PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION
PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION
Programme title:
MSc in Environmental Archaeology
Final award (BSc, MA etc):
MSc
(where stopping off points exist they should be
detailed here and defined later in the document)
UCAS code:
NA
(where applicable)
Cohort(s) to which this programme
specification is applicable:
From 2008 intake
(e.g. from 2015 intake onwards)
Awarding institution/body:
University College London
Teaching institution:
University College London
Faculty:
Social and Historical Sciences
Parent Department:
Institute of Archaeology
(the department responsible for the administration of
the programme)
Departmental web page address:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/masters/
(if applicable)
Method of study:
Full-time or part-time
Full-time/Part-time/Other
Criteria for admission to the
programme:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate-study/
Length of the programme:
1 calendar year full-time
2 calendar years part-time
(please note any periods spent away from UCL, such
as study abroad or placements in industry)
Level on Framework for Higher
Education Qualifications (FHEQ)
(see Guidance notes)
Relevant subject benchmark statement
(SBS)
LEVEL 7
NA
(see Guidance notes)
Brief outline of the structure of the
programme
and
its
assessment
methods:
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/studying/masters/degrees
(see guidance notes)
Board of Examiners:
Name of Board of Examiners:
Archaeology
Professional body accreditation
(if applicable):
NA
Date of next scheduled
accreditation visit:
EDUCATIONAL AIMS OF THE PROGRAMME:
The aims of the course are:
1. To provide participants with a theoretical understanding of research questions and methodologies in the
study past human-environment interactions
2. To provide participants taking the MSc qualification with training in research methods relevant to
environmental archaeology, including general familiarity with evidence from archaeobotany,
archaeozoology and geoarchaeology.
3. To provide practical training in laboratory practice of at least one environmental archaeological science
(archaeozoology, geoarchaeology or archaeobotany)
4. To enable degree holders to pursue specialized research on archaeological data relating to past
environments and/or subsistence.
PROGRAMME OUTCOMES:
The programme provides opportunities for students to develop and demonstrate knowledge and understanding,
qualities, skills and other attributes in the following areas:
A: Knowledge and understanding
Knowledge and understanding of:
The archaeological evidence of
environmental change
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
Lectures and seminars
Structured reading
Temporal and spatial patterns and
processes community ecology, landscape
change and agricultural systems
Evolutionary background for
understanding human adaptation and
culture
Assessment:
Written essays
Dissertation
B: Skills and other attributes
Intellectual (thinking) skills:
How to organize and conduct research in
environmental archaeology
Critical evaluation of primary and
secondary sources of evidence in
geoarchaeology, archaezoology and
archaeobotany
Application of anthropological and
archaeological method and theory to
individual case studies
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
Seminars
Structured reading
Supervised dissertation work
Assessment:
Essays
Dissertation
C: Skills and other attributes
Practical skills (able to):
Practical experience in laboratory analysis
of samples of at least one of the following:
identification
of
animal
bones,
identification of plant macro-remains,
sedimentological analyses
To understand stratigraphic formation
processes and their implications for
developing sampling strategies
Collect
and
analyze
appropriate methods
data
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
Practical lab sessions, together with
Structured reading
Object handling
Field visits to sites
using
Report scientific results to publication
standards
Transferable skills (able to):
Develop, conduct, and manage extended
programmes of research
Make clear oral and written reports of work
done
[part of each of the practical options of which one is
required]
Assessment:
Dissertation
Practical lab projects
And/or practical exam
D: Skills and other attributes
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
Seminar instruction and discussion
Feedback on essays and dissertation
Oral examination
Guidance on dissertation analysis
Use of computers in analysis and writing
report
Critically evaluate ideas
hypotheses in a formal way
and
test
Assessment:
Essays
Dissertation
Oral examination
The following reference points were used in designing the programme:
 the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications:
(http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/qualifications-frameworks.pdf);
 the relevant Subject Benchmark Statements:
(http://www.qaa.ac.uk/assuring-standards-and-quality/the-quality-code/subject-benchmark-statements);
 the programme specifications for UCL degree programmes in relevant subjects (where applicable);
 UCL teaching and learning policies;
 staff research.
Please note: This specification provides a concise summary of the main features of the programme and the
learning outcomes that a typical student might reasonably be expected to achieve and demonstrate if he/she takes
full advantage of the learning opportunities that are provided. More detailed information on the learning outcomes,
content and teaching, learning and assessment methods of each course unit/module can be found in the
departmental course handbook. The accuracy of the information contained in this document is reviewed annually
by UCL and may be checked by the Quality Assurance Agency.
Programme Organiser(s)
Dr Michele Wollstonecroft
Name(s):
Date of Production:
02-02-2007
Date of Review:
October 2015
Date approved by Chair of
Departmental Teaching
Committee:
Date approved by Faculty
Teaching Committee
October 2015
October 2015