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1. Admissions/ Management Information
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Title of the new programme – including any lower awards
Please provide the titles used for all awards relating to this programme. Note: all programmes are required to have at least a Postgraduate Certificate exit award.

See guidance on programme titles in:
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https://www.york.ac.uk/media/staffhome/learningandteaching/documents/policies/Framework%20for%20Programme%20Design%20-%20PG%20-%20April%202019.pdf
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Masters MA in Iron Age and Celtic Archaeology
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Postgraduate Diploma Postgraduate Diploma in Iron Age and Celtic ArchaeologyPlease indicate if the Postgraduate Diploma is available as an entry point, ie. is a programme on which a student can register or as an exit award, ie. that are only available to students exiting the masters programme early, or both.Exit
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Postgraduate Certificate Postgraduate Certificate in Iron Age and Celtic ArchaeologyPlease indicate if the Postgraduate Certificate is available as an entry points, ie. is a programme on which a student can register, or as an exit award, ie. that are only available to students exiting the masters programme early, or both.Exit
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Postgraduate Certificate - alternative award title
NB the Taught Postgraduate Framework (section F) allows for more than one PGCert title. Consult your AQ Team contact for advice and see sec 5.d 		Please indicate if the Postgraduate Certificate is available as an entry points, ie. is a programme on which a student can register, or as an exit award, ie. that are only available to students exiting the masters programme early, or both.
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Level of qualificationLevel 7
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This document applies to students who commenced the programme(s) in:2020-21
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Awarding institutionTeaching institution
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University of York University of York
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Department(s):
Where more than one department is involved, indicate the lead department		Board of Studies
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Lead Department ArchaeologyArchaeology
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Other contributing Departments:
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Route code
(existing programmes only)
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Admissions criteria
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A good honours degree (an upper second class or first class degree) or an equivalent qualification from an overseas institution in archaeology, ancient history, history, art history, anthropology, biology or a related field. Other applicants may be considered in exceptional circumstances, such as those who have relevant practical experience in field archaeology. A BSc maybe pre-requisite for some optional modules. For foreign language speakers, level 6.5 IELTS/61 Pearson PTE is required.
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Length and status of the programme(s) and mode(s) of study
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ProgrammeLength (years/ months) Status (full-time/ part-time)
Please select		Start dates/months
(if applicable – for programmes that have multiple intakes or start dates that differ from the usual academic year)		Mode
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Face-to-face, campus-basedDistance learningOther
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MA in Iron Age and Celtic Archaeology
1 year
Full-timeSeptemberPlease select Y/NYesPlease select Y/NNo
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MA in Iron Age and Celtic Archaeology2-3 years
Part-timeSeptemberPlease select Y/NYesPlease select Y/NNo
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Dip/Cert in Iron Age and Celtic Archaeology1 year full-timeFull-timeSeptemberPlease select Y/NYesPlease select Y/NNo
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Language(s) of study
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English
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Language(s) of assessment
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English
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3. Additional Professional or Vocational Standards
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Are there any additional requirements of accrediting bodies or PSRB or pre-requisite professional experience needed to study this programme?
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Please Select Y/N: Noif Yes, provide details
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(max 200 words)
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4. Programme leadership and programme team
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4.a. Please name the programme leader for the year to which the programme design applies and any key members of staff responsible for designing, maintaining and overseeing the programme.

NB: If the proposal is for a combined programme the name of the Programme Leader (based in the lead Department) and the Associate Programme Leader(s) from the Partner Department(s) should be provided
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Professor Ian Armit
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4.b. How are wider stakeholders such as students/ alumni, professional bodies and employers involved in the design of the programme and in ongoing reflection on its effectiveness?
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The PLOs are adapted from generic PLOs common to all Archaeology masters’ programmes. These were developed by a five-person PGT Pedagogy Team and are based on existing programme specifications, map to the UK Quality Code for HE, and have been refined in consultation with students and staff, taking into account external examiner feedback, focus-groups with current and former students, and data drawn from ASO’s TESTA questionnaire. The programme specific PLOs were developed through one-on-one staff consultations with Directors of Studies.
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5. Purpose and learning outcomes of the programme
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5.a. Statement of purpose for applicants to the masters programme
Please express succinctly the overall aims of the programme as an applicant facing statement for a prospectus or website. This should clarify to a prospective student why they should choose this programme, what it will provide to them and what benefits they will gain from completing it.
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The European Iron Age has become an extremely dynamic focus of contemporary Archaeological research. As a protohistoric period, where archaeological evidence is studied in parallel with often fragmentary Classical sources, it represents a truly interdisciplinary field that draws on a wide and diverse body of evidence. Recent, continent-wide, debates on the nature of ‘Celtic identity’, and the broader meaning of ethnicity in past societies, gives the field direct relevance to contemporary issues. The impact of new scientific methods, most obviously in genetic research, are increasingly informing our ideas and sparking new debates.

