Statutes and Ordinances of the University of Cambridge
Preceding: Chapter III
Following: Chapter V
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CHAPTER IV
pp. 270–275
PRELIMINARY EXAMINATIONS AND TRIPOS EXAMINATIONS

The provisions contained in this Chapter are Regulations of the General Board

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In this section

TRIPOS EXAMINATIONS

ARCHAEOLOGY TRIPOS1

Amended by Grace 3 of 19 July 2017 and Notice (Reporter, 2016–17, p. 536)

General

Three Parts.

1. The Archaeology Tripos shall consist of three Parts: Part I, Part IIa, and Part IIb. In Part IIa and Part IIb there shall be an examination in each of the following four subjects: Archaeology, Assyriology, Egyptology, and Biological Anthropology, and there shall be a joint examination in each of the following pairs of subjects: Biological Anthropology and Archaeology, and Egyptology and Assyriology. For Part I there shall be a single class-list; for Part IIa and Part IIb there shall be a separate class-list for each single-subject examination and for each joint examination.

Examiners and Assessors.

2. There shall be three bodies of Examiners, one for Part I, one for Part IIa, and one for Part IIb. The Faculty Board of Human, Social, and Political Sciences shall nominate a Chair of Examiners for each of the three bodies, Senior Examiners for Part IIa and Part IIb, and other Examiners for each Part as they shall deem sufficient. The Faculty Board shall have power to nominate such number of Assessors as they shall deem sufficient to assist the Examiners for each Part. If required to do so, Assessors shall set papers in the subject or subjects assigned to them, shall mark the answers of the candidates in those papers, shall assess dissertations, and shall advise the Examiners on the performance of candidates in the examination. Assessors may be summoned to meetings of the Examiners for the purpose of consultation and advice, but shall not be entitled to vote.

Supplementary regulations.

3. The Faculty Board may from time to time make supplementary regulations defining all or any of the subjects and specified texts of examination and may modify, alter, or withdraw such supplementary regulations as they see fit, due care being taken that sufficient notice is given of any change.

Notice of variable subjects.

4. Before the end of the Easter Term each year the Faculty Board shall give notice of the variable subjects for the examinations to be held in the academical year next following; provided that the Board shall have the power of subsequently issuing amendments if they have due reason for doing so and if they are satisfied that no student’s preparation for the examination is adversely affected. The Board shall have power when they give notice of variable subjects to announce any consequential restriction on the combination of papers that a candidate may choose to offer.

5. The questions proposed by each Examiner and Assessor shall be submitted for approval to the whole body of Examiners for Part I or to the Examiners in the particular subject or subjects for Part IIa or Part IIb.

Class-lists.

6. Separate meetings shall be held of the Examiners for Part I and of the Examiners for Part IIa and Part IIb, at which the respective class-lists shall be drawn up. In each class-list the names of the candidates who deserve honours shall be placed in three classes, of which the second shall be divided into two divisions. The names in the first and third classes, and in each division of the second class, shall be arranged in alphabetical order. For special excellence a mark of distinction may be awarded.

7. No student shall be a candidate for more than one Part, or any Part and also for another Honours Examination, in the same term.

8. No student who has been a candidate for any Part shall again be a candidate for the same Part.

9. A candidate shall not offer in any Part of the Tripos a paper that he or she has previously offered in another University examination.

Part I

Standing of candidates.

10. The following may present themselves as candidates for honours in Part I:

  1. (a)a student who has not obtained honours in another Honours Examination, provided that he or she has kept one term and that three complete terms have not passed after the student’s first term of residence;
  2. (b)a student who has obtained honours in another Honours Examination, in the year after so obtaining honours, provided that he or she has kept seven terms and that nine complete terms have not passed after the student’s first term of residence.
Scheme of examination for Part I.

11. The scheme of examination for Part I shall be as follows:

Section A

A1.

World archaeology

A2.

Archaeology in action (also serves as Paper O12 of Part II of the Classical Tripos)

A3.

Introduction to the cultures of Egypt and Mesopotamia

A4.

Akkadian language 1 (also serves as Paper X.1 of Part Ia of the Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Tripos and as Paper O7 of Part II of the Classical Tripos)

A5.

Egyptian language 1 (also serves as Paper X.2 of Part Ia of the Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Tripos)

A6.

Being human: interdisciplinary approaches

A7.

Humans in biological perspective

Section B

POL1.

The modern state and its alternatives (Paper POL1 of the Human, Social, and Political Sciences Tripos)

SAN1.

