Admission requirements
Bachelor Archaeology first year obtained;
Min. 45 ec from the Bachelor Archaeology second year obtained;
Enrolled in (or passed) Designing Archaeological Research.
Description
The BA-thesis is an expanded essay that presents your own interpretation, evaluation or argument on a small problem-oriented research on an archaeological topic. It forms an academic argument of about 40 pages.
It can consist of a critical literature review, but may also be based on the analysis of archaeological material.
A thesis project always contains an academic research question and a clear methodology.
The BA3-thesis is strongly linked to the course Designing Archaeological Research, in which you will work on formulating your research question and research proposal. You are supervised by at least one member of our staff; this is your official supervisor. Please see the list of possible supervisors and their areas of expertise in Brightspace.
This module is set up with several strict deadlines that will help you to meet the final thesis deadline. By meeting these deadlines, you will receive proper feedback by the supervisor well in time, so you can include it in the final version of your thesis.
Deadlines:
1 May: handing in full, complete draft of your thesis
24 May: feedback of your supervisor on your full draft
15 June: handing in final thesis, see the procedure.
Course objectives
After finishing the thesis, a student:
Has learned to set up and plan a small research project and is able to report on it;
Is able to put a small project into a broader theoretical framework and understands its academic relevance;
Is able to write (under supervision) a clear and well-structured academic argument in compliance with the Faculty's guidelines;
Is able to find relevant academic literature, review this critically, and integrate relevant parts into his/her research;
Can discuss his/her research.
Timetable
Course schedule details for the thesis tutorials can be found BA3 time schedule.
Mode of instruction
Personal supervision. The norm for individual supervision throughout the thesis trajectory is ca. 5 contact moments between supervisor and student (this can be online or on-campus) and are based on texts that have been handed in before the meeting;
Start-up meeting on the research topic;
Feedback on the research plan;
Feedback on a chapter and the thesis outline;
1 meeting to discuss the progress;
Final feedback on the complete first draft.
Course load
Literature and/or material analysis: ca. 280 hours (7 weeks full-time study) (10 ec) compiling to a thesis of max. 10,000 words.
Assessment method
Your thesis will be individually assessed by your supervisor, the first examiner, and an independent second examiner who was not involved with your research, and is appointed by the Board of Examiners (BoE).
Both assessments will be sent to the examiners and discussed, after which a final grade and assessment will be given. This will be sent to the student by the Administration Office.
If the first and second examiner cannot come to an agreement, a third examiner is appointed by the BoE. Based on the assessments of the first and second examiners and the thesis, s/he will compile the final grade and assessment. This grade is final and will be communicated to the student.
The regular deadline for the thesis is June 15. Please note that if you fail to meet the deadlines above, you can hand in your thesis at any moment, except for July-August and January > only then with approval by the BoE.
A retake of the thesis is possible only once, and has a strict deadline. Should you receive a fail for your thesis, you have 6 weeks after receiving your result to make improvements. The new grade will have a maximum of 7.0. If you fail this new version, you need to write a new thesis on a new subject (see the Rules and Regulations of the Board of Examiners, article 4.9.4 for the complete procedure.)
Please note that you (if your supervisor is Dutch) are also allowed to write your thesis in Dutch.
Deadlines:
The regular deadlines are:
June 15: allowing you to graduate on August 31st.
December 15, allowing you to graduate on January 31st.
Please note that if you fail to meet the deadlines above, you can hand in your thesis at any moment, except for July-August and January. The thesis will be assessed within 4 weeks after handing in the definitive version, see the Faculty's thesis page for more information on the guidelines, assessment form, assessment criteria and information on handing in the thesis.
Reading list
Depends on the chosen thesis subject.
Registration
Registration via uSis is mandatory.
Use study activity number 18349 for registration in uSis.
Contact
For more information about this course, please contact dr. R.M.R. (Roos) van Oosten.
Remarks
None.