PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION
PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION
Programme title:
MA in the Archaeology of the Middle East
Final award (BSc, MA etc):
MA
(where stopping off points exist they should be
detailed here and defined later in the document)
UCAS code:
N/A
(where applicable)
Intake cohort(s) to which this
programme specification is applicable:
from session 2013-14 onwards
(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/
(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 year full-time, 2 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
N/A
(see guidance notes on programme specifications)
Brief outline of the structure of the
programme / its assessment:
(see guidance notes)
Board of Examiners:
Professional body accreditation
(if applicable):
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/archaeology/studying/masters/degrees/ma_
middle_east
Name of Board of Examiners:
MA in the Archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle
East.
N/A
Date of next scheduled
accreditation visit:
EDUCATIONAL AIMS OF THE PROGRAMME:
The aims of the programme are to broaden and deepen the student’s knowledge of the archaeology of the
Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, from the earliest human occupation of the region, through to the end
of the Bronze Age.
To achieve these aims, the programme’s objectives are:
1. To provide a wide-ranging and challenging introduction to theoretical issues involved in modern
archaeology as a comparative, anthropologically-informed, and socially-situated discipline, with particular
reference to the archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East.
2. To encourage a critically aware perspective on archaeological practice and research processes in Eastern
Mediterranean and Middle Eastern archaeology.
3. To provide an in-depth understanding of the approaches to the collection, analysis and interpretation of
archaeological data, with particular reference to data from or relevant to the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle
East.
4. To provide detailed study at the forefront of knowledge in the material culture and cultural dynamics of the
ancient East Mediterranean and Middle East, and critical debates in the archaeology of these regions.
5. To provide a sufficiently detailed understanding of archaeological data from the Eastern Mediterranean or
Middle East to serve as a basis for independent research.
6. To foster the ability to develop original research questions, appropriate to the Eastern Mediterranean and
Middle East, and to explore them effectively through research.
7. To provide training relevant to a professional career in the archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean or
Middle East.
8. To provide a strong background for continuing on to a research degree in the archaeology of the Eastern
Mediterranean or Middle East.
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:
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
1. The history, theories and methods of
archaeology, with particular reference to
the archaeology of the Eastern
Mediterranean and Middle East.
2. The theories used within archaeology
for the interpretation of archaeological
data, and the reconstruction of past
behaviour.
3. The methods used to acquire and
interpret a wide variety of archaeological
data.
4. How to evaluate, interpret and assess
interpretations of archaeological evidence
critically.
5. How to synthesise evidence of
different kinds (e.g. cultural, biological,
environmental), in the reconstruction of
past cultures and behaviour.
6. How to identify and interpret relevant
material culture.
7. How to locate and use research
resources (e.g. material collections,
archival documentation, on-line and
printed resources).
Students will acquire 1-5 through lectures, seminars
and directed reading. Students will learn through
the directed readings and their discussion, but also
from staff and their peers during seminars, as those
primarily familiar with the archaeology of specific
sub-regions contribute their understanding of
particular issues, as they have been explored and
developed within the areas of their developing
expertise.
6 will be addressed through seminars and artefact
handling sessions.
7 will be addressed in the initial orientation
sessions, and reinforced through guidance for work
for seminars, written assessments, practical
sessions with artefactual materials, and the
supervision of dissertation research.
Assessment:
Knowledge and understanding will be assessed
through the written essays, which are returned with
comments and suggestions for improvement, where
appropriate. The oral examination provides an
additional context for formative feedback and
advice.
B: Skills and other attributes
Intellectual (thinking) skills:
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
1. Discuss critically and effectively
archaeological analyses and
interpretations.
2. Explore and assess alternative
interpretations of archaeological
evidence.
3. Assimilate, assess and synthesise
diverse arguments.
4. Develop an understanding of how
different types of archaeological data
contribute to an understanding of past
societies.
5. Develop an understanding of how
contemporary written documents and
artistic media can be interpreted and can
contribute to an understanding of past
societies.
