UNIVERSITY OF LONDON M.A. Courses in: Ancient History Classical Art & Archaeology Classics Late Antique & Byzantine Studies Published on behalf of: The Institute of Classical Studies King's College London, Classics Department Royal Holloway, Classics Department University College London, Greek and Latin Department University College London, History Department

Guidelines for Dissertations

1. Basic regulations

Candidates for the above degrees must submit a dissertation, written in English, on an approved subject. The dissertation counts as a quarter of the degree in terms of work and marks, but a passmark on the dissertation is needed to achieve an overall Pass in the degree.

The dissertation must normally be of between 10,000 and 12,000 words in length. The proposed title must be submitted by 31 January for approval by the Board of Examiners. Two typed and bound copies of the dissertation must be submitted. A dissertation which is not on the approved subject, which is badly presented, which exceeds the word limit or which is submitted after the deadline is liable to be failed with a mark of zero.

2. Subject

Candidates for the M.A. in Ancient History must choose an appropriate historical topic. Candidates for the M.A. in Classics may choose any appropriate topic in the fields of classical language, literature or thought, or the classical tradition. Candidates for the M.A. in Classical Art and Archaeology must choose an appropriate art-historical or archaeological topic. Candidates for the M.A. in Late Antique and Byzantine Studies may choose any appropriate topic in the field of Late Antique and Byzantine Studies.

University regulations for M.A. dissertations require 'an ordered and critical exposition of existing knowledge in any field or part of a field of study'. Candidates are expected to show broad familiarity with the main previous scholarly work on their subject. The development of original views, though not required, is encouraged. The basic requirement is for an independent response to primary material or an independent assessment of previous scholarship on a particular topic.

Students should choose, in consultation with their supervisor, a coherent subject of study appropriate to the degree-such as a historical phenomenon or period, a literary or philosophical oeuvre, text or manuscript, a category of artistic or archaeological material or a site, or an issue of interpretation or methodology - which fulfils the three following criteria:

1. The subject provides intellectual challenge in evaluating an unresolved debate, or challenging the existing mainstream view, or developing a new interpretation or interpreting new primary material.

2. The subject is not too large for a reasonably thorough discussion within the limits of 12,000 words, or too narrow to present adequate intellectual challenge.

3. The bulk of the essential secondary literature on the subject is in languages which the student can read.

Draft titles of dissertations, as approved by the supervisor, have to be submitted, via the Postgraduate Tutor in each Department, by 31 January for approval by the Board of Examiners. Precise titles must be submitted by 15 June in time for consideration by the Board. The Board may demand, via the Supervisor, clarification of a proposed title which it thinks is too vague or not clearly appropriate to the relevant M.A. degree.

3. Supervision and work

Supervisors will advise students in their choice of topic, give bibliographic guidance, provide written comments on written drafts of parts or the whole of the dissertation and discuss any major problems or issues raised, and will check that the candidates understand and follow the Guidelines for presentation and submission of the dissertation.

When students have identified their field of interest and a supervisor has been chosen, supervisors and students should meet promptly to agree on a particular topic and to arrange a pattern of meetings. Although students will have most time for writing their dissertations in June to September (after completion of their taught courses), it is in their own interest-and the January deadline for the submission of titles requires them-to begin work much earlier in the year. Students and supervisors should meet at least once before the end of the first term, and at least four times thereafter. Supervisors will advise students of when they will be away and unavailable for consultation, especially in the summer period. Students should note that supervisors can best help when written work has been submitted for comment, and that it is unwise to expect supervisors to be able to read and comment on substantial drafts submitted for the first time only in August or September, without checking their availability.

4. Content and presentation

A dissertation should begin with a brief explanation of the topic chosen and the problem(s) which the dissertation addresses. The main body of the dissertation should consist of a structured argument or survey which discusses the relevant primary material and main scholarly views. There should be a conclusion summarising the candidate's own response to the problem(s) raised. To aid clarity it often helps to divide a dissertation into a number of sections (and, sometimes, subsections), each clearly marked off with a typographically distinct heading. Sections may also be numbered consecutively.

The dissertation must give clear references to all ancient material and modern views discussed, so that readers (and the examiners) can locate them easily. References to ancient authors can normally be incorporated in the main text (e.g. 'Tacitus (Hist. 2.13) tells us . .'), but references to modern works are better given in consecutively numbered footnotes or endnotes (i.e. notes at the bottom of the page of main text to which they relate, or notes given together at the end of the main text).

A full bibliography of modern works cited must be given at the end of the dissertation. This should not include ancient authors, unless a particular edition is being cited specifically. The bibliography should list works in alphabetical order of author/editor, and should give the initials and surname of the author(s)/editor(s), the title of the work, and-for monographs (books)-its place and year of publication, or-for articles in journals-the title of the journal, its volume number and year, and the precise pages of the whole article. Examples:

P. Zanker, The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus (Ann Arbor 1988).

Aeschylus, Eumenides, ed. A. Sommerstein (Cambridge 1989).