This programme will provide you with a unique opportunity to contribute to this dynamic interdisciplinary field as the only current UK masters courses specialising in European Iron Age archaeology. The University of York is currently establishing a position as a major centre for Research on the European Iron Age and the Department of Archaeology is home to staff with specialist expertise in the field along with a suite of related research projects of national and international importance.

The programme will thus allow students to acquire distinctive expertise in this field of Archaeology. The programme will provide valuable skills for those wishing to pursue a career in the archaeological and heritage sectors. The uniquely flexible model of skills modules built into the programme enables students to acquire practical (laboratory and/or field-based) skills to combine with specialist knowledge of a period from which a great deal of rural/landscape archaeology in the UK derives. This is likely to be of great value for careers in commercial or curatorial archaeology. It will also provide students with a broad range of advanced skills to take forward into other future careers.
The programme is offered full-time, or part-time to suit those in employment, and can be tailored for early- and mid-career professionals.
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5.a.i Statement of purpose for applicants registering for the postgraduate diploma programme
Please express succinctly the overall aims of the programme as an applicant facing statement for a prospectus or website. This should clarify to a prospective student why they should choose this programme, what it will provide to them and what benefits they will gain from completing it.
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5.a.ii Statement of purpose for applicants registering for the postgraduate certificate programme
Please express succinctly the overall aims of the programme as an applicant facing statement for a prospectus or website. This should clarify to a prospective student why they should choose this programme, what it will provide to them and what benefits they will gain from completing it.
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5.b.i. Programme Learning Outcomes - Masters
Please provide six to eight statements of what a graduate of the Masters programme can be expected to do.
If the document only covers a Postgraduate Certificate or Postgraduate Diploma please specify four to six PLO statements for the PG Certificate and four-eight for the PG Diploma in the sections 5.b.ii and 5.b.iii as appropriate.
Taken together, these outcomes should capture the distinctive features of the programme. They should also be outcomes for which progressive achievement through the course of the programme can be articulated, and which will therefore be reflected in the design of the whole programme.
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PLOOn successful completion of the programme, graduates will be able to:
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1DEPTH AND BREADTH OF KNOWLEDGE: Demonstrate an applied, systematic, in-depth understanding of essential disciplinary knowledge of the field of Iron Age and Celtic archaeology, and awareness of its breadth and its relevant academic, professional and socio-economic contexts.

