on the archaeology of the region
• to situate its changing interregional relationships over time within broader frameworks of culture history and social
analysis
• to provide opportunities for close, first-hand study of material culture from the study region
• to approach these goals from the perspective of current archaeological methods and theory, with an emphasis
upon the role of archaeology as a comparative, anthropologically informed, and socially situated discipline
• to foster the ability to develop original research questions appropriate to the study region, and to explore them
effectively through independent research
• to provide training relevant to a professional career in archaeology
• to provide a strong background for continuing on to a research degree in the archaeology of one or more parts of
the study region
Objectives
These aims are pursued through core courses designed to provide a solid understanding of the history, theories and
methods of archaeology, both globally and with special regard to the study region. In addition, a range of options is
provided from which students can define an individual pathway through the programme, tailored to their specific interests
and personal educational objectives. All students undertake a supervised research project leading to a 15,000 word
dissertation, which enables them to develop specific practical analytical and interpretive skills as well as broader research
skills.
On successful completion of this course a student should:
• have familiarised themselves with major, current issues of interpretation in the archaeology of the study region,
and their historical and intellectual background
• be able to apply comparative and anthropological perspectives to the study of these issues
• have a sense of the long-term history of the study region, including changing patterns of interaction from
prehistory to the present
• developed their critical faculties in discussion, debate, and evaluation of alternative interpretations and
perspectives on archaeological data
• acquired a range of subject-specific skills relevant to their further development
• developed a range of research-oriented skills appropriate to the archaeology of the Egypt and the Near East
• carried through a substantial programme of independent research embodied in a dissertation on some aspect of
the archaeology of the study region, demonstrating both theoretical understanding and practical competence in
archaeological analysis and interpretation
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students should be able to demonstrate:
• advanced critical analysis of field studies and archaeological interpretations
• ability to compare and analyse data across traditional regional and disciplinary boundaries
• deployment of archaeological data to answer questions of wider anthropological and historical significance
• written, oral and visual skills in analysis and presentation
It is fully appreciated that no student will have a detailed command of the archaeology of the entire study region, and this
is not an aim of the degree programme. The emphasis throughout is on a) developing issues which are more productively
addressed in a comparative framework than through regionally isolated studies; b) exploring the potential of interdisciplinary and cross-cultural perspectives for future, innovative work within the archaeology of the regions concerned,
including doctoral research.
PROGRAMME STRUCTURE
The degree is available either full-time over one academic year or part-time over two academic years (commencing
September). It comprises three core courses (15 credits each), three further option courses (totalling 45 credits) chosen
by the student in consultation with the degree coordinator, plus a dissertation of 15,000 words prepared on a germane
topic, with guidance from an assigned supervisor.
Core Course:
All students must take the following:
• Archaeology of Egypt and the Near East: a Comparative Approach (ARCLG313; 15 credits; 11 weeks)
• Themes, Thought and Theory in World Archaeology: Foundations (ARCLG193; 15 credits; 11weeks)
And one of the following:
• Society and Culture in ancient Egypt (ARCLG226, 15 credits, 11 weeks)
• Near Eastern Material Cultures I: Neolithic and Early Bronze Age (ARCLG269, 15 credits, 11 weeks)
• Near Eastern Material Cultures II: Middle Bronze Age through the Iron Age (ARCLG270, 15 credits, 11 weeks)
Option Courses:
From an outstanding range of Master course options, students choose options worth 45 units of credit (usually three 15credit courses, but alternatively one 30-credit and one 15-credit course). At least two options should normally be taken
from the following list. Subject to prior approval by the degree coordinators, a third can be taken from the overall spectrum
of options available at the UCL Institute of Archaeology or more widely within UCL and the University of London, including
the UCL History Department, the School of Oriental and African Studies, and King’s College London.