Social anthropology: the comparative perspective (Paper SAN1 of the Human, Social, and Political Sciences Tripos)

SOC1.

Modern societies I: introduction to sociology (Paper SOC1 of the Human, Social, and Political Sciences Tripos)

PBS1.

Introduction to psychology (Paper PBS1 of the Psychological and Behavioural Sciences Tripos)

A candidate for Part I shall be required to offer four papers as follows:

  1. (a)three papers from Section A;
  2. (b)one further paper from Section A or one paper from Section B.

Part IIa and Part IIb

Standing of candidates.

12. The following may present themselves as candidates for honours in Part IIa:

  1. (a)a student who has obtained honours in Part I of the Archaeology Tripos in the year next after so obtaining honours, provided that six complete terms have not passed after her or his first term of residence;
  2. (b)a student who has obtained honours in any other Honours Examination, in the year next after or next but one after so obtaining honours, provided that twelve complete terms have not passed after her or his first term of residence;2

provided that no student shall be a candidate for Part IIa in Archaeology or Biological Anthropology and Archaeology unless the Head of the Department of Archaeology is satisfied that the student has, since matriculation, undertaken two weeks of excavation on a project approved by the Head of the Department, provided that the Head of the Department shall have the power to grant exemption from this requirement to a candidate who has obtained or will obtain an equivalent amount of appropriate experience in other ways.

13. A student who has obtained honours in Part IIa of the Archaeology Tripos may be a candidate for honours in Part IIb in the year next after so obtaining honours, provided that:

  1. (i)the student has kept seven terms and twelve complete terms have not passed after her or his first term of residence;2
  2. (ii)no student shall be a candidate for Part IIb in Archaeology or Biological Anthropology and Archaeology unless the Head of the Department of Archaeology is satisfied that the student has, since matriculation, undertaken at least one week of study visit and four weeks of excavation or other fieldwork on a project approved by the Head of the Department, provided that the Head of the Department shall have the power to grant exemption from this requirement to a candidate who has obtained an equivalent amount of appropriate experience in other ways.
  3. (iii)no student shall be a candidate for Part IIb in Assyriology, Egyptology, or Assyriology and Egyptology unless the Head of the Department of Archaeology is satisfied that the student has, since matriculation, undertaken four weeks of study visit, study in a museum, and/or fieldwork, according to a plan approved by the Head of the Department, provided that the Head of the Department shall have the power to grant exemption from this requirement to a candidate who has obtained an equivalent amount of appropriate experience in other ways.

14. A student who has obtained honours in another Honours Examination other than Part IIa of the Archaeology Tripos may be a candidate for honours in either Part IIa or Part IIb in the year after so obtaining honours, provided that the student has kept seven terms and that twelve complete terms have not passed after her or his first term of residence. Such students shall offer, subject to the provisions of Regulation 9, four papers chosen from those available in Part IIa and Part IIb, in accordance with the guidelines issued by the Faculty Board, and conditional upon written permission from the Head of Department obtained not later than the division of the Michaelmas Term next preceding the examination.

Scheme of examination for Part IIa and Part IIb.

15. The scheme of examination for Part IIa and Part IIb shall be as follows:

A11.

Archaeological theory and practice I

A12.

From data to interpretation

A13.

Archaeological theory and practice II

A14.

A topic in archaeology 1

A15.

A topic in archaeology 2

A16.

A topic in archaeology 3

A17.

A topic in archaeology 4

A18.

A topic in archaeology 5

A19.

The past in the present*

A20.

A special topic in archaeology 1*

A21.

A special topic in archaeology 2*

A22.

A special topic in archaeology 3*

A23.

A special topic in archaeology 4*

A24.

A special topic in archaeology 5*

A25.

A special topic in archaeology 6*

A26.

A special topic in archaeology 7*

A27.

A special topic in archaeology 8*

A28.

A special topic in archaeology 9*

A29.

A special topic in archaeology 10*

A30.

A topic within classical archaeology and/or art (Paper 9 from Part Ib of the Classical Tripos)

A31.

A topic within classical archaeology and/or art (Paper D1 from Part II of the Classical Tripos)

A32.

A topic within classical archaeology and/or art (Paper D2 from Part II of the Classical Tripos)

A33.

A topic within classical archaeology and/or art (Paper D3 from Part II of the Classical Tripos)

A34.

A topic within classical archaeology and/or art (Paper D4 from Part II of the Classical Tripos)

A41.

Society and settlement in Ancient Egypt (offered in alternate years)

A42.

Ancient Egypt in context: an archaeology of international foreign relations (offered in alternate years)

A43.

