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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2024/2025

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of History, Classics and Archaeology : Classics General

Undergraduate Course: Classics Dissertation (combined degree with MEL)Part 2: completion (CLGE10005)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of History, Classics and Archaeology CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate)
Course typeDissertation AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryStudents on the combined degree of Modern European Languages and Classics may choose to write a dissertation on a classical topic. For Classics, a dissertation (in English) of 12,000 - 14,000 words is to be submitted in March of Year 4. Students in Year 4 complete the dissertation for which preparatory work has been done during the period of study abroad in Year 3.
Course description The dissertation is an extended piece of work that investigates independently a topic or problem, body of evidence or text. It counts as the equivalent of two courses and has a credit weighting of
40 points. It is a freestanding project that is not connected to a particular course. It is not a postgraduate thesis, in which an original contribution is required, but it should represent an investigation of a chosen topic, carried out with a critical analysis and reasoned treatment of evidence and issues. The most distinctive feature and test of the dissertation is that it is up to the student to organise and see the project through to completion. While the supervisor will be an important resource for the student, the student, not the supervisor is in charge of the project. Success hinges on regular work and discipline.

The procedure of preparing, researching and writing-up the dissertation is as follows:
By the end of Year 3, students are required to propose a specific question for investigation, after consultation with a relevant member of staff. Over the summer each student will be assigned a supervisor for Year 4 and, as far as possible, should do most of the reading required for their project. In Sem 1 of Year 4 the student will meet with their supervisor and attend a number of seminars (e.g. on the planning and structure and on constructing an argument). Later that semester, students will be required to take part in presentations, that is, to present their topic to a small group of your fellow students and a member of staff. Students should be in regular contact with their supervisor throughout Year 4. It is not possible to change supervisors except in extreme circumstances The supervisor will give guidance, and may comment on a draft of part of the work, but never reads the whole work before submission.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: Classics Dissertation (combined degree with MEL)Part 1: preparation (CLGE10004)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Additional Costs None
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2024/25, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Quota:  5
Course Start Full Year
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Dissertation/Project Supervision Hours 5, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 191 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) The dissertation should have a length of between 12,000 and 14,000 words, including text, notes and any appendices, but excluding the bibliography. Dissertations must not exceed the maximum word-limit.
Feedback Students have meetings with their dissertation supervisor whilst working on their dissertation and this allows them to discuss progress and receive feedback. Written feedback on the final submitted dissertation is made available to students after the Exam Boards.
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. demonstrate skills in studying and researching independently and working to a schedule on their own;
  2. demonstrate the ability to identify and define a research problem in an area of classical studies;
  3. demonstrate the ability to analyse that problem, to understand and evaluate its relation to primary source material;
  4. demonstrate the ability to reflect critically upon relevant scholarship, and distinguish primary evidence from secondary sources and interpretations;
  5. the ability to present their findings in an intelligible form, containing a sustained, coherent argument supported by appropriate primary evidence, and engaged with the contributions of others, i.e. modern scholars.
Reading List
There is no standard reading list, because the students' reading will depend on their chosen dissertation topic.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
KeywordsClassics Dissertation (MEL) Completion
Contacts
Course organiserDr Aaron Pelttari
Tel: (0131 6)51 3004
Email: Aaron.Pelttari@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Sara Dennison
Tel: (0131 6)50 2501
Email: Sara.Dennison@ed.ac.uk
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