Unit name | Dissertation with Fieldwork or Community Placement |
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Unit code | THRSM0121 |
Credit points | 40 |
Level of study | M/7 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 4 (weeks 1-24) |
Unit director | Dr. Langer |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
Successful completion of level 3, Year Abroad |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | Department of Religion and Theology |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This variant of the dissertation gives students the opportunity to combine their academic learning with practical experience of field-work or community-based placement. Students are supported to make contact and establish relationships with their chosen area of field-work / placement and to formulate research questions enabling them to engage with the field-work / placement in a scholarly context. Students will experience first-hand the interaction of religion, society and academia in their chosen community or placement and are encouraged to reflect on this in both their portfolio and the dissertation. This unit aims to help students plan ahead for a career after graduation and to enhance their employability by providing opportunities to network and to develop a range of practical and transferable skills, such as effective communication, presentation, negotiation and teamwork.
Successful students will be able to demonstrate:
All the above are assessed by the 7000-word project. In addition, as a result of working in a community successful students will be able to demonstrate in the 3,000 word portfolio:
Introductory 1 hr seminar on field work ethics and research methods, 2 hrs one-to-one supervisory sessions with Dissertation tutor at key stages; access to tutorial consultation with unit tutor in office hours. Opportunity for presentation of research materials in yearly department postgraduate conference. Attendance at fortnightly research seminar with PGT and PGR students. Library skills training and dissertation research training sessions.
1 x 7,000-word dissertation project (70%) [ILOs 1-7]
1 x 3,000-word portfolio consisting of: (a) analysis of place, situation or event; (b) structured interview and (c) reflective account. (30%) [ILOs 5, 6, 7]
Formative: student to present material from their dissertation in a group seminar, with feedback from other students (co-operative work), followed by feedback from academic supervisor. This seminar group for all dissertation students takes place soon after teaching block two has commenced.