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Intangible Dimensions of Museum Objects from Egypt (ARCLG342, 15 credits, 11 weeks)
Evolution of Palaeolithic and Neolithic Societies in the Near East (ARCLG181, 15 credits, 11 weeks)
Near Eastern Material Cultures I: Neolithic and Early Bronze Age (ARCLG269, 15 credits, 11 weeks)
Near Eastern Material Cultures II: Middle Bronze Age through the Iron Age (ARCLG270, 15 credits, 11 weeks)
Egyptian Archaeology: An Object-Based Theoretic Approach (ARCLG200, 30 credits, 22 weeks)
Society and Culture in ancient Egypt (ARCLG226, 15 credits, 11 weeks)
Middle Egyptian language (ARCLG328, 15 credits, 11 weeks)
Coptic language and culture (ARCLG332, 15 credits, 11 weeks, offered triannually)
Archaeologies of Asia (ARCLG274, 15 credits, 11 weeks)
Mediterranean Prehistory (ARCLG205, 15 credits, 11 weeks; if not taken as a core course)
Mediterranean Dynamics (ARCLG206; 15 credits; 11 weeks)
The Aegean from First Farmers to Minoan States (ARCLG195, 15 credits, 11 weeks)
The Late Bronze Age Aegean (ARCLG196, 15 credits, 11 weeks)
The Mediterranean World in the Iron Age (ARCLG202, 15 credits, 11 weeks; if not taken as a core course)
Ancient Cyprus: Colonizations, Copper and City-states (by arrangement with King’s College)
Climate Change and Human Responses in Holocene Africa (ARCLG230, 15 credits, 11 weeks)
Beyond Chiefdoms: Archaeologies of African political complexity (ARCLG225, 15 credits, 11 weeks)
Subject to availability, students on this course may also take the following options in UCL's Department of Ancient
History:
• Continuity and change in the Ancient Near East, Part 1: The Assyrian and Babylonian Empires (15 credits, 11
weeks)
• Continuity and change in the Ancient Near East, Part 2: The Achaemenid and Seleucid Empires (15 credits, 11
weeks)
Dissertation:
(90 credits) A dissertation of 15,000 words (90 credits) will be prepared by the student on a suitable topic, resulting from
individual research in depth with guidance from an assigned supervisor. Dissertations will vary considerably but typically
develop the intellectual, methodological and comparative aspects of a question and combine this with an in-depth
analysis of the rich data furnished by the main study region. Approaches that break new ground or explore new
connections or comparisons are strongly encouraged. The dissertation should be submitted by 15 September 2016.
Guidelines for researching, writing and producing the dissertation are included in the MA/MSc Handbook and on the
Institute Wiki for Masters Students.
TEACHING SCHEDULE
Taught courses are normally timetabled in the first two terms, though assessed work may be scheduled for submission in
the third term, depending on which options have been selected. Full details of the timetable for each course are included
in the course handout. Students are expected to use the remaining months to work on their dissertation.
If they are pursuing the degree on a part-time basis, students will normally be expected to take two full elements (which
will normally include the core course) in the first year and the remaining element in the second. They must agree their
choice of courses with the Degree Co-ordinator. They may start work on the dissertation at the same time as full-time
students, or they may wish to start later; either way they should consult the Degree Co-ordinator, and their Dissertation
Supervisor, once the latter has been appointed.
TEACHING METHODS
Courses on Masters' programmes are usually taught through seminars, though depending on the course, lecturing may
also be involved (see above, Programme Structure). Some courses will also have associated practicals (i.e. hands-on
sessions with archaeological materials) or field trips. These may be organized at the discretion of individual teachers,
where they are deemed necessary or advantageous for the attainment of teaching objectives.
Seminars are run differently by different Course Co-ordinators, but all have weekly recommended readings, which
students will be expected to have done, to be able fully to follow and actively to contribute to discussion. In some cases,
students may be asked to present their views on a particular text or body of material, or to prepare short exercises (nonexamined) in advance of the seminar.
PREREQUISITES
Courses for Masters programmes do not have prerequisites; students will have been accepted to the programme on the
understanding that they already have sufficient background in archaeology or a relevant field, either through their
previous degree, or through relevant experience, to be able to follow the programme and courses for which they have
been accepted. If, however, students wish to change their programme, or the courses in which they indicated an interest
in enrolling in, in their application, they should discuss this with the relevant Degree and Course Co-ordinators.
For some courses, depending on the student's previous background, it may be recommended that they also attend (but
will not be assessed for) a parallel undergraduate lecture course, to ensure that they have the background to get the most
out of the Masters level seminars.
DEGREE ASSESSMENT
The Board of Examiners normally meets in November. At that time students who have completed all elements may be
recommended for the award of a degree.
Degree results will be graded as a Distinction, Pass or Fail. The requirements for each grade are as follows:
DISTINCTION:
The mark for the dissertation must be 70% or higher, the weighted arithmetic mean of the marks for all elements (the
taught elements and the dissertation) must be 70% or higher, and the mark for at least one whole element or two half
elements must be 70% or higher.
