The dissertation must demonstrate the author's ability to describe correctly the results of a personal, objective and methodical work. The length of the dissertation is not a criteria in evaluating its quality.
Similar to the other forms of learning, the dissertation is an essential component of the programme to which it belongs. It consists of research work which students should consider as a first step in research in their particular field.
The dissertation is a research work :
" specific, as regards the other teaching activities ;
" methodical, the underlying methodology has already been acquired in the bachelor and masters programme ;
" integrated in the programme and limited to the scope of the subject.
Guidelines regarding the dissertation can be found on http://www.uclouvain.be61093.html.
Main themes
The masters dissertation, irrespective of the subject, allows a student to :
- carry out a critical analysis and summarise a given scientific topic,
- put a specific issue/statement in context drawing on existing information,
- present the results of the dissertation by justifying the methodological choices, explaining the hypotheses and scientifically stating the results obtained.
Content and teaching methods
The dissertation must present the results of a personal and critical study as well as the scientific methodology used to obtain these results. The scientific and bibliographical conventions of dissertation writing must be respected.
Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)
Students will receive 3 credits in their first year masters when they submit to their dissertation supervisor a detailed outline of the dissertation together with a fairly complete bibliography.