Key facts

Type	Oxford Qualification - Part-time
Start date	Oct 2013
Subject area(s)	Archaeology
Fees	£1,950 (EU students), £3,675 (non-EU students) per annum. There will be a small fee increase for the second year of the course, 2014-2015.
Application status	Applications being accepted
Application deadline	Wed 31 July 2013
Course contact	If you have any questions about this course, please email ppaward@conted.ox.ac.uk.

Overview

If you are interested in archaeology and would like to learn more and to have the opportunity to become actively involved, then enrolling for the Undergraduate Certificate in Archaeology is a good way to start. It is an undergraduate introductory part-time course specifically designed for adult students who have little or no previous experience of archaeology. There are weekday and occasional weekend teaching sessions provided by university teaching staff and professional archaeologists, as well as opportunities to take part in practical fieldwork.

Open Evening

There will be an Open Evening on Thursday 23 May 2013, from 6.30pm to 8.30pm, when you are welcome to visit the Department and discuss the course.

Description

Who is it for?

Enthusiasm, commitment and a high degree of motivation are important if you are to enjoy and complete the course. No formal academic qualifications are required for entry. Potential students will be invited by the Department to discuss the appropriateness of the course for their needs, following submission of the application form. Offers of places will be based on evidence of motivation, an awareness of the time commitment and the suitability of the level of study.

This two-year part-time course aims to demonstrate the development of archaeology as a subject and will introduce how archaeologists work today. People and societies from the past will be explored using evidence from Britain and other parts of Europe.

In the first-year module the ideas and discoveries of early archaeologists will be examined, followed by a consideration of recent research and the current methods and techniques used to recover, analyse and interpret archaeological evidence. The second-year module aims to expand your understanding of archaeological theory and practice through the study of themes from a wider European context.

Student Spotlight

For one student's experience of part-time study and progression in archaeology please click on our student spotlight.

Programme details

Course Structure

This is a two-year course, beginning on Tuesday 8 October 2013. Each year consists of one module of three terms, each with evening teaching sessions on Tuesdays from 7.00-9.00pm, and at least one field visit each term. In the first year, there is one week of practical field work.

Schedule of teaching sessions 2013-2015

Year 1 2013 - 2014: Discovering archaeology

This module begins with an historical approach to show how archaeology has developed over the last 200 years, and continues with a survey of recent research, focusing on the changing questions asked of the past and the meth-ods and techniques used to answer the questions. Teaching sessions are based at Rewley House, Oxford, on Tuesdays 7.00-9.00pm.

Provisional teaching programme

TERM 1
8 Oct What is archaeology?
15 Oct Changing views of White Horse Hill
Sunday 20 Oct Field Trip: White Horse Hill
22 Oct Seminar: assignment writing
29 Oct The recognition of human antiquity
5 Nov Great civilizations
12 Nov The importance of field work
19 Nov Survey and geophysics
26 Nov Excavation in practice: stratigraphy and recording
3 Dec Balloon debate: who is the most important archaeologist?
10 Dec Archaeology today – who owns the past?

TERM 2
21 Jan Monuments in the landscape
28 Jan Prehistoric Wessex
Saturday 1 Feb Field trip: Avebury
4 Feb Landscape archaeology and the Upper Thames Valley
11 Feb Using the Historic Environment Record
18 Feb Group Project presentations
25 Feb Urban archaeology in Britain
4 March The archaeology of Oxford: a case study
11 Mar Dorchester-on-Thames: a small town in context
Saturday 15 Mar Field Trip: Dorchester-on-Thames and environs
18 Mar An integrated approach to research into historic landscapes

TERM 3
22 April Archaeology as science
29 April Archaeology as interpretation
6 May Dating the past
13 May Artefacts: ceramic, metal, bone
20 May Visit: Museums Resource Centre
27 May Death, burial and belief
3 June Environmental archaeology
10 June Integrating archaeological evidence
17 June Communicating the past

Examination (June - date tbc)

There is a one-week training excavation in July 2014 at Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.
For further information about the Dorchester-on-Thames excavations click here:
www.arch.ox.ac.uk/DOT1.html

Year 2 2014 -2015: Society, landscape and economy - A European perspective

This module builds on the methods, theory and techniques of the first year by introducing you to several themes that run through archaeology of all periods. The emphasis will be on looking at the approaches and issues within each theme and period by using evidence and its interpretation to develop understandings of how people lived, died and organised their social activities. Teaching sessions are based at Rewley House, Oxford, on Tuesdays 7.00-9.00pm.

Provisional teaching programme

TERM 1: Landscapes, Settlements and Subsistence
• Human evolution: from Homo habilisto Homo sapiens
• Hunter-gatherers in Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Europe
• The origins and spread of farming
• Farming in Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Europe
• The development of agricultural landscapes
• Case Study: Hillforts
• Saturday Visit: Danebury and the Museum of the Iron Age
• Roman landscapes: cities and towns
• Roman landscapes: rural settlements and agricultural practice
• The formation of the historic landscape
• Villages, farms and fields in medieval Britain

TERM 2: Artefacts, Technology and Trade
• The age of stone: Palaeolithic and Mesolithic
• Exchange networks in Neolithic Europe
• The first metal: Copper Age and Early Bronze Age
• Case-study: Beakers
• The development of bronze working
• The impact of iron
• Trade and technology in the Roman world
• Saturday Visit: The British Museum
• Roman material culture • Trade and towns in the early medieval period: an introduction
• Trade and towns in the early medieval period: case studies

TERM 3: Death, Burial and Religion
• Palaeolithic and Mesolithic: shamanism, animism and totemism
• Ancestor and fertility cults in the Neolithic
• Case-study: megalithic tombs
• Saturday Visit: The Ashmolean and Pitt Rivers Museums
• The diversification of belief systems in the Early Bronze Age
• Later Prehistoric death and burial
• Worshipping the deities in the Iron Age
• Roman religion
• Death, burial and the afterlife
• Burials and churches in the pagan-Christian transition
• Case-study: Sutton Hoo

Course aims

This two-year part-time course aims to demonstrate the development of archaeology as a subject and will introduce how archaeologists work today. People and societies from the past will be explored using evidence from Britain and other parts of Europe.

