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2020/2021

Master's Degree Dissertation

Code: 43062 ECTS Credits: 15
Degree Type Year Semester
4313784 Interdisciplinary Studies in Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability OB 0 2
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
Eduard Ariza Sole
Email:
Eduard.Ariza@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
english (eng)

Prerequisites

None.

Objectives and Contextualisation

The objective of the Master Thesis is to prepare students for future research work, namely a doctoral thesis or an R + D project in a company. Assessment of students’ Master Thesis is not only based on the contents of the paper itself. It also takes into account other essential skills required by a researcher, such as the ability to synthesise information, the discussion of results, the preparation and giving of oral presentations and the appropriate use of language (written and spoken).

Competences

  • Analyse how the Earth functions on a global scale in order to understand and interpret environmental changes on the global and local scales.
  • Analyse, summarise, organise and plan projects related to the environmental improvement of product, processes and services.
  • Apply knowledge of environmental and ecological economics to the analysis and interpretation of environmental problem areas.
  • Apply knowledge of environmental engineering to purification and decontamination in different environments.
  • Apply specific methodologies, techniques and resources to conduct research and produce innovative results in the area of Environmental Studies.
  • Apply the acquired knowledge and methodologies of environmental, economic and social sustainability to the planning and control of environmental management policies and projects.
  • Communicate and justify conclusions clearly and unambiguously to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  • Communicate orally and in writing in English.
  • Continue the learning process, to a large extent autonomously.
  • Integrate knowledge and use it to make judgements in complex situations, with incomplete information, while keeping in mind social and ethical responsibilities.
  • Seek out information in the scientific literature using appropriate channels, and use this information to formulate and contextualise research in environmental sciences.
  • Solve problems in new or little-known situations within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to the field of study.
  • Work in an international, multidisciplinary context.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Analyse environmental processes and problems by applying theoretical, methodological and instrumental knowledge.
  2. Apply specific methodologies, techniques and resources to conduct research and produce innovative results in the area of Environmental Studies.
  3. Communicate and justify conclusions clearly and unambiguously to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
  4. Communicate orally and in writing in English.
  5. Continue the learning process, to a large extent autonomously.
  6. Integrate knowledge and use it to make judgements in complex situations, with incomplete information, while keeping in mind social and ethical responsibilities.
  7. Interpret the diversities and complexities of territories and the environment with others of an economic, social and cultural nature.
  8. Seek out information in the scientific literature using appropriate channels, and use this information to formulate and contextualise research in environmental sciences.
  9. Solve problems in new or little-known situations within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to the field of study.
  10. Use knowledge of environmental engineering in the preparation of the master's dissertation.
  11. Use knowledge of environmental improvement projects when preparing the master's dissertation.
  12. Use knowledge of how the Earth functions on a global scale in the preparation of the master's dissertation.
  13. Use the concepts and methods learned in the courses on environmental and ecological economics in the preparation of the master's dissertation.
  14. Work in an international, multidisciplinary context.

Content

There are no theoretical contents for this course.

Methodology

The general guidelines for the Master Thesis submission are the following:

  • The Master Thesis could include the following sections in addition to the main text (not counting for the word maximum requirement):
    • A cover page stating:
      • Title of the Master Thesis
      • Title of the master’s degree (e.g. Master’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability)
      • Major within the master’s degree (e.g. Ecological Economics, Industrial and Urban Ecology, Environmental Technology, Science and Management of Global Change)
      • Title of the journal used as the basis for the paper format criteria
      • Name of the supervisor/s and the Department or Institute where the research has been carried out.
      • Date of the paper submission
    • A page immediately following the cover page which must include the following:
      • A description of no more than 500 words of: a) how this project fits within the research of the research group the student has been working in, or b) how paper comes from your own particular interest.
      • The “guidelines for papers” for the journal whose guidelines they have chosen to follow.
      • If the article is signed by more than one author, it needs to include a description of no more than 500 words of the work done by the student on the Master Thesis, specifying her/his contribution.
  • Students are required to send an exact copy of the printed version in PDF format by email to coord.master.ambientals@uab.cat by the submission date (see the end of this document). The file should be named "YearMonth_StudentSurname_MastherThesisTitle.pdf" and the email subject should be "Master Thesis+Student's Name and Surname". Students must also submit one hard copy, duly bound (unbound papers will be not accepted), of their Master Thesis at ICTA’s secretariat by the date of the oral presentation the latest. The committee reserves the right to not accept papers handed in past the deadline.
  • The Master Thesis could have up to 3 supervisors. One of them has to be a UAB PhD academic.
  • Supervisors must send a short report of the research work carried out by the student, including a proposed mark for the Master Thesis, to coord.master.ambientals@uab.cat by the submission deadline (See form at the end of the document). Supervisors must take into account the following aspects: initiative, responsibility, ability to interpret results and any other deemed relevant criteria. At least one of the supervisors must be a professor linked to the UAB.
  • The Master Thesis must follow the standard format requirements for articles published in a SCI or SSCI academic journal, to be specified by the student.
  • “Appropriate use of language” and “Format” are fundamental qualifying requirements, which means that a Master Thesis can be failed if it does not meet minimum requirements in these two areas.

