MScEcon/Diploma in Archive Administration

By studying the MScEcon in Archive Administration at postgraduate level, you will learn professional principles and techniques and acquire the core skills which will enable you to play a part in the preservation, management and exploitation of an invaluable informational and historical resource.

This course is designed to prepare you for work in any archive or records management environment. It provides the professional training which is required for entry into these professional areas. The employment success of former students is almost 100% within the archives/records management profession.

Overview

The course is divided into two parts: Part I (120 credits) is the taught course, successful completion of which reaches Diploma-level. Part II (60 credits) involves writing a dissertation, to be submitted for the Master’s-level qualification.

The course is available full-time or part-time (part-time students must be generally able to attend classes for half of each week in term time, over two years). Exit points exist at Diploma (9 months) and Master's level (12 months).

Teaching methods include lectures, seminars and practical workshops. Lectures and seminars are intended to provide a clear framework for further reading, questioning and thought. We aim to provide a supportive learning environment: help and guidance are always available.

A significant proportion of your learning takes place in study visits and fieldwork, where you will need to observe and relate what you have learnt to the practice in a number of record keeping environments. Practical experience gained before embarking on the course provides a very important foundation for the training experience of the course itself.

Entry Requirements

To be considered for the course you should have, or expect to obtain, a good honours degree, which can be in any subject.

It is also essential that you obtain at least six weeks pre-course practical work experience (paid or voluntary) in a record repository under the supervision of a professional archivist or records manager, prior to taking up a place on the course. In fact, most applicants offer much longer periods of work experience, a significant number having completed a period in employment as an ‘archive trainee’ in a record office. Appropriate pre-course experience is essential in order to enable you to gain full benefit from the course and be well placed to move into subsequent professional employment. A substantial period of work experience will increase your chances of getting a place on the course but each application is considered on its individual merits.

Although no formal Latin qualification is required, a working knowledge of Latin must be established before starting the course. You may do this by acquiring a copy of Eileen Gooder’s Latin for Local History, 1979, or Denis Stuart’s Latin for Local and Family Historians, 1995 and working through the contents. Obtaining tuition, or attending an evening class or short course is recommended wherever possible. The support tuition in Latin, which is part of the Archive Administration course, is designed to assist established learners.

Non-native English speakers are required to take a University recognised test of academic English language proficiency with required minimum proficiency levels equating to an IELTS score of 6.5 or a TOEFL score of 580 (paper based test) or 237 (computer based) with an essay rating of 5.0. Applicants who have successfully undertaken a Bachelors degree in a UK University are exempt from this requirement.

Fact File

Duration:	One year full-time. The academic year (September to September) is divided into three semesters: September to January; January to June; June to September.
Contact Time:	Approximately 10 hours a week in the first two semesters. During semester three you will arrange your level of contact time with your assigned supervisor.
Assessment:	The taught part of the course (Part 1) is delivered and assessed through lectures, student seminars, practical exercises, case studies, course work and formal examinations. Successful completion allows the award of a Diploma. The subsequent successful submission of your research dissertation (Part 2) leads to the award of an MScEcon.
Entry Requirements:	A a good honours degree (in any discipline) at undergraduate level plus a minimum of 6 weeks experience in an information resource environment. Candidates with equivalent experience and qualifications will be considered.
English Language Requirements:	If you have a Bachelor’s degree from a UK University, you do not need to take an English proficiency test. Non-native English speakers who do not meet this requirement must take a University-recognised test of academic English language proficiency: IELTS or TOEFL. The required IELTS minimum proficiency level is 6.5. For TOEFL, the minimum scores are as follows: 580 for the paper-based test; 237 for the computer-based test (with an essay rating of 5.0); and a score of 93 for the internet-based test. More information on IELTS can be found here [Link: www.ielts.org] and, for TOEFL, here [Link: www.ets.org/toefl/]
Course Fees:	For details of Tuition Fees please see http://www.aber.ac.uk/en/postgrad/funding-fees/ There are a number of Aberystwyth Scholarships and International Excellence Scholarships (AIES) to help fund the studies of students who meet specific criteria. In addition, accommodation is guaranteed to all international students.