PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION
PROGRAMME SPECIFICATION
Programme title:
MSc in Human Evolution and Behaviour
Final award (BSc, MA etc):
MSc
(where stopping off points exist they should be
detailed here and defined later in the document)
UCAS code:
L6UD
(where applicable)
Cohort(s) to which this programme
specification is applicable:
2009 intake 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:
Anthropology
(the department responsible for the administration of
the programme)
Departmental web page address:
www.ucl.ac.uk/anthropology/
(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/prospstudents/gradprospectus/shs/anthropology/taught/index.shtml
Length of the programme:
One calendar year full-time, two 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
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/benchmark/default.asp
(see Guidance notes)
Brief outline of the structure of the
programme
and
its
assessment
methods:
Refer to registry web page
(see guidance notes)
Board of Examiners:
Name of Board of Examiners:
MSc in Human Evolution and Behaviour
Professional body accreditation
(if applicable):
n/a
EDUCATIONAL AIMS OF THE PROGRAMME:
Darwinian theory has radically altered our understanding of human life. Our programme is designed to provide
students with a solid practical and theoretical grounding in issues relevant to the evolution of humans and nonhuman primates.
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:
1. How to generate, assess and
synthesize empirical evidence and
hypotheses related to human
evolution and behaviour critically, and
how to use research resources
(particularly data bases, research
library catalogues, museum
collections, on-line information).
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
Acquisition of 1 through two-hour seminars and lab
classes. Students will be required to attend all classes,
study extensively on their own and prepare both
assessed and non-assessed course work regularly.
Acquisition of 2 through the participation in core courses
and optional courses.
2. Subject specific skills, for instance,
measuring skeletal material,
interpreting and generating data
related to human ecology,
reproduction and genetics, generating
behavioural data of humans and nonhuman primates through observation.
Assessment:
Students will be assessed by a variety of methods: takehome exam, essays, lab-books, practical tests, (nonassessed) presentations and a dissertation.
B: Skills and other attributes
Intellectual (thinking) skills:
The programme aims to help students:
(a) be precise, to be cautious in their
assessment of empirical evidence
and competing hypotheses, and to
understand through practice what
empirical data can and cannot tell us.
(b) question interpretations, however
authoritative, and reassess evidence
for themselves.
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
Acquisition of (a) and (b) is fostered in all courses
offered in the Programme, in that all courses will
introduce information that will need to be assessed
critically and will demonstrate how conflicting
interpretations arise from the same information.
Assessment:
Students will be assessed by a variety of methods: takehome exam, essays, lab-books, practical tests,
presentations and a dissertation.
C: Skills and other attributes
Practical skills (able to):
This programme aims to help students
with the following practical skills:
a) communicate effectively in writing
b) improve their knowledge of issues
related to human evolution
c) use data bases, digital resources,
word-processing programmes,
statistical packages
d) present (non-assessed) seminar
papers, at times with the help of
powerpoint generated displays
e) listen and discuss ideas introduced
during seminars
f) practice research techniques in a
variety of specialised research
libraries, institutes or museums
g) maintain a constant rhythm of
learning and research
h) choose their own essay and
dissertation topics
i) adapt essays and dissertation topics
to the information that they discover
while working on their essays and
dissertations.
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
(a) through the writing of essays and dissertations
(b) through weekly seminars
(c) through hands-on instruction, particularly during the
methods course
(d) through regular seminar presentations, and
presentation of the dissertation topic
(e) through seminar discussion
(f) through visits to libraries, institutes, museums,
laboratories
(g) through the setting of clear deadlines for the
submission of written work
(h) through individual discussion with students.
Assessment:
Students will be assessed by a variety of methods: takehome exam, essays, lab-books, practical tests,
presentations and a dissertation.
D: Skills and other attributes
Transferable skills (able to):
The programme will encourage students
to:
(a) write good essays and dissertations
(b) improve their knowledge about issues
related to human evolution
(c) use computer resources, information
technology, lab-methods
(d) present material orally
(e) listen and contribute in class
(f) understand ideas that are very
different to conventional ones
(g) study a variety of written and digital
materials, in libraries and research
institutes of a kind that they will not
have used as undergraduates
(h) present (non-assessed) material
orally
(i) reflect on their own ideas by
becoming acquainted with ideas and
practices foreign to them
(j) make original contributions to
anthropological scholarship by
following through their ideas
(k) assess evidence for themselves and
suspend belief in previous
interpretations
Teaching/learning methods and strategies:
(a) long-essays, coursework, dissertation
(b) current research articles
(c) submitting word-processed written work; using data
bases, consulting on-line library catalogues, using
web-site material, working in lab-classes
(d) seminar presentations
(e) seminars, library visits, "hands-on" instruction
(f) reading about and discussing paradigms related to
human evolution
(g) essays, dissertation, seminar presentations, "handson" instruction, library visits
(h) seminar papers
(i) reading, class discussion
(j) essays, dissertation, seminar discussion
(k) essays, dissertation, seminar discussion
Assessment:
Students will be assessed by a variety of methods: takehome exam, essays, lab-books, practical tests,
presentations and a dissertation.
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)
Professor Ruth Mace
Name(s):
Date of Production:
20 May 2008
Date of Review:
January 2014
Date approved by Head of
Department:
Date approved by Chair of
Departmental Teaching
Committee:
Date approved by Faculty
Teaching Committee