PASS:
The mark for the dissertation must be 50% or higher, the mark for at least 75% of the taught elements must be 50% or
higher and the mark for the remaining taught elements must be 40% or higher. (In other words, fail marks in the range 4049% in up to 25% of the taught elements are condoned.)
FAIL:
The mark for the dissertation is less than 50%, the mark for more than 25% of the taught elements is less than 50% or
the mark for any element is less than 40%.
If a candidate fails to pass in one or more elements (course or dissertation), they may re-enter for the failed element(s)
the following year. Only one re-entry per element is permitted.
The core course contributes 2/9 of the overall mark, as does each full option element, while the dissertation contributes
3/9.
COURSEWORK
Method of Assessment
This varies from course to course, but is always set out in the relevant course handout. Each whole element is normally
assessed by means of a total of 8000 words of coursework (or its equivalent in other forms of assessment). The nature
and deadlines of individual assessments are defined in the handouts of the individual courses, available from the relevant
Course Co-ordinator. If students are unclear about the nature of an assignment, they should contact the Course Coordinator. The Course Co-ordinator will be willing to discuss an outline of their approach to the assessment, provided this
is planned suitably in advance of the submission date.
Originality
All work submitted as part of the requirements for any examination (which includes all assessed work) of the University of
London must be expressed in the student's own words and incorporate their own ideas and judgements. Plagiarism is
defined as the presentation of another person's thoughts or words as though they are one's own. Plagiarism constitutes
an examination offence under the University Regulations and students found to have committed plagiarism may be
excluded from all further examinations of the University and/or College. ANY QUOTATION FROM THE PUBLISHED OR
UNPUBLISHED WORKS OF OTHER PERSONS MUST BE IDENTIFIED AS SUCH BY PLACING THE QUOTE IN
QUOTATION MARKS, AND THE SOURCE OF THE QUOTATION MUST BE REFERENCED APPROPRIATELY. The
concept of plagiarism also includes self-plagiarism, which is the extensive use of the same sources and materials in more
than one piece of assessed coursework, submitted for the same or for other courses taken as part of the degree. To
avoid charges of plagiarism or collusion, students must always ensure that their submitted work is their own. They should
not lend essays or essay drafts to other students because they might be penalised if the other student copies the work
and submits it as their own. If students are unclear about the definition of plagiarism, they should review the notes on
plagiarism and examples of good and bad practice with respect to sources, included in the MA/MSc Handbook, and
consult their Degree Co-ordinator or Personal Tutor.
Although each course is assessed independently of other courses, students should take care to ensure that the same or
very similar work is not submitted for assessment more than once during their study for this degree. Failure to do so
could result in a reduction of their overall mark. If students are in any doubt, they should seek advice from the Degree
Co-ordinator, or the relevant Course Co-ordinator.
It is important that students reference their sources of information as accurately and as fully as possible. If a student
summarises another person's ideas or judgements, or reproduces their figures or diagrams, a reference must be made in
the text (using the Harvard convention) and all works referred to must be documented in full in a bibliography.
Referencing styles are outlined in the MA/MSc Handbook.
Presentation
Essays and other assessed work must be word-processed (unless otherwise specified) and should be printed on one side
of the paper, using 1.5 or double line spacing. Adequate margins should be left for written comments by the examiner.
Students are encouraged to use diagrams and/or tables where appropriate. These should be clearly referred to at the
appropriate point in the text, and if derived from another source, this must be clearly acknowledged. Students should
adhere to word limits on essays; they are intended to help ensure equality of workloads between courses as well as to
encourage the useful transferable skills of clearly structured argumentation and succinct writing. Course Co-ordinators
may apply penalties for overlength work; please see the individual course handbooks for details of this.
Bibliographical references in essays and dissertations should be presented according to the UCL house style, detailed of
which—and further advice on presentation of written work—can be found at:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/handbook/common/index.htm
UCL has published guidelines on the use of non-discriminatory language which apply to students as well as staff. You are
reminded, in particular, to avoid the use of gender-biased terms in your written work.
Submission of Coursework
Students are required to submit hard copy of all coursework to the course co-ordinator’s pigeon hole via the Red Essay
Box at Reception by the appropriate deadline. The coursework must be stapled to a completed blue coversheet (available
from the web, from outside Room 411A or from the IoA library)
If students are ill or have serious personal or family difficulties, they must complete an Extension Request Form (ERF)
(copies available from room 411A) and obtain the approval and signature of both the Personal/Degree Tutor and the
Course Co-ordinator. ERFs should normally be accompanied by a medical certificate or other documentation justifying
the circumstances (e.g. a note from their Personal Tutor or Degree Co-ordinator). Please note that new, stringent
penalties for late submission have been introduced UCL-wide from 2010-11. Late submission will be penalized in
accordance with these regulations unless permission has been granted and an Extension Request Form (ERF)
completed.
