Description
A compulsory feature of the MA and MSc programmes is the Fieldwork / Internship course, which will provide a much-needed practical component to complement the more theoretical aspects of the MA and MSc.
This internship will involve a small practical project, exclusively linked to the 1st specialisation of your choice, and can take various forms: fieldwork (excavation or survey), a museum internship, or laboratory/analytical work.
Firstly, you are expected to write a feasible work proposal, which has to be approved and evaluated by the course coordinator before the internship can take place.
An important component is the ‘learning by doing and reflecting on what you are doing’ aspect, to gain more practical experience within the chosen field, and allowing a hands-on approach with archaeological materials and data.
However, it is also essential that you learn to make your own decisions, and will critically reflect upon the practical activities, and place these in a wider comparative framework (be it theoretically, methodologically or regionally), as well as contextualise the importance of the activities within your own specialisation, and evaluate how this experience affects your own development in the chosen field. This will be part of the requirements for the written Internship Report.
The available types of internship per section may vary from year to year; some may be involved in existing projects within the specialisation, some may be external, or involve exchange with international universities. You can also propose a specific type of internship yourself, provided that you can demonstrate this experience will enhance the progress of your own development within your chosen specialisation.
Therefore, the internship will be set up under supervision of the internship coordinator of your 1st specialisation. He/she will evaluate the Internship Report, consulting the delegate of the institution/project where the internship is carried out, and grade the report.
The practical skills demonstrated during the internship will be evaluated in a written assessment form by the work supervisor of the institute where the internship is carried out, but the final mark will be assigned by the internship coordinator. The necessary internship documents (evaluation forms and guidelines for the report) can be found on the MA internship webpage.
The internship comprises:
Work planning (proposal), including:
relevant internship information (project background and aims, internship duration, on-site supervisor/project leader);
your motivation, purpose and research questions;
your relevance, how this internship contributes to your development within the specialisation and how your role contributes to the internship project itself.
Internship of min. 3 weeks
Reflective report, referring to the work planning, including:
deliberate literature choice;
evaluation of research context including literature review;
description of internship and results;
discussion of methodology and practice;
critical reflection: evaluation of your own functioning, suggestions for improvement.
Internships per specialisation
For specific details about the internship per specialisation, contact the internship coordinator of your first specialisation:
MA internship Archaeology of the America’s: dr. M.M. Antczak
MA internship Classical and Mediterranean Archaeology: dr. M.J. Versluys
MA internship Archaeology of the Near East: dr. B.S. Düring
MA internship Palaeolithic Archaeology: dr. M. Soressi
MA internship Prehistory of Europe: drs. R. Jansen & prof. dr. H. Fokkens
MA internship Roman Provinces, Middle Ages and Modern Period: prof.dr. F.C.W.J. Theuws (until 1,000 AD) & dr. R.M.R. van Oosten (after 1000 AD)
MA internship Museum Studies: dr. M. de Campos Françozo
MA internship Archaeological Heritage Management: dr. M.H. van den Dries
MA internship Heritage of Indigenous Peoples: dr. G. Llanes Ortiz
MSc internship Material Culture Studies: dr. C. Tsoraki
MSc internship Human Osteology: dr. A.L. Waters
MSc internship Palaeoecology: prof. dr. M. van Kolfschoten (zoology) & dr. M.H. Field (botany)
MSc internship Digital Archaeology: dr. K. Lambers
Course objectives
Experience in practical skills of the chosen specialisation;
Ability to evaluate modern (digital) techniques and instruments;
Ability to write a feasible work plan;
Ability to successfully and independently carry out a practical project related to the 1st specialisation within a limited period of time;
Ability to write a report on the results, describing the activities and reason for them, and critically reflecting on them, both in terms of the specialisation, and in a broader, multidisciplinary context;
Ability to convey information to (non-)specialists;
Ability to select relevant literature and use graphical footage to clarify and support argumentation, methods and results;
Ability to reflect how these experiences contributed to one’s academic development.
Mode of instruction
Autonomous work with supervision.
Course load
The course load will be distributed as follows:
Proposal and reflective report (1 ects);
Internship of 3 weeks or 15 working days (4 ects).
Assessment method
Assessment will take place by means of
the work proposal (10%);
an evaluation of the practical skills (50%);
a written Internship Report (40%).
The Internship Report needs to be handed in within 6 weeks after the end of the internship.