6. Develop an understanding of how
archaeological, textual and
iconographical evidence can be
integrated to contribute to an
understanding of past societies.
7. Link theoretical arguments to
archaeological data in original
interpretations.
8. Identify ethnocentric bias in the
interpretation of evidence, to develop
understandings of the behaviours of
individuals in other cultures.
1 to 8 will be developed through structured seminar
discussions, and individual feedback sessions on
written work.
Assessment:
1 to 5 will be assessed through written work and the
dissertation, as appropriate.
Presentations and participation in seminars are not
assessed, but comments and discussion by staff
and peers provide feedback on the understanding
of the issues presented, and the balanced
assessment and presentation of debates and
alternative perspectives.
C: Skills and other attributes
Practical skills - able to:
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
1. Communicate effectively in writing,
including the effective use of illustrative
and tabular material to support arguments
and analyses.
2. Use data bases, digital resources and
word-processing programmes effectively.
4. Give seminar presentations on a
variety of topics, ranging from the
theoretical to the empirical.
5. Listen, assess and discuss ideas
introduced during seminars.
6. Draw connections between
information and ideas acquired in
different contexts.
7. Practice research techniques in a
variety of specialised research contexts
(e.g. libraries, museums, archives),
involving a variety of research materials.
8. Prioritise work and meet deadlines,
while maintaining a constant rhythm of
learning and research,
9. Choose or define essay and
dissertation topics, linking general issues
with specific interests in challenging and
effective ways.
10. Adapt the objectives of essays and
dissertation research to the information
which can be obtained, as research
progresses.
1 - 2, 6 - 10 will be taught through seminars and
individual advice on approaches to essays and
dissertations. Additional guidance will be given
through feedback on assessed essays, oral
presentations, and outlines and draft chapters of
the dissertation.
4 - 6 will be encouraged by example and through
comments on seminar presentations and
participation.
Assessment:
1 - 2, 6 - 10 will be assessed through written essays
and the dissertation. Formative assessment is
provided through written comments on essays, and
advice on outlines and drafts of dissertation
chapters.
Presentations and participation in seminars (4 & 5)
are not formally assessed, but comments and
discussion by staff and peers provide feedback on
both the understanding of the issues presented,
and the student’s ability to organise and
communicate their ideas effectively.
D: Skills and other attributes
Transferable skills - able to:
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
1. Write good essays and dissertations.
2. Express themselves clearly and
concisely, with effective use of supporting
documentation.
3. Use computer resources and
information technology.
4. Present material orally.
5. Listen and contribute in discussion
and debate.
6. Understand complex ideas and make
connections between them.
7. Study a variety of written, digital, and
artefactual materials, in libraries, archives
and research institutes of a kind that they
will not have been used as
undergraduates.
8. Assess evidence for themselves and
assess alternative or previous
interpretations.
9. Reflect on their own ideas by
becoming acquainted with unfamiliar
ideas, approaches and perspectives,
particularly through encountering,
critiquing and synthesising interpretations
generated within different local
archaeological traditions.
1-2 Writing essays and the dissertation.
3 Submitting word-processed written work; using
data bases, spreadsheets and graphics packages
(where appropriate), consulting on-line library
catalogues and bibliographic resources, using website material.
4 Giving seminar presentations.
5 Participating in seminars, museum visits, and
during ‘hands-on’ practical sessions.
6 Through discussion and debate, and through
constructing their own written arguments.
7 Following advice, and sometimes with direct
instruction, principally during the course of their
dissertation research.
8 - 9 Through discussion and debate, and through
constructing their own written arguments and
researching and developing their dissertation
research.
Assessment:
1 - 3, 6 - 9 Through essays and the dissertation.
4 - 5 Not formally assessed, though feedback is
provided through discussion with staff and peers.
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 by the College and may be checked by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education.
Programme Organiser(s) Name(s):
Date of production:
Date of review:
Date approved by Chair of
Departmental Teaching Committee:
Date approved by Faculty Teaching
Committee
Prof David Wengrow
08/04/03
October 2015
October 2015
October 2015