This 12 unit project can be designed to further develop training started in the 6 unit courses ARCH8030 and 8031.  This "progressive build" option is often selected by candidates using the masters program to train up ahead of a PhD.

Alternatively the project may use materials, data and/or fieldwork which are quite new - working alongside an ANU research team in the field, or in the laboratory, or around a period of an internship. Candidates may seek to develop a project based on materials and data they bring to the Master of Archaeological Science program. For example a research project may be designed around materials previously excavated professionally, or collected as reference material, or by researching background material for a publication. 

In all cases the result will be a research report or portfolio of materials of potentially publishable quality, or of a quality for submission as a poster or for wider public dissemination. The topic will be negotiated between the student and the supervisor, and/or moderated and supervised, if appropriate, by the course coordinator.

• The skills required to design and build a modest research project to a high professional standard of execution and to a standard where the completed results of the project might be considered for academic or professional publication.
• Demonstrated high standards in the core skills of project design, research planning and independent research on a supervised topic.
• Will have achieved a standard of competency commensurate with moving to independent professional writing and/or supervised academic research in the topic area of their own choosing.