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Research in Anthropology & Ethnomusicology

 The John Blacking Prize

The aim of the John Blacking Prize is to perpetuate the memory and mark the contribution to Anthropology and Ethnomusicology of John Blacking who was Professor of Social Anthropology at Queen’s University Belfast from 1971 until his death in 1990.

Two bursary prizes of £500 each will be awarded annually for the top two MA dissertations by QUB anthropology and ethnomusicology students at Queen’s who enrol to do a PhD in Anthropology at Queen’s. Students should have completed an MA over the previous two years. The aim of the bursary prizes is to assist the top PhD applicants in anthropology with fieldwork. One bursary will be offered in general Anthropology and Ethnomusicology and one will be in the field of Conflict Studies, broadly conceived. The bursary prizes will be announced in September and awarded following the students’ enrolment in the PhD. The prizes will be advertised annually by Anthropology at Queen’s.

The bursary prizes shall be awarded on the basis of the two best dissertation marks in any given year. Where more than two dissertations achieve the same mark, these marks will be considered in relation to the overall degree marks of these students and ranked in descending order.

The bursary prizes will be judged by the Anthropology and Ethnomusicology postgraduate exam board held at Queen’s in September.

 Duration: The minimum period of enrolment is two years full-time or three years part-time. Students should know that it frequently takes more than the minimum period of enrolment to complete a doctoral thesis but it should be completed within three years (full-time) or six years (part-time) of admission as a research student. Students are always admitted with undifferentiated research status; acceptance for PhD depends on the recommendation of PAG and the Faculty Postgraduate Committee.

Prerequisites: Applicants should normally have completed or be in the process of completing an MA in a relevant discipline.

Aim: To train the student in the methods of independent research, and provide them with a professional credential at the highest level. The research normally will be based upon an analysis of original field research materials.

Support and monitoring: The student will be allocated a first supervisor and a second supervisor, with whom they will work to develop the research. Each student will present twice-yearly progress reports to PAG and annual progress reports to the Faculty of Humanities Postgraduate Committee. PAG will recommend registration for PhD on the basis of a research proposal and interview.

Research students may be required to undertake coursework (lectures and tutorials) or ethnomusicology practical work, if, in the opinion of the supervisor and the Head of School, it is in the student's interest to do so.

Assessment: By examination of the thesis by a panel of internal and external examiners normally appointed by the Faculty of Humanities Postgraduate Committee. This panel will not normally include either supervisor. The thesis shall be no longer than 80,000 words or 400 pages in length, including footnotes and appendices. Three copies must be submitted, and the format must follow the conventions prescribed by the Examinations Office.

The candidate will normally attend a viva voce (oral) examination by the internal and external examiners; this examination may be attended by the first supervisor. The Examiners may decide,
1) to recommend the acceptance of the thesis as submitted,
2) to recommend that it fail,
3) to accept the thesis as submitted for the award of the degree of MPhil,
4) to recommend acceptance of the thesis for the PhD on the condition that the candidate makes minor alterations,
5) to refer the thesis back to the candidate for more substantial alterations; the candidate must then resubmit the revised thesis for re-examination.

MPhil in Social Anthropology or Ethnomusicology

(N.B. This is a brief Guide only. All students enrolled for a higher degree are bound by the full University regulations.)

Duration: The minimum period of enrolment is one year full-time or two years part-time. Students should know that it frequently takes more than the minimum period to complete a degree by research and thesis. It should be completed within two years (full-time) or four years (part-time) from the date of admission as a research student. Admission is always to undifferentiated research status, and acceptance for MPhil depends on the recommendation of the Postgraduate Advisory Group (PAG) and the Faculty Postgraduate Committee.

Prerequisites: Students should have a good Honours degree in an appropriate subject, and evidence of a substantial academic background in the field of Social Anthropology or Ethnomusicology in which they propose to work.

Aim: To train the student in the methods of independent research, and provide them with a professional credential. The research normally will be based upon an analysis of original field research materials, or a re-analysis of published work.

Support and monitoring: The student will be allocated a first supervisor and a second supervisor, with whom he/she will work to develop the research. Each student will present twice-yearly progress reports to PAG, and annual progress reports to the Faculty of Humanities Postgraduate Committee. PAG will recommend registration for MPhil on the basis of a research proposal and interview.

Research students may be required to undertake coursework (lectures and tutorials) or ethnomusicology practical work if, in the opinion of the supervisor and the Head of School, it is in the student's interest to do so.

Assessment: By examination of the thesis by a panel of internal and external examiners (which shall not normally include the supervisor) appointed by the Faculty of Humanities Postgraduate Committee. The thesis shall be no longer than 50,000 words or 250 pages in length, including footnotes and appendices. Three copies must be submitted, and the format must follow the conventions prescribed by the Examinations Office.

The candidate will normally be invited to attend a viva voce (oral) examination. The Examiners may decide:
1) to recommend the acceptance of the thesis as submitted,
2) to recommend that it fail,
3) to recommend acceptance of the thesis on the condition that the candidate makes minor alterations, or
4) they may refer the thesis back to the candidate for more substantial alterations; the candidate must then resubmit the revised thesis for re-examination.