| Unit name | Dissertation |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HIST33101 |
| Credit points | 40 |
| Level of study | H/6 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Wallace |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts, Law and Social Sciences |
Why is this unit important?
Your dissertation capstone is the culmination of your degree and its value and importance far exceed the award of marks and classifications. Completion of an undergraduate dissertation is a milestone event which for most people only comes once in their lifetime. It demonstrates that you are capable of independently designing and executing a large individual research project, which requires considerable time and resource management skills. Successful completion also demonstrates significant levels of personal resilience. Engagement with one-on-one dissertation supervision requires an ability to reflect critically on yourself and your project. For all these reasons and more, your dissertation will be something that you always remember, and which only rises in significance in the years which follow your graduation.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
Your history programme has been building towards this point. All the skills you have acquired in units and assessments across your degree come together in your dissertation, from critical analysis of primary sources, to producing essay-length arguments, individual research projects, or historiographical work. For those of you who select the practice-based assessment option, you will build upon our pathway of applied and creative assessments introduced from the second year onwards.
An overview of content
The Dissertation is an exercise in extended independent research. Students are required to identify their own topic, formulate questions to be asked, identify main primary sources, set the research questions in context of issues arising from the secondary literature, and carry through an analytical study to the highest standards. In short, students will take their first independent steps as historians in their own right. They have the option to present this research either in the form of a traditional 10,000-word thesis or a public-facing output accompanied by a 5000-word critical reflection.
Guidance will be provided in the form of lectures on devising a research topic and using primary sources. Students will also be assigned a supervisor whose job is to help you stay on track and guide you through the research process. They will provide technical advice on how to complete a research project in history, but because students have complete freedom to choose their own topic, supervisors will not ordinarily be specialists in the same field of study. Students will receive guidance from their supervisors in one-to-one tutorials and small-group meetings. These meetings are arranged by supervisors and students (timetabled hours assist with this process) and these meetings are expected to work out at the equivalent of approximately 4 hours of individual supervision per student. Students share responsibility for arranging a suitable programme of supervision with their supervisor and are also free to consult other lecturers with relevant expertise.
How will students be different as a result of taking this unit?
With your history dissertation, you have a genuine opportunity to create new knowledge about the past and thus contribute to society’s understanding of itself and its heritage. Many of our former students have done precisely this, and some dissertations have been published in academic journals. For all students, though, completion of a dissertation capstone is a significant academic achievement in its own right, and a life milestone which will not soon be forgotten.
Your learning on this unit:
By the end of the unit, successful students will be able to:
The dissertation is a little different to other units you may have taken. A lecture series provides general scaffolding to the process as a whole as well as particular attention on common issues and concerns (e.g., research ethics). A series of asynchronous tasks and activities give you the chance to monitor your own progress and provide resources on areas of particular concern. In a unit where students have complete freedom over their own topic, however, the core of the teaching is delivered through non-specialist one-to-one and small-group supervision. This is designed to provide technical support in the design and delivery of a large independent research project in history.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
The dissertation unit includes two opportunities for 8-10 minute in-person formative presentations which happen within supervisory groups. This is a chance to solidify your ideas and gain feedback from supervisors and peers, as well as to hear about what other students are researching and to discuss common issues such as project scope, methodologies, and approaches to sources.
The first is called the Extended Proposal Presentation and takes place shortly before the winter break by supervisor/student arrangement. This is where you present your proposed programme of research.
The second is called the Dissertation Presentation and takes place shortly before the spring break by supervisor/student arrangement. This is where you present your main findings and arguments.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Students will have a choice between two assessment options.
Option 1: Dissertation, 10,000 words (100%) [ILOs 1-5]
Option 2: For this option, students receive an integrated mark for two components: (1) Practical Output and (2) Written Report, 5000 words (100%) [ILOs 1-4, 6].
The choice will be made during the normal unit choice process in the preceding year of study. Owing to the need to organise appropriate supervision, students will only be allowed to request a change to their proposed assessment option within the first two weeks of the academic year, and this cannot be guaranteed.
When assessment does not go to plan:
When required by the Board of Examiners, you will normally complete reassessments in the same formats as those outlined above. However, the Board reserves the right to modify the format or number of reassessments required. Details of reassessments are confirmed by the School/Centre shortly after the notification of your results at the end of the academic year.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. HIST33101).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The assessment methods listed in this unit specification are designed to enable students to demonstrate the named learning outcomes (LOs). Where a disability prevents a student from undertaking a specific method of assessment, schools will make reasonable adjustments to support a student to demonstrate the LO by an alternative method or with additional resources.
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