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2CRITICAL THINKING AND EVALUATION: Engage critically with current debates and advanced scholarship in local and international research and field practice in order to evaluate archaeological work on the Iron Age.
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3THEORETICALLY/ METHODOLOGICALLY INFORMED DECISION MAKING: Inform decision-making in complex and unpredictable situations by assessing and applying advanced, professional-level theories and methodologies relating to Iron Age archaeology to diverse problems or forms of data.
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4SYNTHESIS AND COMMUNICATION: Confidently synthesise research findings and key scholarly debates, and communicate (through a variety of forms and media) to peers, public or professional audiences in such a way that demonstrates an ability to consider and adapt to their respective needs.
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5INDEPENDENCE: Demonstrate originality in rigorous and imaginative independent inquiry, using advanced research skills.
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6RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER DISCIPLINES: In conjunction with archaeological data, critically assess the scholarship and evidence generated by other related disciplines - including anthropology, ancient history and art history - in order to shed light on themes and questions in Iron Age archaeology.
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7ANALYTICAL SKILLS: Apply theoretical interpretations and critical skills to the analysis of artefacts, landscapes and buildings in order to develop better understandings of the Iron Age.
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5.c. Explanation of the choice of Programme Learning Outcomes
Please explain your rationale for choosing these PLOs in a statement that can be used for students (such as in a student handbook). Please include brief reference to:
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i) Why the PLOs are considered ambitious or stretching?
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Programme outcomes require students to be knowledgeable about concepts and methods, critical of the information they use and the research tools they employ, persuasive and clear in the ways in which they communicate, and interdisciplinary in their approaches. Students will be enabled to express their interpretations and evaluations of previous work through debates with their peers and tutors, mirroring the work done by interdisciplinary research teams. The learning outcomes also allow students to develop skills in independent inquiry, and their assessments enable them to produce work of a high standard in formats expected in academic and professional settings. Students will receive support and guidance to extend their understanding through an independent study project (dissertation) that can be tailored to their own research interests or career aspirations.
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ii) The ways in which these outcomes are distinctive or particularly advantageous to the student:
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The programme is made possible by the recent recruitment of Professor Ian Armit, a specialist in this field, who also brings a suite of research projects (including the COMMIOS project funded by a €2.5M ERC grant), that will establish York as a major centre for research on the European Iron Age. The European Iron Age has become an extremely dynamic focus of contemporary archaeological research. As a protohistoric period, where archaeological evidence is studied in parallel with often fragmentary Classical sources, it represents a truly interdisciplinary field that draws on a wide and diverse body of evidence. Recent, continent-wide, debates on the nature of ‘Celtic identity’, and the broader meaning of ethnicity in past societies, gives the field direct relevance to contemporary issues. The impact of new scientific methods, most obviously in genetic research, are increasingly informing our ideas and sparking new debates. With the COMMIOS Project, York will be at the forefront of these trends and this new MA course will consolidate York’s influence on the future of this interdisciplinary field.There are no other current UK masters courses specialising in European Iron Age archaeology, despite this being a significant area of the discipline. This gives the PLOs a distinctiveness relative to all other UK programmes and presents an advantage to students wishing to acquire distinctive expertise in this area. (max 200 words)
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iii) Please detail how you would support students from diverse entry routes to transition into the programme? For example, disciplinary knowledge and conventions of the discipline, language skills, academic and writing skills, lab skills, academic integrity
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Students from all backgrounds are welcome, and indeed a cohort from a range of disciplinary backgrounds will enhance interdisciplinarity and knowledge sharing. Archaeology’s extensive induction programmes outline the taught postgraduate experience, enhanced by the non-assessed Essential Skills module that runs throughout the Autumn and Spring terms. These prepare students for all aspects of M-level practice, including research and professional expectations (academic integrity, time management, citation, ethics), honing specific skill sets, including digital literacy. Archaeology maintains PG handbooks, extensive intranet pages, VLE, mailing lists, and use of specific technologies in individual modules (e.g. Google Groups), all of which connect students and staff. Formative assessments provide feedback on written work and assignment planning. Archaeology offers English language training to non-mother-tongue speakers. All core and options modules include small-group discussion formats and one-one assignment feedback. Extensive pastoral and academic supervision provide support across the whole year.
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iv) Please explain how the design of the programme enables students to progress through to the end of the award? For example, in terms of the development of research skills, enabling students to complete an independent study module, developing competence and confidence in practical skills/ professional skills, (See: QAA Mater's degree characteristics http://www.qaa.ac.uk/publications/information-and-guidance/publication?PubID=2977#.WS1JOevyu70).
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Core modules allow fundamental knowledge to be covered, which is then further developed through students’ choices of specialist Options modules. Students also select skills modules totalling 20 credits to familiarise them with particular practical skills, and complement their in-depth theoretical learning from the Core and Options modules. The Essential Skills module runs in parallel with the Core, Options and Skills modules, developing students’ capacities with larger and generic research and professional expectations. From the start of the Spring term, aspects of the ISM are introduced in non-assessed, formative fashion, including preparation of a research proposal, matching of students with dissertation supervisors or supplementary advisors, and familiarisation with the Assessed Lecture component of the ISM. This then leads students seamlessly into the ISM, where research proposals are confirmed, ethics approved (where necessary), and Assessed Lecture conducted.
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v) How the programme learning outcomes develop students’ digital literacy and use technology-enhanced learning to achieve the discipline and pedagogic goals which support active student learning through peer/tutor interaction, collaboration and formative (self) assessment opportunities (reference could be made to such as blogging, flipped classrooms, response 'clickers' in lectures, simulations, etc).
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Through the two-term compulsory Essential Skills module, all Masters students are introduced to key concepts in digital literacy, including critical thinking through and with digital technologies, use of core technologies like Google Docs, Word and digital presentation software, as well as key skills including digital archiving and imaging. These skills will be honed through the production of written assessments and through student oral presentations. Student learning is supported through live-streaming of Archaeology’s YOHRS and York Seminar Series on Facebook and YouTube, respectively. Individual core, option and skills modules often prioritise technology-enhanced learning through use of Google Groups and experimentation with public-facing communication strategies.
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vi) How the PLOs support and enhance the students’ employability (for example, opportunities for students to apply their learning in a real world setting)?
The programme's employability objectives should be informed by the University's Employability Strategy:
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http://www.york.ac.uk/about/departments/support-and-admin/careers/staff/
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Knowledge of Iron Age archaeology at masters level, will be a valuable skill for students wishing to pursue a career in commercial or curatorial archaeology, particularly since a great deal of rural/landscape archaeology in the UK derives from this period. There are no other degrees programmes in the UK specialising in this field, meaning that students will be in advantageous position when applying to organisations looking for these skills and knowledge-sets. The flexible model of skills modules built into the programme, which is another unique aspects of the York offer, enables students to acquire practical (laboratory and/or field-based) skills that will further enhance their employability in the commercial and curatorial sectors. Together, the knowledge and skills content makes this ia highly attractive programme for students seeking to enter the commercial and/or curatorial sectors in archaeology.
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vii) Consultation with Careers
The programme proposal should be discussed with Careers. Please contact your Faculty Employability Manager.
Please provide details of Careers' comments and your response.
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It would be interesting to explore the possibility of an alternative form of assessment - i.e. report writing or video creation. This would align well with PLO4 to account for communicating with different audiences.
With reference to PLO3 - would it be possible for some of the diverse forms of data that will be presented to the students to come from an external source?
Could there me a reflective element of assessment in terms of how well the individual has contributed to the teamwork element in PLO5?