Date-stamping will be via ‘Turnitin’ (see below), so in addition to submitting hard copy, students must also submit their
work to Turnitin by midnight on the day of the deadline for each piece of work.
Students who encounter technical problems submitting their work to Turnitin should email the nature of the problem to
ioa-turnitin@ucl.ac.uk in advance of the deadline in order that the Turnitin Advisers can notify the Course Co-ordinator
that it may be appropriate to waive the late submission penalty.
If there is any other unexpected crisis on the submission day, students should telephone or (preferably) e-mail the Course
Co-ordinator, and follow this up with a completed ERF
Turnitin
In addition to providing date-stamping, Turnitin’s primary function is to scan work for evidence of plagiarism. This system
gives access to billions of sources worldwide, including websites and journals, as well as work previously submitted to the
Department, UCL and other universities.
In common with most other UCL Departments, the Institute now uses this system for all assessed coursework for taught
courses. Students submit hard copy of coursework in the normal way, but are also required to submit each piece
electronically to Turnitin, which should be done before submission of the copy to be marked. The declaration that
students sign on coursework coversheets includes a statement confirming that the work has been submitted to Turnitin.
Unless instructed otherwise, all work must be submitted to Turnitin. Work which is not submitted to Turnitin will be
subject to late submission penalties except in cases where the Turnitin Advisers have been notified of a technical
problem.
A training session will take place in the first week of term, at which the procedures will be explained to new students, and
you will be provided with the Turnitin code and password for submitting coursework for each course. The full content of
the training sessions is given on the Institute Intranet
Turnitin can be used to help you improve you work and avoid inadvertent plagiarism. In advance of submitting your
coursework for marking you may, if you wish, run your work through the system in order to obtain a report on the
originality of the wording and then make any necessary adjustments prior to final submission. Turnitin advisors will be
available to help you via email: ioa-turnitin@ucl.ac.uk if you need help generating or interpreting the reports.
It is important to recognise that the final decision about whether work contains plagiarism rests with academic staff.
Consequently, the presence or absence of matches in a Turnitin report does not, by itself, provide a guarantee that the
work in question either contains or is free from plagiarism.
Details of penalties for late submission and use of Turnitin plagiarism software, and further details on coursework
submission, can be found on the Institute Wiki for Masters Students.
Grading
The grading system for coursework is set out in the MA/MSc Handbook and is summarised on the blue coursework
coversheets. Every effort will be made to return assessed work within two weeks of the submission date. The mark
given by the initial examiner (prior to return) is a provisional assessment for the student's guidance, and may be modified
after assessment by the second internal examiner or by the External Examiner. Marking criteria are also detailed on the
Institute Wiki.
Timescale for return of marked coursework to students.
You can expect to receive your marked work within four calendar weeks of the official submission deadline. If you do not
receive your work within this period, or a written explanation from the marker, you should notify the IoA’s Academic
Administrator, Judy Medrington.
Word-length
Strict regulations with regard to word-length have been introduced UCL-wide. If your work is found to be between 10%
and 20% longer than the official limit you mark will be reduced by 10%, subject to a minimum mark of a minimum pass,
assuming that the work merited a pass. If your work is more than 20% over-length, a mark of zero will be recorded.
The following should not be included in the word-count: bibliography, appendices, and tables, graphs and illustrations
and their captions. Again full details are on the Student Wiki.
Re-submission of Coursework
Students are not normally permitted to re-write and re-submit essays in order to try to improve their marks. However, in
exceptional circumstances and with the approval of their Degree Co-ordinator, they may if they wish, submit an additional
piece of coursework (on a new topic) to substitute for the first piece of written coursework submitted for their degree.'
Return of Coursework
All marked coursework must be returned to the Course Co-ordinator within two weeks of its return to students, so that it
can be second-marked, and is available to the Board of Examiners. Because assessed work forms part of the student's
permanent academic record, it needs to be retained until well after the completion of the degree. If work is not returned to
the Course Co-ordinator, the student will be deemed not to have completed the course. Students are strongly advised
always to keep a copy of all work, and to make a copy for retention of all work after it has been assessed and commented
upon by the first examiner, if they wish to make future reference to the comments on the work.
