The Diploma of Letters (Archaeology) requires the equivalent of one year of full-time study. It is only offered as an exit award for students currently enrolled in the Bachelor of Letters (Archaeology).
The specialisation undertaken by the student will be identified on the student’s transcript of academic record and on the parchment presented to the student on completion of the course.
Admission requirements
Applicants must normally hold an approved degree or equivalent qualification from an approved tertiary institution. The College Dean of Education may, however, under certain circumstances and subject to specific conditions, admit others who can show evidence of fitness for candidature.
Course aims
The course aims to:
- provide students with a general grounding in archaeological theory and method within a global context
- support students to begin to develop an understanding of how the study of archaeology interrelates with human behaviour and society - past and present
- introduce students to the skills and abilities to make inferences about past human behavioural variability from studies of artefacts, archaeological sites, and associated environments
- provide students with an opportunity either to concentrate on a particular area of archaeology
- produce graduates who are able to appreciate the value of working independently and collaboratively and who can articulate the value of life-long learning and the continual renewal of knowledge and skills in light of advances in their chosen field.
It is envisaged that the graduate qualities embedded in these aims will be introduced at first level, consolidated at the second level and mastered at the third level.
Learning outcomes
On the completion of the Diploma of Letters (Archaeology), students are able to:
- discuss their understanding of archaeology as it is practiced globally
- analyse the historical development of archaeology and examine how theoretical and methodological aspects of the discipline relate to the establishment of archaeology worldwide
- question how studies of material culture can provide an additional source of data to improve knowledge about human behavioural variability in past and contemporary societies
- appraise a particular area of archaeology or a broad range of areas of archaeology to peers
Program of study
To qualify for the Diploma of Letters (Archaeology), a student must complete 36 units according to the program of study set out below, with a grade of P or NGP or better in each topic.
Not all topics necessarily are available in a given year.
Specialisation – Archaeology
Core Topics
9 units comprising:
ARCH1001 Discovering Archaeology (4.5 units)
ARCH2202 Archaeology of the First Australians (4.5 units)
Option – Year 1 topics
Select 9 units of topics from the following list:
ARCH1002 From the Paleolithic to Pompeii: An Investigation of World Archaeology (4.5 units)
ARCH1006 Sex, Death and Ritual in the Ancient World (4.5 units)
ARCH1007 Ancient Egypt to the Aztecs: Foundations of Urban Life (4.5 units)
BIOL1xxx Human Evolution (4.5 units)
Option – Year 2 topics
Select 9 units of topics from the following list:
ARCH2106 Archaeological Field Methods (4.5 units)
ARCH2203 Australian Historical Artefacts (4.5 units)
ARCH2204 Australian Maritime Archaeology (4.5 units)
ARCH2207 The Archaeological Imagination: Fact, fantasy, fiction in archaeological interpretation (4.5 units)
ARCH2208 The Museum (4.5 units)
ARCH2209 The Archaeology of Art (4.5 units)
ARCH2212 Archaeology of Modern Society (4.5 units)
ARCH2213 Human Evolution and the Fossil Record (4.5 units)
ARCH2214 Europe before Europe: From Mesolithic to Medieval (4.5 units)
ARCH2216 Seafaring in the Ancient World (4.5 units)
ARCH2109 Cultural Anthropology (4.5 units)
ARCH2110 Lands Beneath the Winds: Archaeology of Southeast Asia (4.5 units)
Option – Year 3 topcs
Select 9 units of topics from the following list:
ARCH3107 History of Archaeological Thought (4.5 units)
ARCH3109 Environmental Archaeology (4.5 units)
ARCH3204 Archaeology of Native North America (4.5 units)
ARCH3208 History and Issues in Maritime Archaeology (4.5 units)
ARCH3214 Forensic Anthropology of the Human Skeleton (4.5 units)