Response to Careers consultant:

Re PLO3: Data sources include primary excavation and artefact data, academic publications, and archaeological reports produced by a range of commercial and public sector organisations, including published summaries and unpublished client reports (so-called 'grey literature'). The Department hosts the Archaeological Data Service which holds an unparalleled collection of archaeological grey literature, meaning students will be exposed to relevant reports from external professional organisations.
Re PLO4: Our skills modules are very much career oriented in the range of transferable and employment skills they develop and are assessed through a diversity of means. The students have a range of options for the four skills modules they will take and typical assessments include professional style reports, logbooks, lab books, online portfolios, group wikis, project proposals etc.
Re PLO5: We feel we have an effective approach to fostering teamwork skills though formative assessment and classroom based discussion, presentation and teamwork acitives. Certain skills modules that the students are free to chose have a teamwork based summative assessment. In this way, students chose to build thier own skills portfolios that are bespoke to the pathway they chose through their degrees.
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viii) How is teaching informed and led by research in the department/ centre/ University?
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The programme is made possible by the recent recruitment of Professor Ian Armit, a specialist in this field, who also brings a suite of research projects (including the COMMIOS project funded by a €2.5M ERC grant), that will establish York as a major centre for research on the European Iron Age. The European Iron Age has become an extremely dynamic focus of contemporary archaeological research. As a protohistoric period, where archaeological evidence is studied in parallel with often fragmentary Classical sources, it represents a truly interdisciplinary field that draws on a wide and diverse body of evidence. Recent, continent-wide, debates on the nature of ‘Celtic identity’, and the broader meaning of ethnicity in past societies, gives the field direct relevance to contemporary issues. The impact of new scientific methods, most obviously in genetic research, are increasingly informing our ideas and sparking new debates. With the COMMIOS Project, York will be at the forefront of these trends and this new MA course will consolidate York’s influence on the future of this interdisciplinary field. The programme is thus directly informaed by cutting-edge research. (max 200 words)
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5.d. Progression
For masters programmes where students do not incrementally 'progress' on the completion of a discrete Postgraduate Certificate and Postgraduate Diploma, please summarise students’ progressive development towards the achievement of PLOs, in terms of the characteristics that you expect students to demonstrate at the end of the set of modules or part thereof, and provide appropriate detail of the module diet students will need to complete.

This summary may be particularly helpful to students and the programme team where there is a high proportion of option modules and in circumstances where students registered on a higher award will exit early with a lower one.

Note: it is not expected that a position statement is written for each masters PLO, but this can be done if preferred.
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i) If the Postgraduate Certificate is an exit award only please:
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Provide a global statement to explain what a student who exits with a PG Cert award will be able to do (this should capture the extent of the achievement of the programme learning outcomes).

NB: Where more than one PG Cert is available as an exit award a statement should be provided detailing what a student exiting with either award will be able to do		Detail the module diet that students will have to have completed to gain the PG Cert as an exit award.

