Master's Degree Dissertation
Code: 44472 ECTS Credits: 9| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4317520 Territorial Studies and Planning | OB | 0 | A |
Contact
- Name:
- Jordi Nadal Tersa
- Email:
- jordi.nadal@uab.cat
Use of Languages
- Principal working language:
- catalan (cat)
Other comments on languages
Given the international character of the Master's Program, languages used in the classroom will be Catalan and/or Spanish, depending on which is the most common among studentsPrerequisites
You must have passed, or enrolled, the remaining 51 credits of the master's degree.
Objectives and Contextualisation
In this module the student will carry out an individual investigation under the supervision of a tutor on a topic related to the contents of the master's degree, previously agreed; he / she must demonstrate his / her ability to set research objectives, apply the appropriate methodologies and obtain learning outcomes that meet the objectives set, as well as to present and defend the work done in court.
Competences
- Apply multiple methodologies of geographical analysis at different local and regional.scales
- Develop a capacity for critical thinking, analysis and resolution of hypotheses with maximum rigour and quality for each area of local and regional specialisation.
- Judge the impact of the legal, economic, political and social framework on local and regional dynamics
- Promote planning strategies based on innovation and with a gender perspective.
- Students can communicate their conclusions and the knowledge and rationale underpinning these to specialist and non-specialist audiences clearly and unambiguously.
- That students have the learning skills that enable them to continue studying in a way that will be largely self-directed or autonomous.
Learning Outcomes
- Adapt methodologies for analysis to the regional ambit of reference.
- Apply acquired knowledge and the capacity for problem-solving.
- Develop the chosen topic of the work taking into account the perspective of gender.
- Evaluate processes of regional and urban change applying methodologies and instruments linked to theories of reference, capable of measuring the mechanisms of action and the results.
- Know the main laws concerning the territory and its planning, as well as urban planning.
- Plan the work of the module from a position of scientific innovation.
- Students can communicate their conclusions and the knowledge and rationale underpinning these to specialist and non-specialist audiences clearly and unambiguously.
- That students have the learning skills that enable them to continue studying in a way that will be largely self-directed or autonomous.
- Understand the concept of the Master's degree dissertation as an initial practical project for the world of employment.
- Use the most appropriate research methodologies for the proposed objectives.
Content
The module is structured in three blocks:
- Methodological training seminars
- Elaboration of the Final Master's Thesis
- Labor defense in court
The seminars, of obligatory attendance, give the guidelines on methodologies to elaborate the TFM, fund of information and models of presentation and defense. The main lines of work in which the works must be registered are set out and the students are put in contact with tutors.
The elaboration of a research work on an unpublished topic is carried out in meetings between the student and the tutor. In order to submit the work and submit it, you must have the approval of the tutor.
The defense is made in a public act where the student presents his work in a court of three doctoral professors for 20 minutes and answers the questions posed by this court.
Methodology
The basic aim of this module is to develop a research paper and defend it in court.
To carry it out, as shown in the Contents section, we work on the basis of three activities: training seminars, work preparation and public defense.
The seminars are the only group activity, which show generic working methodologies and, depending on the orientation and theme of the TFM proposals, more specific ones. The research and elaboration of the TFM is carried out in personalized tutorials between student and tutor. Finally the public defense that takes place on a date set for the end of the semester.
During the first semester the teacher of the module will show the work topics offered by the teachers and the students will be able to choose a topic and a teacher. If the demand of the students exceeds the supply of subjects and teachers, the choice will be made in the order of the marks obtained in the first semester.
The elaboration of the work will be able to do in two modalities:
- Scientific paper
- Memory (classic format)
If the student, in agreement with his / her tutor, opts for the first modality, he / she will have to choose a magazine of recognized prestige in the subject that develops his / her work and follow the instructions given to the authors for in its publication
If the second modality is chosen, during the training seminars the sections of the work, the extension, etc. will be detailed.
Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.
Activities
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type: Directed | |||
| Workshops and seminars | 25 | 1 | 7 |
| Type: Supervised | |||
| Tutorials | 35 | 1.4 | 10 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Elaboration of the work | 120 | 4.8 | 6, 8, 10 |
| Presentation and defense of the work | 42 | 1.68 |
Assessment
The TFM must be handed in to the teacher of the module, always with the approval of the tutor. The coordination of the master's degree will set the date for the defense of the works within the month of July. This panel will be made up of a doctor whose field of research is related to the subject of the work presented and who will act as president, the coordinator of the master's degree, who will act as secretary, and a member, who will be the tutor.
The student will have 20 minutes to present the parts that he / she considers opportune of his / her work to give way later to the interventions of the members of the court. The approximate total duration of the event will be 45 minutes.
The grading criteria will be defined by rubrics that students will have available from the outset.
VERY IMPORTANT: Total or partial plagiarism of any of the exercises will automatically be considered a SUSPENSION (0) of the plagiarized exercise. PLAGIARISM is copying from unidentified sources of a text, be it a single sentence or more, which is passed off as own production (THIS INCLUDES COPYING PHRASES OR FRAGMENTS FROM THE INTERNET AND ADDING THEM WITHOUT MODIFICATIONS TO THE TEXT PRESENTED AS ITS OWN ), and is a serious offense. It is necessary to learn to respect the intellectual property of others and to always identify the sources that can be used, and it is essential to take responsibility for the originality and authenticity of one's own text.
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delivery of work | 75% | 2 | 0.08 | 2, 7, 8, 10 |
| Presentation and defense of the work | 25% | 1 | 0.04 | 1, 4, 9, 5, 3, 6, 7 |
Bibliography
For each master's thesis, the tutor will give recommended and compulsory readings, if applicable, and others references of the publications of the most recent results.
Software
Each TFM may require specific software that must be assessed by students.