thesis guidelines archaeology leiden

Master Thesis Archaeological Science

Admission requirements.

Admission to the Master Archaeology programme, specifically the track Archaeological Science .

Description

The MSc thesis is the final masterpiece that shows that you can write, plan and execute an academic research project in Archaeological Science. Your research is a contribution to an academic debate related to your chosen specialisation. It is based on archaeological and/or environmental data derived from fieldwork, laboratory research, academic literature or external sources. The research may have a methodological focus.

Before you start your thesis research, your thesis topic has to be defined in a research proposal, which should also comprise clear research questions, a suitable methodology and a feasible plan for undertaking the research. A supervisor in your chosen field has to approve your proposal. Therefore you need to approach one of the supervisors listed below. Your project needs to be feasible and your supervisor should be able to supervise it. Therefore the subject will have to be related to the research topics of the Faculty of Archaeology as described on our website.

Once your proposal has been approved, your research should include a complete and accurate data description, an in-depth data analysis and an informed, well-argued data interpretation. The research should be positioned in a broader context and should include a critical analysis of the theoretical and/or methodological perspectives related to the research problem.The thesis consists of ca. 20,000-30,000 words and includes materials necessary to support your argument. This equals roughly 40-60 pages of text, plus figures, tables, references and appendices. Please note that the length of the thesis is not a norm in itself, but too many pages are not permitted.

More information on writing your thesis, guidelines, deadlines, forms and assessment criteria can be found on the Archaeology thesis webpage .

Course objectives

The master thesis and the accompanying tutorial will teach you to:

independently plan and execute a small research project on an archaeologically relevant topic;

formulate clear and relevant research questions;

apply a suitable and effective methodology;

collect and analyse scientific data of sufficient quality and quantity for the purpose of the research;

deal with limitations of the data in a critical way;

interpret the research results with reference to sufficient and relevant academic literature;

relate the research to a broader academic debate and current theoretical perspectives;

present the research in a coherent, well-argued and clearly formulated text, supported by adequate tables, figures and other supporting materials and maintain a critical attitude, and seek and use feedback in a constructive way.

Course schedule details for thesis tutorials can be found in the MA and MSc time schedule .

Mode of instruction

The master thesis tutorial has three modes of instruction:

1) Joint tutorial for all MSc students These classes will deal with essential skills for thesis writing on the master level, such as academic writing, formulating a research question, structuring the thesis, plagiarism, data quality and source criticism. Through lectures, discussions and assignments (individual or in groups) they will lay the formal groundwork for your thesis.

2) Group meetings with your thesis supervisor In these separate meetings each supervisor (listed below) will discuss suitable thesis topics, research questions, methods and research strategies in their field with the students who choose their specialisation. These meetings will have varying formats and will help to give the contents of your thesis shape and form.

3) Individual supervision Each student will also arrange individual meetings with their supervisor during which specific questions can be discussed. The norm for individual supervision is five meetings between student and first supervisor throughout the thesis trajectory:

Start-up meeting to discuss the research topic;

Meeting on feedback and discussion of the research plan (before submission of the research proposal);

Meeting on feedback on a chapter and the thesis outline;

Meeting to discuss the progress of the research;

Meeting on feedback and discussion of the complete first draft.

You can always ask for an appointment, but the supervisor may ask for a progress report as well.

Thesis coordinators for Archaeological Science

The following lecturers are available for thesis supervision in the MSc programme Archaeological Science. It is your responsibility to contact the supervisor of your choice according to the research topic that you wish to investigate:

Archaeozoology: dr. L. (Laura) Llorente Rodriguez

Archaeobotany: dr. M.H. (Mike) Field

Human Osteoarchaeology: dr. S.A. (Sarah) Schrader

Material Culture Studies: prof. dr. A.L. (Annelou) van Gijn

Digital Archaeology: dr. K. (Karsten) Lambers

Course load

Thesis of ca. 20,000-30,000 words (10 ec);

Ca. 280 hours of individual research (10 ec).

Assessment method

MSc thesis (100%).

See the Faculty website for thesis guidelines and assessment criteria. Retake of the thesis: Should you receive a fail grade for your thesis, you have six weeks after receiving your result to make improvements based on the assessment by your supervisor and the second reader. The grade for the resubmitted thesis cannot be higher than 7.0. If you fail the revised thesis as well, you need to write a new thesis on a new subject.

Submission deadlines:

Research proposal: September starters > 1 December, February starters > 1 May;

Complete first draft: September starters > 1 May, February starters > 1 November;

Final version of the thesis for assessment and grading: September starters > 15 June (for graduation at the end of August), February starters > 15 December (for graduation at the end of February).

After each submission you will receive feedback from your supervisor within 15 working days.

Reading list

To be compiled by each student individually depending on their thesis topic. The list needs to be approved by the thesis supervisor.

Registration

Registration via uSis is mandatory. You can use the study activity number in the timetable for registration.

For general information about the MSc thesis, please contact dr. K. (Karsten) Lambers .

Compulsory attendance;

The joint thesis tutorial is taught in both semesters. If you start your programme in September, you participate in semester 1. If you start your programme in February, you participate in semester 2.

• All categories

Archaeology (BA)

Archaeology in Leiden encompasses the study of societies, cultures, and human behaviour from the past, aiming to reconstruct and revive them. With our mix of education and research you lay a strong foundation for an international career in archaeology or heritage management.

Specialisations

• Heritage and Society (BA)
• World Archaeology (BA)

BA Archaeology at Leiden University

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Why Max Condon chose Archaeology

"At high school, I was always interested in the classics. We studied ancient literature and cultures and I fell in love with the Mediterranean region. I’m from England and I just wanted some adventure in my life. I wanted to live in a different country and have the challenge of not knowing anybody. So I visited Archaeology at an Open Day in Leiden. In general, the whole experience has been fantastic so far."