 

Students will be assessed based on the written paper as well as on an oral presentation. They are required to submit a research paper not exceeding 8,000 words or alternatively, the ones stablished by the journal selected and with the agreement of the supervisor. The paper may include the following sections:

-          Abstract

-          Introduction: antecedents and justification for the Master Thesis

-          Objectives

-          Research study plan and anticipated results

-          Results

-          Discussion of results

-          Bibliography

 

  • The committee should be composed of 3 members, all of them PhD academics. Exceptionally and if justified, 1 member may not be a PhD academic.
  • The oral presentation is limited to 15 minutes (plus 15 minutes for questions and discussion). The time will be established by the president of the committee and it will be notified to the student before the oral presentation. After that time, the committee will be allowed to ask specific questions about the research project and more general ones about the knowledge earned by the student in their actual major.
  • The final grade for the paper will consist on the average mark of the supervisor's report (30%) and the mark given by the committee (70%) both to the paper itself and to the oral presentation. The supervisor’s mark is available upon request.
  • Oral presentations could be held up to 20 days after the submission deadline. Students must consider this in order to guarantee their presence at the scheduled date and time. The schedule for this academic year is at the end of the document.
  • After the presentation the president will inform to the student the mark issued by the committee and the mark issued by the supervisor in the assessment report.
  • It is essential that the supervisor’s report is handed in by the submission deadline, too. Otherwise, the oral presentation won’t be held, even if the student has submitted the paper within the established deadline.
  • The committee assesses:
    • For the written paper:
      • Appropriate use of language. The paper can be written in English, Catalan or Spanish. Language choice is not a criterion for evaluation and the tribunal will only assess correct and appropriate use of the languagechosen.
      • Format: how wellthis follows the “guidelines for papers” established by the journal chosen by the student.
      • Content and academic originality.
      • Conciseness and meeting the required length of the journal (example: maximum of 8,000 words)
      • Ability to discuss and interpret the results of the research.
      • Interdisciplinary scope of the research.

 

  • For the oral defence:
    • Students’ ability to articulate and express him/herself.
    • Conciseness and meeting the established time limit (15 minutes for the presentation, 30 in total).
    • Quality of the presentation.
    • Ability to answer the questions asked by the committee.

 

 

Other considerations

 

Any other assessment considerations not included in these guidelines will be established by the person responsible for the Master Thesis module and the coordinator of the Master’s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability

 

Below are the established submission deadlines and dates for the oral presentation for each evaluation period:

 

Written paper submission

Oral presentation

01/02/2021

2nd week of February

24/06/2021

28th-30h June, 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th of July

01/09/2021

2nd, 3rd, 6th,7th and 8th of September

 

 

 

 

** The February sitting is only for previous-year students or students taking additional courses to access the PhD.

 

 

 

 

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Supervised      
Regular meetings with the supervisor 25 1 1, 7, 6, 9, 3
Type: Autonomous      
Elaboration of a research paper 350 14 6, 9, 3, 5, 13

Assessment

Students will be assessed based on the written paper as well as on an oral presentation. 

The final grade for the paper will consist on the average mark of the supervisor's report (30%) and the mark given by the committee (70%) both to the paper itself and to the oral presentation. The committee assesses:

  • For the written paper:
    • Appropriate use of language. The paper can be written in English, Catalan or Spanish. Language choice is not a criterion for evaluation and the tribunal will only assess correct and appropriate use of the language chosen.
    • Format: how well this follows the “guidelines for papers” established by the journal chosen by the student.
    • Content and academic originality.
    • Conciseness and meeting the required length (maximum of 8,000 words)
    • Ability to discuss and interpret the results of the research.
    • Interdisciplinary scope of the research.
  • For the oral defence:
    • Students’ ability to articulate and express him/herself.
    • Conciseness and meeting the established time limit (15 minutes).
    • Quality of the presentation.
    • Ability to answer the questions asked by the committee.

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Oral presentation 30% 0 0 8, 6, 9, 3, 5, 14, 13
Submission of a research paper 40% 0 0 1, 2, 4, 12, 10, 7, 14, 13, 11
supervisor's report 30% 0 0 1, 2, 8, 4, 12, 10, 7, 6, 9, 3, 5, 14, 13, 11

Bibliography

To be defined.