Master's Dissertation
Code: 42987 ECTS Credits: 10| Degree | Type | Year | Semester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4313800 International Relations, Security and Development | OB | 0 | 2 |
Contact
- Name:
- Eduard Soler Lecha
- Email:
- eduard.soler@uab.cat
Teaching groups languages
You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject. Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2023.
Teachers
- Maria Ester Barbe Izuel
- Laura Feliu Martínez
- Nilda Nora Sainz Gsell
- Francesc Serra Massansalvador
- Carlos Daniel Martin Faus
- Alessandro Demurtas
- Maria Claudia Jimenez Franco
- María Alejandra Peña Gonzalez
- Olivia Isabell Glombitza
- Oriol Costa Fernandez
- Juan Pablo Soriano Gatica
- Rachid Aarab Aarab
- Lluc Vidal López
- Guillem Farres Fernandez
- Ferran Izquierdo Brichs
Prerequisites
There are none to start the process but there are to present the TFM in the public defense and in the final evaluation. This must have the approval of the supervisor.
In any case, students should know that:
to. It is a mandatory project for all students.
b. The coordinator will provide the student with a form to be filled stating the topic and the approach. On that basis, a supervisor will be assigned. Previously, a list of the topics that each available supervisor/supervisor considers to be a priority will be provided, that is, they are the ones that are active in their research and knowledge transfer programs. This will facilitate the match between the topics of interest of the students and those of their possible supervisors.
c. There will be a public defense of the project, made up of a panel of two or three professors. This assessment will be complemented by the coordinator of the TFM module.
d. The process will conclude with the presentation in paper and digital format through the virtual campus, either in July or September (according to the established procedures and calendars), once the supervisor approval has been obtained.
e. The TFM can be written in Spanish, Catalan and English.
Objectives and Contextualisation
- Demonstrate competency in all aspects related to the preparation of academic or applied work, as explained in the content section.
- Analyze the international reality and recognize its complexity using the theoretical tools covered in the Master's Degree, while maintaining a forward-looking vision (trend projection and early identification of emerging topics).
- Analyze, synthesize, organize, and plan projects and work related to the field of study.
- Conduct research in the scientific literature, exhibiting expertise in accessing and utilizing specialized documentary and bibliographic resources in the field of International Relations, and integrate this information to develop and contextualize a research topic.
- Apply theoretical frameworks, approaches, and conceptual elaborations in the analysis of international relations.
- Design, plan, and execute a project on international relations that adheres to the criteria of academic rigor and excellence.
- Conduct a diagnosis of international relations, security, and development issues in countries, regions, and areas within the proposed international system. Generate useful guidance for decision-making if the work has an applied dimension.
- Possess and comprehend knowledge that serves as a foundation or opportunity for originality in the development and/or application of ideas.
- Integrate knowledge to formulate regulatory assessments, where applicable.
- Effectively communicate conclusions and knowledge to both specialized and non-specialized audiences in a clear and unambiguous manner.
Competences
- Analyse the international situation and recognise its complexity, using the theoretical tools seen in the master's programme, and base one's vision of the future on sound knowledge of preceding periods.
- Analyse, synthesise, organise and plan projects and assignments related to the area of study.
- Communicate and justify conclusions clearly and unambiguously to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Design, plan and conduct a project on international relations that meets the criteria of academic rigour and excellence.
- Integrate knowledge and use it to make judgements in complex situations, with incomplete information, while keeping in mind social and ethical responsibilities.
- Know theoretical frameworks and approaches and conceptual constructs for analysing international relations, and know the different fields of international activity and the main geographical areas.
- Make a diagnosis of security and development problems in the proposed countries, regions and areas of the international system, and offer useful advice for decision-making based on the diagnosis.
- Seek out information in the scientific literature, skilfully handling specialised documentary and bibliographic sources on international relations, and integrate this information to formulate and contextualise a research topic.
- Use acquired knowledge as a basis for originality in the application of ideas, often in a research context.
Learning Outcomes
- Analyse, synthesise, organise and plan projects and assignments related to the area of study.
- Communicate and justify conclusions clearly and unambiguously to both specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- Correctly identify the different theoretical approaches of articles of analysis, reports, etc., and conduct research within the framework of these approaches.
- Identify qualitative interdisciplinary methodologies that are appropriate for the analysis of the object of study in the master's dissertation.
- Integrate knowledge and use it to make judgements in complex situations, with incomplete information, while keeping in mind social and ethical responsibilities.
- Know the guidelines for intervention in security and development, especially in peacemaking, based on different theoretical perspectives.
- Reflect on the application of the conclusions drawn from the research project to practical cases in security and development.
- Seek out information in the scientific literature, skilfully handling specialised documentary and bibliographic sources on international relations, and integrate this information to formulate and contextualise a research topic.
- Use acquired knowledge as a basis for originality in the application of ideas, often in a research context.
Content
1- General.
a. This is a mandatory project for all students.
b. A copy must be submitted, in hard copy and in electronic format, either in July or September (in accordance with the procedures and schedules established.
c. There will be public defense, as already stated, in the month of May.
d. It can be written in Spanish, Catalan and English.
2. Possible Project Types
A. Academic
This is an unpublished work that clearly shows that the methodological criteria and the various instruments necessary to be able to carry out its own research are mastered, that is, to prove that it is possible to investigate topics specific to the master’s degree (international relations, safety and development).
It must be in a scientific article-like format in a specialized journal, with all its sections brief and clear summary of 150 words; identification of keywords; research questions and hypotheses; analysis guideline + theoretical review + status of the issue; development of the problem; conclusions; literature and possible annexes.