E. Harris, 'Did the Athenians consider seduction a worse crime than rape?', Classical Quarterly 40 (1991) 370-377.

J. Weightman, 'Absurdist drama and religion', in ed. J. Redmond, Themes in Drama, 6 (Cambridge 1984) pp. 249-262.

Various permutations of detail are in current use and acceptable (supervisors will advise), but the items of information given above must always be included, and titles of ancient works, modern books and journals must always be italicised (or underlined), and titles of articles or contributions to edited volumes must be in plain type set within inverted commas. Standard abbreviations may be used for ancient authors and their works as given in Liddell & Scott and the Oxford Latin Dictionary (e.g. Aesch., Eu. ; Cic., Brut.), for inscriptions and papyri (e.g. CIL; P.Oxy.), and for journals as given in L'Année Philologique (e.g. CQ).

In footnotes/endnotes the full details of books and articles do not have to be given, as long as clear reference is made in an acceptable form to the full entry in the bibliography. Simplest is the Harvard system (e.g. Zanker 1988; Weightman 1984; adding specific page-numbers where appropriate, Harris 1991: 374-5). Supervisors will advise on other acceptable forms of reference.

In all this, the golden rules are clarity and consistency: any reasonably standard system which is consistent and clear will be acceptable.

Plagiarism

Failure to indicate that you are quoting, or closely paraphrasing, someone else's argument, words or material is a form of cheating called plagiarism. All quotations or paraphrases must be individually acknowledged by giving a precise reference to the source in a footnote, and word-for-word quotations must be placed in quotation-marks. Plagiarism is considered an examination offence under the University's M.A. Regulations, and as such will be referred to the appropriate committee of the Examinations Office for investigation and, if necessary, disciplinary action.

If a dissertation involves extensive detailed discussion of particular passages of text or manuscript, or sites, monuments or objects, or sets of data, these should be presented in the dissertation as quotations, illustrations or tables. Illustrations should be relevant to the discussion, not merely decorative. They should be numbered consecutively for clarity of reference in the text, have a brief identifying caption, and should be reproduced clearly. The regulations for the length of the dissertation, between 10,000 and 12,000 words, cover the main text and all footnotes/endnotes and any appendices, but exclude the title sheet, bibliography and any illustrations (with their captions) or tables of data (not including discussion). Candidates whose subject requires them to quote extensive passages of text can apply by 15 June through their supervisor to the Board of Examiners for a specified extension to the upper word limit.

Dissertations must be typed on A4 paper, using one side only, with double- or one-and-a-half-spacing of lines, adequate margins (allow 4 cm / 1.5 inches to the left for binding) and consecutive numbering of pages. Quotations in Greek, or other non-Roman alphabets, may be handwritten. Use of a word-processor is advised. Remember to keep separate back-up copies as work progresses; failure of computer equipment is not normally regarded as valid grounds for an extension. The final draft should be proofread carefully for errors of fact, grammar, spelling, punctuation and typing. The final version should be produced on a good quality printer.

For the M.A. in Ancient History, the M.A. in Classics and the M.A. in Classical Art and Archaeology, two complete copies of the dissertation must be submitted (i.e. both with quoted texts, illustrations etc). The second copy may be a good quality photocopy of the original. Both copies must have a title sheet at the beginning, giving the full name and College and Department of the candidate, the M.A. for which the candidate is registered (e.g. M.A. in Classical Art and Archaeology), and the approved title of the dissertation, the name of its supervisor and its length in words (see attached model). Both copies must be bound. The simplest acceptable method is to put the dissertation in an open clear plastic folder held firmly along the left margin by a rigid plastic grip.

For the M.A. in Late Antique and Byzantine Studies, three complete copies must be submitted, which should conform to the requirements set out in the previous paragraph.

A dissertation which is not on the approved subject, which is badly presented and difficult to read or which substantially exceeds the maximum word limit is liable to be very severely penalised by the Examiners. The candidate may instead be given the option of applying to defer submission of the dissertation (in suitably revised form) in the following academic year.

5. Submission

For the M.A. in Late Antique and Byzantine Studies, the three copies of the dissertation must be submitted by or on 31 August (or, if this is a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday), together with a brief summary of the contents of the dissertation. For the M.A. in Classics, the M.A. in Ancient History and the M.A. in Classical Art and Archaeology, the two copies of the dissertation must be submitted by or on 15 September (or, if this is a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday) to the Departmental Secretary of the candidate's Department, who will record on the title sheet of both copies the date of submission. Candidates should deliver their dissertations in person, and should note that alleged failures of postal or other delivery services will not normally be accepted as an adequate excuse for late submission. Departments are responsible for checking that each of their candidates submits two copies properly produced and titled, and for rectifying any omissions immediately. Students should also supply their Department with a self-addressed envelope large enough for return, after examination in September/October, of one copy of the dissertation.

Any candidate who is unable to meet the deadline for submission because of unforeseen serious short-term medical or other problems must promptly inform their supervisor or tutor, who will apply to the Chairman of the Board of Examiners for a brief postponement. Applications must reach the Chairman before the deadline, and the candidate must by the end of September supply adequate documentation of the problem. If postponement beyond the end of September is necessary, submission will normally have to be deferred to the next academic year. Dissertations not submitted, or submitted late without permission from the Chairman, will automatically be failed with a mark of zero. After the examining process is complete all copies of the dissertation will be returned to the candidate's Department, one for storage by the Department or College, one (the original), or two (M.A. in LABS), for return to the candidate.