Archaeology Honours
Offered by: Faculty of Arts
Convener: To be advised
Administration: School of Archaeology and Anthropology
Admission Requirements
To be admitted to the Honours School in Archaeology students must be eligible to take out their BA pass degree. Students wishing to take Honours in Archaeology after undertaking a combined program (for example BA/BSc or BA/Asian Studies) must complete the requirements for their BA degree before admission to the Honours in Archaeology degree.
All students wishing to be admitted to the Honours in Archaeology School must include a minimum of 10 courses to the value of at least 60 specified units as follows:
(a) First year courses: One or both of the first year Archaeology courses, ARCH1111 and ARCH1112.
(b) Specific later year courses: Prospective Honours students are normally expected to take Research Design and Analysis in Archaeology ARCH3000 in their third year and a minimum of 12 units of field work in Archaeology (i.e either ARCH2017 Landscape Archaeology or ARCH3004A Archaeological Field and Laboratory Methods A and ARCH3004B Archaeological Field and Laboratory Methods B). Under exceptional circumstances and with the approval of the Honours convener, these may be substituted by 12 units from the following practical courses: ARCH2035, ARCH2041, ARCH3017, ARCH2126 or BIAN3015. An average mark of 70% or more (Distinction level) must be obtained for these courses.
(c) Other later year courses: The remaining archaeology courses can come from any of the following courses: ARCH2001, ARCH2002, ARCH2004, ARCH2005, ARCH2006, ARCH2021, ARCH2034, ARCH2035, ARCH2036, ARCH2037, ARCH2039, ARCH2040, ARCH2041, ARCH2050, ARCH2053, ARCH2054, ARCH2056, ARCH3017. Under certain circumstances, students may count other courses listed in the Archaeology major with permission of the Honours Convener. Students who commenced their degree prior to 2004 may seek permission from the Honours Convenor to count other courses towards their 60 units for admission to Archaeology Honours.
Students are encouraged to take as many archaeological courses as possible if they are planning a career in archaeology. It is advisable for any prospective Honours students to contact the Honours Coordinator as soon as possible after completion of their first year for advice in their choice of later year courses.
(d) An average mark of 70% or more (Distinction level) must be obtained for all the later year archaeology courses.
(e) Field or laboratory experience: It is expected that all intending Honours students will have had some field-work experience during their second/third years. This may be gained by successfully completing either of the two School fieldwork courses or by working with other researchers or archaeological consultants. Information is often posted on School notice-boards.
(f) Students will have to submit a preliminary thesis proposal for a BA Honours thesis during the semester before they enter the Honours in Archaeology School. This proposal should be discussed with a member of staff willing to be the supervisor for the proposed thesis. The School reserves the right not to admit a student unable to find a supervisor or a topic suitable to the School.
Work for the Honours in archaeology degree is a combination of course work and research.
Course Work: All students are required to take two honours courses (which, combined, contribute 40% of the final mark) and successfully complete all assessment requirements. The latter may comprise essays, annotated bibliographies or presentations. Full-time students will complete these in the first semester; part-time students can study them over two years.
Research: Students are required to undertake a supervised research project on a topic approved by the Archaeology staff of the School and to submit a BA Honours thesis of between 15,000 and 20,000 words in length and suitably illustrated for examination. Its mark comprises 60% of the total requirements for honours. The research may be field, laboratory or library based.
Combined Honours in Archaeology:
The only combined honours program currently formalized is in Archaeology and Biological Anthropology (see below). Students wishing to undertake other combined Honours degrees between Archaeology and various areas of the Arts Faculty should consult the relevant honours conveners. Such students will be required to complete 96 units in the combined area, 48 units in each discipline. Such students will be required to fulfill all requirements set out in points (a) - (f) above.
Courses Offered in 2009
Fourth Year
ARCH4105F Archaeology IV Honours (full time)
ARCH4105P Archaeology IV Honours (part time)
Further Information
Click here for information about combined Archaeology/Biological Anthropology Honours.
Graduate Studies
Convener: Dr G Clark
For details on the graduate diplomas and degrees in Archaeology see the Postgraduate Prospectus.
Go to the List of Undergraduate Courses offered by Faculty of Arts.
The information published on the Study at ANU 2009 website applies to the 2009 academic year only. All information provided on this website replaces the information contained in the Study at ANU 2008 website.
