Procedure of professional practice at the Institute of Archaeology of Pázmány Péter Catholic University
1. Definition of departmental excavations and scheduling of excavation practice
The Institute of Archaeology of Pázmány Péter Catholic University aims to define the scope of departmental excavations in order to ensure that students can complete their excavation practice modules in a transparent way and in accordance with professional standards, thereby acquiring the essential field and practical knowledge required for their future archaeological work.
For BA students, it is recommended (according to the sample curriculum) to take:
- Excavation Practice 1 in the 3rd semester
- Excavation Practice 2 in the 5th semester
Each BA excavation practice course corresponds to:
- 120 hours (full-time students)
- 60 hours (part-time students)
These hours can only be completed at departmental excavations.
A departmental excavation is defined as:
- an excavation directed by a full-time instructor of the Institute of Archaeology, or
- an excavation designated as such by the Head of the Institute in consideration of institutional priorities. In such cases, participation in a priority excavation may be made compulsory for all archaeology students for a maximum duration of one week.
For MA students, it is recommended to take in the 4th semester:
- Excavation and finds processing practice
- Museum practice
Each of these requires 160 hours of work.
MA students may complete excavation practice outside departmental excavations as well.
The Institute supports participation in other excavations, provided this does not result in significant absence from classes.
2. Certification of professional practice
To complete practice-related course units, students must submit official professional practice forms documenting the hours spent on excavations. These must be submitted to the Institute’s administration no later than the semester in which the course is taken.
The submission deadline each semester is Wednesday of the penultimate teaching week. Properly completed and signed documents may be submitted earlier.
From the spring semester of 2022/2023, a request must also be submitted in the Neptun academic system for all practice-related courses.
In this request, the student indicates where (which excavation(s)) they intend to complete their practice. Multiple requests may be submitted for a single course until requirements are fulfilled.
Separate requests must be submitted for each excavation or practice location. Upon approval, the official practice certification form (downloadable from Neptun) is generated.
When applying, students must specify the course code and name so that the practice is correctly assigned.
Requests may be submitted before the semester of course registration, allowing students to accumulate required hours in advance.
The required number of hours (as specified in the curriculum) must be completed by the submission deadline in the semester of course registration. If insufficient hours are completed, the course will be marked as not completed.
Each course requires a separate request including:
- course code
- course name
- practice location
After approval by the responsible instructor, the practice certification forms become printable. These must be completed at the practice site and submitted afterward to the Institute’s administration.
The 903B Mandatory Professional Practice Registration Request must be submitted separately for each course.
Courses concerned (Archaeology)
BA in Archaeology
- Excavation Practice 1 (recommended in 3rd semester)
120 hours (full-time) / 60 hours (part-time) - Excavation Practice 2 (recommended in 5th semester)
120 hours (full-time) / 60 hours (part-time) - Fieldwork 1 (recommended in 3rd semester)
30 hours (full-time) / 15 hours (part-time) - Fieldwork 2 (recommended in 4th semester)
30 hours (full-time) / 15 hours (part-time)
MA in Archaeology
- Excavation and finds processing practice (recommended in 4th semester)
160 hours - Museum practice (recommended in 4th semester)
160 hours
3. Submission of requests
Requests can be submitted via the student web interface under:
Administration → Requests → Available request forms → “903B Mandatory Professional Practice Registration for Faculty of Humanities students”
Deadlines for submission
- Excavation practice: at least 1 week before the excavation
- Fieldwork practice: at least 1 week before
- Museum practice: at least 2 weeks before
Before submitting a request for museum practice, students must contact the chosen museum to confirm that it can accept interns. Requests should only be submitted if this is confirmed.
Beyond the Institute’s regulations, further information is available on the website of the Study Office under the Professional Practice section.
