Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World

Honors in Archaeology and the Ancient World

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Honors in Archaeology and the Ancient World

An Honors concentration in any track requires the successful completion of all the standard concentration requirements with the addition of an Honors thesis.

For the preparation of this thesis, students will ordinarily enroll in ARCH 1970, during the first semester of the senior year and ARCH 1990 during the second semester of the senior year (these courses may not be taken S/NC, nor may they be used to satisfy the standard requirements of the concentration). In order to qualify for honors, students must have received more A’s than B’s in concentration courses completed.

Honors concentrations are recommended for students considering graduate work in the discipline of archaeology. Any student interested in a course of graduate study should speak to JIAAW's Assistant Director and faculty members as soon as possible, not least for advice about additional forms of preparation. Graduate work in the archaeology of the ancient world, for example, requires knowledge of appropriate ancient, as well as modern, languages. Students should start work on acquiring these skills as early as possible.

The Honors Thesis

The Honors thesis is an extended essay, usually of between 40 and 60 pages in length, researched and written under the supervision of a faculty advisor and second reader during the senior year (during which the student must be enrolled in ARCH 1970 in the Fall and ARCH 1990 in the Spring semester).

Where appropriate, the advisor or the reader, but not both of them, may be in a unit other than the Joukowsky Institute for Archaeology and the Ancient World. The specific topic and approach of the thesis are worked out between the student and the thesis advisor, with assistance from the student's second reader. This process should begin in the latter part of the student's junior year.

Thesis Proposal

A preliminary title and one-page outline of the proposed Honors thesis is due to Sarah Sharpe and the thesis advisor by May 15th of the junior year. This proposal is not intended to be comprehensive or binding, but should provide a broad outline of the students intended topic.

Thesis Deadlines

The deadlines for thesis drafts, and for final thesis submission, will be agreed between the student and the faculty advisors. It is expected that students will have submitted at least one full thesis chapter by the end of the student's penultimate semester. The deadline for final thesis submission typically should be on or before April 15th, and must be no later than the first day of Reading Period in the final semester of senior year. Both a bound and an electronic version of the final thesis must be submitted to the Joukowsky Institute by May 1, via email to Joukowsky_Institute@brown.edu.

The completed thesis will be evaluated by the advisor and second reader, who will discuss its strengths and weaknesses in a joint meeting with the student; they will then make a recommendation concerning Honors, and also agree a grade for ARCH 1990.

The Honors concentrators will be asked to make a short public presentation about their work; this event will be organized by JIAAW's Assistant Director, and usually occurs during or shortly after Reading Period.

Evaluation

The Director of Undergraduate Studies will review the student’s overall record, in addition to the thesis evaluations. If all requirements have been successfully met, the recommendation will be made that the student graduate with Honors.