Dissertation (History of Art and Combined Degrees) (U00916)

? Credit Points : 40 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : ACE-4-HDiss

In their fourth year students write a dissertation of between 8,000 and 10,000 words on a subject agreed between the student by or on behalf of the head of History of Art. There is a general meeting for students on the writing of dissertations in Semester 2 of their third year. Following discussion with a potential supervisor, each student selects a provisional topic, which they submit, with the name of the potential supervisor to the History of Art office. Each topic is approved or, if necessary and following discussion with the student, amended and is allocated a supervisor. Once the topic and supervisor are confirmed, students should contact their supervisor to discuss preliminary reading. During their fourth year all students attend two general meetings on the writing of dissertations. The first meeting provides advice on dissertation research and writing. The second meeting advises students on the writing up and presentation of dissertations. Students are encouraged to submit a 1,000-word outline of their dissertation to the History of Art office by a set date in Semester 2 for discussion with their supervisor. Students are entitled to three meetings with their supervisor. The first meeting is to discuss progress and to review a written plan of the dissertation. The second meeting is to discuss writing up and may include a review of the 1,000-word outline. The third meeting is to discuss the final stages of writing up. Students are responsible for arranging these meetings. There are no fixed times but the first meeting is normally in Semester 1 and the second two meetings are normally in Semester 2. Two copies of the dissertation must be submitted to the History of Art office by a set date in Semester 2 of the student's fourth year.

Entry Requirements

? This course is not available to visting students.

? Prohibited combinations : This course is not available to students on the BA Humanities and Social Science degree.

Subject Areas

Home subject area

History of Art, (School of Arts, Culture and Environment, Schedule A)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 4th year

? Delivery Period : Full Year (Blocks 1-4)

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

The fourth-year dissertation provides students with an opportunity for sustained independent work on a topic of their own choosing. This allows them to look more deeply into an aspect of a topic studied in their taught courses or to investigate a suitable subject not covered in formal teaching, providing that supervision can be provided. General meetings and individual meetings with the supervisor provide advice on independent research and the collection, assessment, organisation and presentation of material. Work on the dissertation encourages students to develop their skills in the independent use of published material, libraries and bibliographical resources. They are also likely to be working with visual evidence in the original and may well have to learn how to make effective use of the resources of galleries or museums. Supervised dissertation work provides experience in finding, selecting and analysing various types of sources and encourages students to develop a more critical approach to both primary and secondary sources. The selection and refinement of the dissertation topic provides useful experience in independent thinking. The dissertation is the longest piece of assessed writing that students are called on to prepare for their degree and, as such, gives them experience in the structuring of a sustained argument and in the assessment and effective deployment of evidence. A history of art dissertation normally requires the use of visual evidence, which provides students with an opportunity to develop their skills in the selection and use of illustrations. Students also gain experience in presenting text and illustrations neatly, accurately and in accordance with a set of guidelines. The skills gained in successful work on a history of art dissertation are generally applicable but they are also a useful preparation for postgraduate work in the field.