This course provides students doing postgraduate degrees in Archaeology with the necessary research and professional skills for carrying out future research or professional work within the discipline.

4 hours of seminars

5 Archaeology Research Seminars (1.5 hours each = 7.5 hours)

½ day field trip (4.5 Contact hours)

Poster, and mini-conference/poster presentations (4 contact hours)

1.Reflexive essay (between 2000-2500 words) - 40%

This will ask students to critically reflect on their own research and professional skills development in the light of, and with reference to:

a) a taught element (seminar) on the nature of archaeological academic discourse and the production and critique of archaeological knowledge;

b) relevant key reading;

c) 5 archaeology research seminars; and

d) A field-trip to SUERC

2.A Research Poster - 40%

3.A 10 minute Poster-presentation - 20%

The aim of the Research and Professional Skills course is to provide students with the opportunity to develop:

■ An engagement with and reflective attitude to archaeological research and the productions of archaeological knowledge.

■ Advanced academic writing skills

■ Presentation skills, including verbal communication and visual display of information

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ reflect critically on the development of their own research, writing and professional skills (assessed in the reflexive essay)

■ make succinct and relevant presentations using appropriate supporting material (assessed in the poster and poster presentation)

■ apply a range of appropriate research skills, both generic and specific to archaeology (assessed in the presentation)

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components of the course's summative assessment.