The archaeology of religion in Ancient Egypt (offered in alternate years)

A44.

The archaeology of death and burial in Ancient Egypt (offered in alternate years)

A45.

Mesopotamian archaeology I: prehistory and early states (offered in alternate years)

A46.

Mesopotamian archaeology II: territorial states to empires (offered in alternate years)

A47.

Mesopotamian culture I: literature (offered in alternate years)

A48.

Mesopotamian culture II: religion and scholarship (offered in alternate years)

A49.

Akkadian language II

A50.

Akkadian language III

A51.

Sumerian language

A52.

Middle Egyptian texts

A53.

Old and Late Egyptian texts

A54.

Coptic

A55.

Mesopotamian history I: states and structures (offered in alternate years)

A56.

Mesopotamian history II: empires and systems (offered in alternate years)

A61.

Social networks and behavioural ecology

A62.

Human evolution and palaeolithic archaeology

A63.

A subject in biological anthropology I

A64.

A subject in biological anthropology II

A65.

A subject in biological anthropology III

A66.

A subject in biological anthropology IV6

A67.

A subject in biological anthropology V6

*Papers marked above with an asterisk shall be offered over one term.
 

Part IIa.

16. Subject to the provisions of Regulation 9, candidates for Part IIa shall offer papers and other exercises as follows:

(a) Candidates in Archaeology

(i)

Paper A11;

(ii)

Paper A12;

(iii)

one paper chosen from the following: A23, A14–A18, A41–A46;

(iv)

one further paper chosen from the following: A14–A18, A30, A41–A46, A61–A67, or POL3, POL4, SAN7–SAN13, SOC3, SOC4 from the Human, Social, and Political Sciences Tripos.

(b) Candidates in Assyriology

(i)

Paper A49 or A44;

(ii)

Paper A45 or A46;

(iii)

one paper chosen from the following: A47–A48, A55–A56;

(iv)

one further paper chosen from the following: A2, A11, A12, A14–A18, A30, A41–A44, A47–A48, A55–A56, A61–A67, or POL3, POL4, SAN7–SAN13, SOC3, SOC4 from the Human, Social, and Political Sciences Tripos.

(c) Candidates in Biological Anthropology

(i)

Paper A61;

(ii)

Paper A62;

(iii)

Paper A12;

(iv)

one paper chosen from the following: A2, A11, A14–A18, A30, A41–A46, A63–A67, or POL3, POL4, SAN7–SAN13, SOC3, SOC4 from the Human, Social, and Political Sciences Tripos, or PBS3 or PBS4 from Part Ib of the Psychological and Behavioural Sciences Tripos.

(d) Candidates in Egyptology

(i)

Paper A52 or A55;

(ii)

Paper A23 or A11;

(iii)

Paper A41 or A42;

(iv)

Paper A43 or A44.

(e) Candidates in Assyriology and Egyptology

(i)

Paper A49 or A44;

(ii)

Paper A52 or A55;

(iii)

one paper chosen from A41–A44;

(iv)

one paper chosen from A45–A48.

(f) Candidates in Biological Anthropology and Archaeology

(i)

Paper A23 or A11;

(ii)

one further paper chosen from the following: A2, A11, A14–A18, A30, A41–A46;

(iii)

two papers chosen from A12, A61–A62.
Part IIb.

17. Candidates for Part IIb who have taken Part IIa in the Archaeology Tripos may not change their subject track between Parts IIa and IIb, unless changing from a joint track to one of the single subjects within it, unless with the written permission of the Head of the Department of Archaeology given before the division of Michaelmas Term. Subject to the provisions of Regulation 9, candidates for Part IIb shall offer papers and other exercises as follows:

(a) Candidates in Archaeology

(i)

Paper A117 or A13;

(ii)

a dissertation on a subject approved by the Head of the Department of Archaeology which shall be submitted in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 18;

(iii)

Paper A19 and one paper chosen from A20–A29;

(iv)

either two further papers chosen from A20–A29, or one further paper chosen from the following: A14–A18, A31–A34, A41–A46, A61–A67, or POL13, POL14, SAN7—SAN13, or SOC6—SOC15 from the Human, Social, and Political Sciences Tripos.

(b) Candidates in Assyriology

(i)

Paper A498 or A50;

(ii)

Paper A45 or A46;

(iii)

one paper chosen from the following: A47–A48, A51, A55–A56;

(iv)

either one further paper chosen from the following: A13–A18, A31–A34, A41–A44, A51, A55–A56, A61–A67; or two papers chosen from Papers A19–A29; or one Part IIb paper chosen from POL13, POL14, SAN7–SAN13, or SOC6–SOC15 from the Human, Social, and Political Sciences Tripos; or a dissertation on a subject approved by the Head of the Department of Archaeology which shall be submitted in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 18.