NB: Where more than one PG Cert is available as an exit award the module diet required for each award should be given
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Students exiting with a PG Cert will have progressed through their two core modules and completed all skills modules to earn this certificate, meaning that their engagement with all PLOs will have been assessed. However, by not taking Options Modules or the ISM their exposure to interdisciplinary approaches (PLO3) will be more limited, and they will have limited experience of research design and problem solving (PLO4) and of analysis and analytical skills (PLO5). Option and skills for all students must be discussed with the programme leader in advance to ensure these produce a coherant programme that furthers the interests and career aspirations of the student. Although students may subsequently choose to leave with a PG Cert, this process of guided skills choices will help ensure maximum coverage of PLOs. Successful completion of 2 x 20-credit Core modules, plus a total of 20 credits of Skills modules.
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ii) If the Postgraduate Diploma is an exit award only please:
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Provide a global statement to explain what a student who exits with a PG Dip award will be able to do (this should capture the extent of the achievement of the programme learning outcomes)Detail the module diet that students will have to have completed to gain the PG Dip as an exit award
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To earn this diploma students will have progressed through their two core modules (2 x 20 credits) and a combination of Option and Skills modules (totalling 60 credits), and will have completed an abbreviated version of the ISM module (extended essay), meaning that their engagement with all PLOs has been assessed but with limited experience of analysis and analytical skills (PLO5).
Successful completion of 100 credits of taught modules including the two core modules (2 x 20 credits), plus a 20-credit ISM extended essay in the summer term.
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5.e. Other features of the programme
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i) Involvement of partner organisations
Are any partner organisations involved in the delivery of the programme?
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Please Select Y/N: Noif Yes, outline the nature of their involvement (such as contributions to teaching, placement provision). Where appropriate, see also the:
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University guidance on collaborative provision
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(max 200 words)
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ii) Internationalisation/ globalisation
How does the programme promote internationalisation and encourage students to develop cross-cultural capabilities?
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Core modules discuss Europe-wide issues and themes in archaeology and cognate disciplines. Case-studies and datasets from around the world explored through Core and Option modules permit an in-depth consideration of these themes.
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iii) Inclusivity
How will good practice in ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion be embedded in the design, content and delivery of the programme?
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This refers to the protected characteristics and duties on the University outlined in the Equality Act 2010
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No aspect of the programme is in anyway prejudicial to individuals with protected characteristics, and indeed a diverse student cohort will enhance the diversity of viewpoints contributing to seminar discussions and presentations.

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6. Reference points and programme regulations
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6.a. Relevant Quality Assurance Agency benchmark statement(s) and other relevant external reference points
Please state relevant reference points consulted (e.g. Framework for Higher Education Qualifications, National Occupational Standards, Subject Benchmark Statements or the requirements of PSRBs): See also Taught Postgraduate Modular Scheme: Framework for Programme Design:
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Framework for Higher Education Qualifications (2014)
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6.b. University award regulations
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The University’s award and assessment regulations apply to all programmes: any exceptions that relate to this programme are approved by University Teaching Committee and are recorded at the end of this document.
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7. Programme Structure
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7.a. Module Structure and Summative Assessment Map
Please complete the summary table below which shows the module structure and the pattern of summative assessment through the programme.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
If the structure of your programme does not fit the usual academic year (for instance students start at the beginning of September or in January) please contact your Academic Quality Team contact in the Academic Support Office for guidance on how to represent the structure in an alternative format.

To clearly present the overall programme structure, include the name and details of each invidual CORE module in the rows below. For OPTION modules, ‘Option module’ or 'Option from list x' should be used in place of specifically including all named options. If the programme requires students to select option modules from specific lists by term of delivery or subject theme these lists should be provided in the next section (7.b).

From the drop-down select 'S' to indicate the start of the module, 'A' to indicate the timing of each distinct summative assessment point (eg. essay submission/ exam), and 'E' to indicate the end of teaching delivery for the module (if the end of the module coincides with the summative assessment select 'EA'). It is not expected that each summative task will be listed where an overall module might be assessed cumulatively (for example weekly problem sheets).

Summative assessment by exams should normally be scheduled in the spring week 1 and summer Common Assessment period (weeks 5-7). Where the summer CAP is used, a single ‘A’ can be used within the shaded cells as it is understood that you will not know in which week of the CAP the examination will take place. (NB: An additional resit assessment week is provided in week 10 of the summer term for postgraduate students. See Guide to Assessment, 5.4.a)
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http://www.york.ac.uk/about/departments/support-and-admin/registry-services/guide/
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Full time structure - Full time students take the two 20-credit core modules (one in autumn, one in spring), and options and skills modules to the value of 60 credits (30 in autumn, 30 in spring). Choices of option and skills modules must be decided in consultation with the programme leader to ensure a coherent programme that supports the interests and career aspirations of the student. The 80-credit independent study module (ISM) is primarily undertaken over the summer term and summer vacation, but with the non-assessed Dissertation Preparation Module providing support for dissertation research in the autumn term.
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CreditsModuleAutumn TermSpring Term Summer Term Summer Vacation
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