Ruud Stelten

'In the first year, the Archeology bachelor is very broad and you learn a lot: from bones to animal remains and pottery. That proves to be very useful, because in my job as an archaeologist on St. Eustatius I can find everything. In addition, the method and technical lectures are of course very relevant. I found it very pleasant that you were encouraged by the programme not to take over everything without thinking, but to formulate your own points of view. That way you learn to be critical and to develop your own interests.'

Joanita Vroom

"The international approach makes Archaeology in Leiden unique. We have lecturers and researchers from South America to Asia, and we study a wide variety of epochs."

Do the 360 Tour of the Faculty of Archaeology

Why study archaeology.

Make a meaningful contribution to our knowledge of humankind by studying the activities and behaviour of people from the past. With learnings from history, you will gain new insights into our present-day world. You will look at contemporary issues like migration, globalisation, and climate change through an archaeological lense. With this unique angle, you may contribute to the public debate.

Depending on your preferences, you may also immerse yourself in the role of heritage in society. You will think about the future and the preservation of heritage, and you will gain experience with heritage policy. Furthermore, you will explore current issues, for example the role of cultural heritage within migrant communities.

After your first year you will choose one of the following specialisations:

• Heritage and Society
• World Archaeology

Archaeology at Leiden University

Furthermore, the programme offers:

• a strong, global emphasis, with wide networks in international research;
• excellent facilities in the heart of Leiden’s academic community;
• English language teaching by enthusiastic lecturers;
• a lively and sociable study association.

Check out even more reasons to study Archaeology at Leiden University .

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Subject guide

Bachelor and Master theses of Leiden Universtity

As a rule, printed BA and MA theses were not included in the library collection. Starting 2010, BA and MA theses of the Faculties of Archaeology, Humanities, and Social and Behavioural Sciences are included in the Student Repository of Scholarly Publications. These theses are not included in the catalogue, but the titles can be found in Google Scholar.

If you are looking for an unpublished thesis it is advised to contact the secretariat of the department where the author of the thesis concerned has graduated.

At the Wijnhaven library you can find theses of Public Administration that were handed in between 2010 and 2011. The theses are available for loan.

Bachelor and Master theses of other Dutch universities

Erasmus University Thesis Repository

Radboud Educational Repository

TU Delft Education Repository

University of Groningen Thesis Research Portal

Utrecht University Student Theses Repository

UvA Scripties Online

VU Online Scriptiedatabase

Leiden PhD theses

Digitized Recent PhD theses (from approximately 2005 on) by Leiden PhD students are available digitally through Scholarly Publications . The site offers free access to these PhD theses. However, in some cases a thesis may be under embargo temporarily and access to its full-text version will only be granted later. Printed All Leiden PhD theses are included in the Catalogue , file tab Leiden Collections. Narrow down your question by typing dissertation  in a second search field.

Dutch PhD theses

Recent PhD theses (from approximately 2005 on) from all universities in the Netherlands are available digitally through OpenAire , a database with free access. However, in some cases also here a thesis may be under embargo temporarily and access to the full-text version of the thesis may only be granted at a later date.

For paper versions of Dutch PhD theses that cannot be found in the Catalogue  refer to WorldCat . This database contains the holdings of all Dutch university libraries and the Koninklijke Bibliotheek. 

International PhD theses

Many recent scientific publications, including PhD theses, are offered full-text in repositories on the internet, free of charge. The websites mentioned below offer access to collections of repositories:

The British site OpenDOAR (The Directory of Open Access Repositories)  offers access to more than 1500 repositories world-wide. All included repositories have been reviewed and approved by OpenDOAR staff members. The site maintains a user-friendly interface.

OATD (Open Access Theses and Dissertations) is a resource maintained by several US University Libraries, for finding open access graduate theses and dissertations published around the world. OATD tries to index only graduate-level theses and dissertations that are freely available to download, they leave out closed-access and embargoed ETDs.

The British site ROAR (Registry of Open Access Repositories) also offers access to repositories world-wide, but, contrary to OpenDOAR, is filled automatically.

OpenAIRE (Open Access Infrastructure for Research in Europe) gives an overview of, and offers access to more than 8.000.000 of Open Access publications from 460+ data providers, with links to funding, datasets and more.

OIAster (originally a project by Michigan University, USA) offers access to scientific publications world-wide. Since December 2009 this database has been integrated in WorldCat .

DART-Europe   is a webportal that provides access to more then 360.000 scientific dissertations from more then 500 European universities. DART stands for Digital Archive of Research Theses

EBSCO Open Dissertations : a free database containing hundreds of thousands digital dissertations and theses. Its contents are harvested from repositories of research universities from around the world.

Through the Catalogue (tab Database Search) you are offered access to the following databases of PhD theses:

China Dissertations : contains full-text PhD theses from 1999 on. Access only with a ULCN account and matching password.

Proquest Dissertations & Theses Global  database with data (not full-text, but abstracts) of mainly North American PhD theses beginning in 1637.  It is possible to order the full-text on payment. Access only available with a ULCN account and matching password.

Leiden University Student Repository

Browse through thousands of student theses

Explore more than 40.000 theses across more than 70 University Bachelor and Master programmes. Search all items

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Student theses at Leiden University

The Student Repository offers an online overview of theses from most Leiden University Bachelor and Master programmes.

Many of these theses are available in full text. Bachelor Theses are by default closed access, unless the author and thesis supervisor have decided to make the thesis available. Master thesis are by default available in open access unless the author and thesis supervisor have decided to put an embargo on the availability of the material.

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Thesis timeline Faculty of Archaeology

30 May 2023

This timeline is relevant for all thesis examiners of the Faculty of Archaeology.

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