In the first-year module the ideas and discoveries of early archaeologists will be examined, followed by a consideration of recent research and the current methods and techniques used to recover, analyse and interpret archaeologi-cal evidence. The second-year module aims to expand your understanding of archaeological theory and practice through the study of themes from a wider European context.

It is anticipated that following the successful completion of the two years of the course, you will have achieved the following:

• An awareness of current methods and practices in archaeology
• The recognition of a range of types of archaeological evidence, an appreciation of the scope and limitations of this evidence and of the methods of recording evidence
• The acquisition of new ideas and the ability to begin to ask your own questions of the evidence
• An insight into the interdisciplinary nature of archaeology
• Specific skills in reading maps, plans, stratigraphic section drawings and artefact recognition, and an understanding of their significance
• An understanding of the cultural and chronological framework for specific archaeological periods studied.

Certification

The syllabus and teaching of the course are aimed at first-year undergraduate level and students are eligible for the award of 60 transferable credit (CATS) points at FHEQ Level 4 on successful completion of a one-year module. An Undergraduate Certificate will be awarded to each student on completion of the two modules of the course within a three-year period. Credit points may be transferred to the Open University, modular universities such as Oxford Brookes University, and other institutions of Higher Education. For further information about transfer of credit, contact the Student Adviser on 01865 280355 or registry@conted.ox.ac.uk

Successful students will be awarded an Oxford University Undergraduate Certificate in Archaeology. Outstanding performance will qualify for a distinction. You will be invited to receive your certificate at the annual Awards Ceremony of the Department for Continuing Education, held at Oxford's Sheldonian Theatre.

Teaching methods

Student Support

Much of the academic support will come from the Course Director, Dr Alison MacDonald, who may be contacted at any time during office hours by students wishing to discuss matters relating to the course. In addition, the Department runs a programme of Study Skills workshops designed to enable you to develop and improve the skills needed for effective study. For full details of the programme please contact 01865 280892.

Contact Information

Course Director
If you would like an informal discussion on academic matters before making your application you may contact the following:

Dr Alison MacDonald 01865 270370 alison.macdonald@conted.ox.ac.uk

Award Programme Office 01865 280154 / 270369
For queries on applications and admissions ppaward@conted.ox.ac.uk

Student Advice 01865 280355
For general guidance and advice, credit transfer, special needs provision, residential category and sources of funding: registry@conted.ox.ac.uk

Study Skills 01865 280892
For information about Study Skills courses: studyskills@conted.ox.ac.uk

Day & Weekend School Office 01865 270368 / 270380
For information on day schools and weekend courses: dayweek@conted.ox.ac.uk

OUDCE Reception 01865 270360
For general enquiries about OUDCE or to leave messages if other staff are not available.

Teaching outcomes

The teaching is based on themes with linked teaching sessions and seminars, including the use of case-studies, practical sessions and field visits. Teaching sessions include the use of visual material and handouts for information, and as the basis for informal discussion and directed interactive student learning in the class.

It is anticipated that following the successful completion of the two years of the course, you will have achieved the following:

• An awareness of current methods and practices in archaeology
• The recognition of a range of types of archaeological evidence, an appreciation of the scope and limitations of this evidence and of the methods of recording evidence
• The acquisition of new ideas and the ability to begin to ask your own questions of the evidence
• An insight into the interdisciplinary nature of archaeology
• Specific skills in reading maps, plans, stratigraphic section drawings and artefact recognition, and an understanding of their significance
• An understanding of the cultural and chronological framework for specific archaeological periods studied.

Teaching staff

Course Director, Dr Alison MacDonald, OUDCE, with a range of tutors to teach specific topics.

Course Requirements

Study
You are expected to undertake the necessary background reading and research for the course work using the facilities of Rewley House library and other libraries. It is estimated that time spent in reading, preparing course work, visiting museums, libraries and sites will average 8 to 10 hours each week in term-time in addition to the teaching sessions.

Attendance
• A minimum of 75% of the teaching sessions (including visits)
• One week (or equivalent) of practical fieldwork in the first year
• A minimum of 2 tutorials in the second year
• A two-hour examination in the first year

Assessment
• 6 assignments per year of up to 1,500 or 2,000 words.
• A field note-book on the practical fieldwork in the first year,
• A two-hour examination in the first year.
• An extended project of up to 5,000 words submitted at the end of the second year.

Assignments count for 60% of the final assessment, the examination and the extended project each count for 20%. It is not essential to pass in the continuous assessment element and the examination separately in order to pass the module overall.

Progress review
A review of each student's performance is carried out at the end of the first year: candidates may not be permitted to continue if their performance is not deemed satisfactory.

Time limit for course completion
An Undergraduate Certificate in Archaeology will awarded to each student who successfully completes Year 1 and Year 2 of the course within three years. Full regulations and conventions will be included in the Student Handbook which is given to students at the beginning of the academic year and are also available from the Registry on request (email: registry@conted.ox.ac.uk).

Apply for this course