This course underpins the research-led teaching framework which is central to the Masters in Archaeological Science program. The student designs and builds an individually tailored course program to address their particular interests, skills requirements and vocational training objectives. It allows students to gain skills which are not taught as part of regular classroom teaching at the graduate level, normally working closely alongside an individual staff researcher selected according to their specialist research focus. The selected researcher acts as chair supervisor and mentor for the project. The project may be either laboratory based, or based on combinations of supervised fieldwork followed by tuition in analysis and data interpretation. The project can include working with a specialist on fieldwork abroad or in Australia, and in topic areas too specialized or cross-disciplinary to be normally formally taught as electives. It may involve working with a specialist to gain skills in an area that is not usually formally taught at the ANU. Examples might include aspects of faunal analysis, midden or residue analysis, palynology, rock art research or advanced geological, GIS, or earth science techniques. The course coordinator arranges teaching for this course in consultation with the student and with available colleagues across contributing Colleges. The course has the same structure, and is complementary to, ARCH8030 Archaeological Science Project 1. The course allows skill development and progression from core frameworks introduced in the compulsory core course ARCH8032, which is a prerequisite
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Scope, design and implement a research training plan in a specific topic area of Archaeological Science (or cognate areas eg. Quaternary Science).
- Assess the key theoretical and scientific foundations underpinning the research project undertaken and identify an appropriate research question/s.
- Demonstrate an appropriate level of competency in analytical skills self-identified as training objectives at the concept stage of the project.
- Self-appraise the outcomes and interpretations of the project critically and make recommendations as to improvements and "next-steps''.
- Present results from the project to a high professional standard in a scholarly pre-publication or report format.
Work Integrated Learning
Projects
This WIL component provides you with the opportunity to deeply engage with the course content, drive your leaning, build skills and confidence, and perform the learned tasks more effectively.
Other Information
The convenors for this course are:
Stuart Bedford - Summer session
Janelle Stevenson - Semester 1
Ben Shaw - Autumn Session
Hsiao-chun Hung - Semester 2
Geoff Clark - Winter and Spring sessions
To request a permission code to enrol in the course email education.chl@anu.edu.au
Indicative Assessment
- Annotated bibliography of at least 10 referenced works that forms the foundations of the literature review of the research report and frames appropriate research questions
(10) [LO 1,2,3,4,5] - Research report or reports (total max.6000 words) based on laboratory/fieldwork studies. A variety of media may be employed in the assessed portfolio as appropriate to the topic chosen eg portfolios of digital maps; annotated image library; analysed and interpreted questionnaire or survey results; laboratory data within summary report (90) [LO 1,2,3,4,5]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
The total workload for the course is 130 hours including in class time and independent study.
This includes supervised laboratory work, archive research, fieldwork and/or reading course over 12 weeks
Requisite and Incompatibility
You will need to contact the School of Culture History and Language to request a permission code to enrol in this course.
Prescribed Texts
NA
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 14
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $4320 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2025 | $6360 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Summer Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1315 | 01 Jan 2025 | 24 Jan 2025 | 24 Jan 2025 | 31 Mar 2025 | In Person | View |
First Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3069 | 17 Feb 2025 | 24 Feb 2025 | 31 Mar 2025 | 23 May 2025 | In Person | View |
Autumn Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5316 | 01 Apr 2025 | 02 May 2025 | 02 May 2025 | 30 Jun 2025 | In Person | View |
Winter Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6339 | 01 Jul 2025 | 18 Jul 2025 | 18 Jul 2025 | 30 Sep 2025 | In Person | N/A |
Second Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8016 | 21 Jul 2025 | 28 Jul 2025 | 31 Aug 2025 | 24 Oct 2025 | In Person | N/A |
Spring Session
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9302 | 01 Oct 2025 | 24 Oct 2025 | 24 Oct 2025 | 31 Dec 2025 | In Person | N/A |