Admission requirements
Field School 1 and Field Techniques obtained.
Description
Field School 2 is meant to gain routines in your previously acquired practical field skills. During Field School 2 projects, a variety of archaeological skills are practised in the field. These skills include excavation, surveying, coring and the related field recording techniques. These may vary from project to project. You are expected to arrange your own projects.
Field School 2 should consist of at least 2 excavations or other types of practical fieldwork. No matter where the traineeships takes place, and no matter what type of projects are involved: you should make sure that the skills practised show sufficient diversity of type and level of skills.
All Faculty field projects are part of Field School 2, but you are also allowed to participate in a field project that is organised by other organisations (both academic and commercial). However, to assure the quality of such external fieldwork, permission by the region coordinator needs to be obtained, at least 6 weeks before the start of the fieldwork. The necessary form can be downloaded from Brightspace.
During Field School 1, Field School 2, Internship BA3, and throughout the Master programme Applied Archaeology, all necessary field skills will be registered in a portfolio which shows your personal acquired skill set and experience.
Where to go?
For information about specific projects or other options for fieldwork, please contact the region coordinators. They can advise you in detail about projects, professional companies etc.
The internship coordinator, dr. Arjan Louwen, advises on the general rules and regulations.
Finding a Field School 2 project is your own responsibility, so make sure to contact the region coordinators in time. Also, keep a keen eye on Brightspace to see if interesting projects are being announced in the module Fieldschool 2. Please enroll in this Brightspace module (which happens automatically when you enroll for the course in uSis) to stay informed about internship requirements, and to find the necessary internship forms.
Conditions
Field School 2 is fieldwork or a field-work related activity such as finds processing, not labwork. It comprises 30 field days of minimally 8 working hours. These field days may be subdivided into shorter (field) projects, of which the shortest is 1 week.
You need to find and arrange your own fieldwork. Faculty research projects are excellent, but fieldwork at a commercial company and at other research institutes are very valuable working experiences as well.
You can schedule your fieldwork or internship in any period in which you do not have educational obligations, including January. But please note that exams and retakes have priority.
The 6 fieldwork weeks should include at least 2 projects. You can choose to combine differently sized projects to obtain the required 10 ec:
1-week project (5-9 field days plus report of ca. 1,000 words): 2 ec
2-week project (10-14 field days plus report of ca. 1,000 words): 3.5 ec
3-week project (15-19 field days plus report of ca. 1,000 words): 5 ec
4-week project (20-25 field days plus report of ca. 1,000 words): 6.5 ec
5-week project (26-29 field days plus report of ca. 1,000 words): 8 ec.
Only 10 ec can be obtained in total for Field School 2. In case more than 30 days have been spent on projects, the remaining credits will be stated on the diploma as extra-curricular.
All Field School 2 projects are concluded with a report of 1,000 words (0,5 ec). The format can be found on Brightspace.
Joining field schools is only allowed when it does not clash with other obligatory courses.
For detailed information about all matters concerning fieldwork and fieldwork opportunities, please see the Field school and Internships Regulations on Brightspace or contact the (regional) coordinator.
Course set-up
The following steps are necessary:
Register in uSis/Brightspace;
Find a field project in which you can participate;
In case of an external project: ask permission of the region coordinator (not later than 6 weeks before the start of the fieldwork);
Fill out the official agreement form and have it signed by the (regional) coordinator (to be found on Brightspace);
During the project: make daily reports and ask the project leader to fill in the assessment form (to be found on Brightspace);
Upload the report within 6 weeks after the fieldwork.
Course objectives
To gain routines in practical archaeological fieldwork, including interpretation and reporting of archaeological field data;
To become experienced in a wide variety of archaeological fieldwork practices, preferably in more than 1 project;
To know under which circumstances and with what purpose these can be applied (excavation, prospective researches etc.);
To deepen knowledge about sampling techniques;
Ability to work in a team;
To gain more experience in describing archaeological data according to the applicable guidelines;
To obtain insight into the relationship between the research questions and the chosen field method;
To gain insight in the organisational, legal, logistical, societal and administrative aspects of a research project;
To obtain knowledge of the historical and theoretical context of a research project;
Ability to write well-structured and relevant daily field notes/reports;
Ability to write a well-structured academic report with a clear research goal and in which the Faculty guidelines are applied;
To gain routine and to develop an independent research attitude.
Timetable
Not applicable.
Mode of instruction
Practical work in the field.
Course load
6 weeks (30 working days of at least 8 hours) of fieldwork in total;
Reports in which scientific framework, historical context, data and analyses are accounted for. Reports always include a critical review of the fieldwork.
Assessment method
A sufficient level of acquired practical skills. This assessment is made by the internship supervisor (30%);
An internship report that complies with the Faculty standards of reports. Internship reports are graded by project leaders of Faculty projects or the internship region coordinator (50%);
Quality level of portfolio (20%).
A retake is only possible for the report, and only if all other requirements have been met, including handing in the report before the deadline.
The report needs to handed in through Brightspace within 6 weeks after the last field day.
Reading list
To be compiled by the students. It must comprise academic literature.
Registration
Registration in uSis is mandatory. You can register for this course until 5 days before the first class.
Registration in uSis automatically leads to enrollment in the corresponding Brightspace module. Therefore you do not need to enroll in Brightspace, but make sure to register for this course in uSis.
You are required to register for all lectures and tutorials well in time. The Administration Office registers all students for their exams, you are not required to do this in uSis.
All information (costs, registration, entry requirements, etc.) for those who are interested in taking this course as a Contractstudent is on the Contractonderwijs Archeologie webpage (in Dutch).
Contact
For more information about this course, please contact dr. A.J. (Arjan) Louwen.
Remarks
Compulsory attendance;
This course will be taught in both Dutch and English.