(c) Candidates in Biological Anthropology

(i)

if a candidate took Part IIa of the Archaeology Tripos:

   (1) two papers chosen from A63–A67;
   (2) either one further paper chosen from the following: A63–A67, A13–A18, A31–A34, A41–A46; or two further papers chosen from A19–A29;

 (3) either one further paper chosen from the following: A63–A67, A13–A18, A31–A32, A41–A46; or two further papers chosen from A19–A29; or a dissertation on a subject approved by the Head of the Department of Archaeology which shall be submitted in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 18;

(ii)

if a candidate did not take Part IIa of the Archaeology Tripos:

   (1) Paper A61;

 (2) Paper A62;
   (3) Paper A12;

 (4) either one paper chosen from the following: A63–A67, A13–A18, A31–A34, A41–A46; or two papers chosen from A19–A29; or a dissertation on a subject approved by the Head of the Department of Archaeology which shall be submitted in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 18.

(d) Candidates in Egyptology

(i)

Paper A529 or A53;

(ii)

Paper A41, A42, or A5410;

(iii)

Paper A43, A44, or A5410;

(iv)

a dissertation on a subject approved by the Head of the Department of Archaeology which shall be submitted in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 18.

(e) Candidates in Assyriology and Egyptology

(i)

Paper A498 or A50;

(ii)

Paper A529 or A53;

(iii)

one paper chosen from A41–A48;

(iv)

either one further paper chosen from the following: A41–A48 or A51; or a dissertation on a subject approved by the Head of the Department of Archaeology which shall be submitted in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 18.

(f) Candidates in Biological Anthropology and Archaeology

(i)

Paper A11 or A13;

(ii)

one paper chosen from A63–A67;

(iii)

one paper chosen from A63–A67;

(iv)

either two papers chosen from A19–A29; or one paper chosen from the following: A14–A18, A31–A34, or A41–A46; or a dissertation on a subject approved by the Head of the Department of Archaeology which shall be submitted in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 18.

Dissertations.

18. (a) A candidate for Part IIb who offers a dissertation shall submit an application, including the title of the proposed dissertation and a brief account of its scope. Applications shall be submitted to the Head of the Department so as to arrive not later than the division of the Full Michaelmas Term next preceding the examination.

(b) Each candidate must obtain the approval of the Head of Department for the proposed title not later than the division of the Lent Term. When the Head of Department has approved a title, no change shall be made to it without the further approval of the Head of Department.

(c) A dissertation shall be of not more than 10,000 words in length. The word count will include footnotes, figures, tables, and captions but will not include appendices and bibliography. Each dissertation shall be typewritten, with two printed copies submitted in addition to a copy in an approved electronic format. A dissertation shall be accompanied by (i) a brief synopsis on a separate sheet of paper of the contents of the dissertation, and (ii) a certificate signed by the candidate stating the word count of the dissertation, that it is her or his own original work, and that it does not contain material that has already been used to any substantial extent for a comparable purpose.

(d) A dissertation shall be submitted to the Senior Examiner not later than the second Friday of the Full Easter Term in which the examination is held.

19. At the discretion of the Examiners, a candidate for Part IIb may be examined viva voce.

Temporary Regulation

20. The examinations for the Archaeology Tripos shall be held for the first time as follows:

Part I in 2018

Part IIa in 2019

Part IIb in 2020

Footnotes

  1. 1. These regulations will come into effect in accordance with the timetable in Temporary Regulation 20, p. 275.a
  2. 2. See also the regulations for Affiliated Students (p. 169).a b
  3. 3. Paper A2 is required if a candidate has not taken it at Part I.a b c
  4. 4. Paper A4 is required if a candidate has not taken it at Part I.a b
  5. 5. Paper A5 is required if a candidate has not taken it at Part I.a b
  6. 6. This paper is not available in 2017–18.a b
  7. 7. Paper A11 is required if a candidate has not taken it at Part IIa.a
  8. 8. Paper A49 is required if a candidate has not taken it at Part IIa.a b
  9. 9. Paper A52 is required if a candidate has not taken it at Part IIa.a b
  10. 10. Paper A54 can only be taken if a candidate is also taking Paper A53 in Part IIb.a b

Revised edition 2017

© The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Cambridge