ORAL EXAMINATION
All Master's students are required to attend an oral examination, normally as part of their Disssertation assessment. This
th
will normally be held in late May or early June. By May 13 , 2016 students must have submitted to their Dissertation
Supervisor and Degree Programme Co-ordinator a single sheet of A4 summarising the proposed research design of their
dissertation to which they will speak. The oral examination will take place as a group session in which each student gives
a c.10 minute presentation in front of their peers, the Degree Co-ordinator and their Dissertation Supervisor. The floor will
then be opened to questions from both students and staff for a further 10 minutes. Following the presentation each
student will have a meeting with their Dissertation Supervisor to discuss further their Dissertation programme. No marks
are awarded for the oral examination; the assessment is satisfactory or unsatisfactory. In the event of a problem being
identified by the examiners of the Dissertation, students may be invited to attend a formal viva voce examination with the
External Examiner for the degree also in attendance. Part-time students and students on two-year MA programmes will
normally be required to give a Dissertation presentation (viva) in the year in which they are examined in the Dissertation.
COMMUNICATION AND MOODLE
The primary channel of communication within the Institute of Archaeology is e-mail. If you wish to be contacted on your
personal or work e-mail address, please arrange for e-mail sent to your UCL address to be forwarded to your other
address, since staff and other students will expect to be able to reach you through your College e-mail - which they can
find on the UCL web-site. Students must consult their e-mail regularly, as well as the student pigeon-holes in the
Basement Common Room for written communications. Please also ensure that you keep your contact details (especially
your telephone number) up to date on Portico, in case you need to be contacted.
The Middle East degree also makes use of UCL’s online teaching resource: ‘Moodle’. At the start of the course please log
on at: http://moodle.ucl.ac.uk/, and register for the course: ARCL G313: Archaeology of Egypt and the Near East – A
Comparative Approach. Once registered you will find online materials such as reading lists that are available to you
throughout your course, as well as links to important forms and documents. Moodle may also be used as a channel of
communication between you and the Course Coordinator, so it is important that all students register and make use of the
service.
ATTENDANCE
Registers will be taken at all classes, and Departments are required to report the attendance of each student to UCL
Registry at frequent intervals throughout each term. If you are unable to attend a class, please email the course coordinator to explain, in order to ensure that there is a record of the reasons for your absence.
It is a College regulation that attendance at lectures, seminars and practicals be monitored, and a register will be taken. A
70% minimum attendance at all scheduled sessions is required (excluding absences due to illness or other adverse
circumstances, provided that these are supported by medical certificates or other documentation, as appropriate).
Attendance is reported to College, becomes part of the student's academic record, and will be reported to their funding
agency if this information is requested. Students should also be aware that potential employers seeking references often
ask about attendance and other indications of reliability.
LIBRARIES AND OTHER RESOURCES
In addition to the Library of the Institute of Archaeology, other libraries in UCL with holdings of particular relevance to this
degree are:
Main Library (especially Ancient History section)
Science Library (especially Anthropology section)
SOAS Library
Libraries outside of UCL which have holdings which may also be relevant to this degree are:
British Library
British Museum Library
Egypt Exploration Society
Palestine Exploration Fund
HEALTH AND SAFETY
The Institute has a Health and Safety policy and code of practice which provides guidance on laboratory work, etc. This
is revised annually and the new edition will be issued in due course. All work undertaken in the Institute is governed by
these guidelines and students have a duty to be aware of them and to adhere to them at all times.
FEEDBACK
In trying to make this degree as effective as possible, we welcome feedback during the course of the year. Students will
be asked to fill-in Progress Forms at the end of each term, which the Degree Co-ordinator will discuss with them, which
include space for comment on each of their courses.
At the end of each course all students are asked to give their views on the course in an anonymous questionnaire, which
will be circulated at one of the last sessions of the course. These questionnaires are taken seriously and help the Course
Co-ordinator to develop the course. The summarised responses are considered by the Degree Co-ordinator, the
Institute's Staff-Student Consultative Committee, Teaching Committee, and by the Faculty Teaching Committee.
If students are concerned about any aspect of a specific course, we hope they will feel able to talk to the relevant Course
Co-ordinator, but if they feel this is not appropriate or have more general concerns, they should consult their Degree Coordinator, Personal Tutor, or the Graduate Tutor (Andrew Bevan). They may also consult the Academic Administrator
(Judy Medrington), the Chair of Teaching Committee (Karen Wright), or the Director (Sue Hamilton).