It is only recommended for people who are oriented to academic life (doctoral thesis, subsequent studies...)
B. Applied
It is about applying the knowledge learned in the Master's Degree to the preparation of a report, "policy paper" or state of the issue aimed at presenting in an orderly manner a problem for eventual political decision-makers, interested persons...
It should have a brief and clear summary of 150 words; identification of keywords; questions to be answered and objectives; development; recommendations, literature and sources, and possible appendices.
Examples include:
a. A report on a well-defined topic for use by an agency or decision-maker that must have reliable and well-ordered information: status of international negotiations, application of agreements, changes in an international region or body. It is about defining the status of the issue, the actors involved,the agenda of debate, positions, possible scenarios, etc.
b. An analysis of the evolution and status of the issue of some reports derived from an organization (Human Development, Global Development, Global Burden of Violence...) or from a specific area of a specific academic literature (e.g. the debate on why violence resurfaces in Central American countries after peace agreements, ...). In this case, it is about choosing a universe, focused and concrete, of analysis (X reports, X articles..), analyzing them, ordering them and drawing conclusions about similarities, differences, trends in progress, points of debate.... thinking that they were of interest to enter into the matter.
c. A policy paper in the strict sense of the word: a report directly aimed at recommending courses of action for different actors (government, intergovernmental bodies, civil society, etc.) on a given topic. It is based on the problem statement, the various ongoing scenarios and the possible evolution and possible actions or policies are recommended, in an argumentated manner.
3. Formal requirements for both cases (academic and applied)
a. Maximum length of 10,000 words (including references and footnotes)
b. It should be based on clear questions and well-defined objectives. Without questions, it is not possible to perform a TFM. And they must be questions that can be answered with the space limits mentioned and therefore on topics that can be obtained without resorting to post-fixation fieldwork.
c. The introduction must specify the objectives, the questions to be answered or the questions to be answered, the hypotheses and variables (if any), the chosen approach and the structure or sections of the work. In the case of the work applied, it is essential to say what the audience or type of reader is to whom it is addressed, so to say the "customers" or recipients.
d. There must be a section, however brief, of conclusions and/or recommendations, that resumes and tries to answer thequestions tobe answered.
e. Regarding the references, use an abbreviated citation system (Harvard, Chicago, APA) inside the work and in the final section of the literature used, fully cite all sources and references (including electronic ones).
Methodology
There are three stages to completing the TFM:
1. Identification of the topic of study and assignment of the superviser
For this step, an informational meeting will take place with the module coordinator and a list with the descriptors of research topics of the people available for the supervision of the works will be previously shared with the student.
Subsequently, the student will send a proposal or pre-project specifying the object of study, the temporal or geographical limitation, the work methodology, and the work modality most appropriate to the subject and the interests and skills of the student. For research projects, a research question and a work hypothesis will be added and for research work, the suitability of the work to a political or social need of an organization or collective will be motivated. Finally, a first commented literature will be added with at least 5 references from books, articles, or reports that have addressed the same topic or employed a similar theoretical or analytical framework.
After consultation with the faculty and students, the module coordinator will assign a supervisor who will be connected to the student. To this end, topics that are explicitly included among the descriptors that appear in the list of teachers' specializations will be prioritized. We cannot guarantee the accompaniment of unexperienced topics among our teachers
2.Elaboration and research process.
Depending on the specific needs and/or preferences of the student and faculty, the TFM may be submitted for evaluation in July or September.
The student will publicly defend his/her research project before a court consisting of two or three faculty members, whose role will be to assess the strength of the project, the ability to participate in an academic and/or professional debate on how to improve a research project and provide suggestions for further development of the project.
This pre-plan and its defense is equivalent to 30% of the TFM's mark and its results must be taken into account to assess the advisability of presenting the TFM in July or September.
3.Final work presentation and evaluation
The student will present their work for the final evaluation, having the approval of the person supervising them first. It will issue a report for each supervised job, which it will send to the coordinator and which will not be public.
That report, as explained in the evaluation section, must assess: a) the ability to specify the objectives and research questions and/or the work applied; b) the assessment of the effort and work used: c) results obtained; d) formal aspects. The supervisors' mark will be between 0 and 10, with the possibility of half points.
The module coordinator will also mark the TFM, making sure the student’s marks are balanced.
The final mark will be the weighted mean of the marks of supervision and coordination and the mark of the public defense of the pre-project.
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: Supervised | |||
| Drafting and submitting the TFM | 60 | 2.4 | 6, 5, 7, 9 |
| Oral defence | 2 | 0.08 | 1, 2 |
| Type: Autonomous | |||
| Study, literature search, reading and analysis | 188 | 7.52 | 1, 8, 3, 4 |
Assessment
The TFM assessment consists of two parts
- The assessment by a panel and the coordinator of the module of the strength of the pre-plan and the solvency in its public defense (30%)
- The evaluation by the supervisor and the coordinator of the final work module. To do this, at the beginning of the process, an evaluation rubric will be shared with both the students and the supervisors to share what the requirements and objectives are, as well as the translation into a numerical format of different levels of scope of the objectives in content and form
Assessment Activities
| Title | Weighting | Hours | ECTS | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final project | 70% | 0 | 0 | 1, 8, 6, 3, 4, 5, 2, 7, 9 |
| Public defence of the pre-plan | 30% | 0 | 0 | 1, 8, 4, 2, 7 |
Bibliography
There is no generic literature. The coordinator, and in particular supervisors, will be able to advise specific literature on research methods and techniques, writing process or on the topic addressed in the TFM
In the evaluation, the diversity of sources will be assessed and it will be taken into account that the contribution of both male and female authors is adequately reflected.
Software
Does not apply