The History of Art Dissertation aims to encourage independent research skills, encourage the development of critical writing skills, encourage professional standards for the presentation of research material and develop a thorough knowledge and understanding of your chosen topic and a critical awareness of the relationship of your own research to other work in the field

Timetable information: meetings with supervisor on a regular basis.

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Dissertation (6,000 - 7,500 words) - 90%

Literature Review (1,000 - 1,500 words) - 10%

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

This course will provide the opportunity to:

■ encourage independent research skills

■ encourage the development of critical writing skills

■ encourage professional standards for the presentation of research material.

■ develop a thorough knowledge and understanding of your chosen topic and a critical awareness of the relationship of your own research to other work in the field.

By the end of this course students will be able to:  

■ identify an appropriate topic which is viable within the constraints of time and length, which makes a distinct contribution to knowledge, and which has value for the student

■ identify the resources and support the student will need to complete the project

■ plan time efficiently in order to fulfil the requirements of the absolute deadline, and to ensure that the resources needed are available when the student needs them

■ use the library effectively, and know how to access material that is held in other centres

■ use the research methods most appropriate to the project, and be able to select from among a number of qualitative, quantitative, critical, historical and theoretical methodologies

■ use information technology effectively both for the retrieval of information and for its storage

■ apply consistent rules of presentation of bibliographic material, appendices and footnotes according to recognised academic standard forms

■ present research information and argument in the most appropriate form, selecting from among a number of possible forms

■ organise the material clearly, in a well-structured and clearly presented form and show an awareness of the relationship of the research to other work in the same area.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.