Dissertation

Language

French

Prerequisites

None.

Main themes

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	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. The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled 'Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit'.

Content

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.

A dissertation must contain at least 80 pages (200.000 caracters long) , a length deemed necessary to make a detailed presentation of a research hypothesis, a proof or of a well-argued account supported by quotations, references, sources and demonstrating familiarity with the subject bibliography.
The dissertation includes an introduction relating in particular to methodology, a development displaying the analysis and synthesis of the argument, a conclusion and a bibliography.

Teaching methods

Students must have at least two meetings with their supervisors during the first year.
By the first day of the final session of their first year at the latest, students must send their supervisor a file summarising the work carried out over the year.
This file will comprise at least: a title, a description of the question (one page), a plan and a structured bibliography.

Evaluation methods

The dissertation is supervised by a promoter. If the subject of the dissertation requires it, a co-promoter may be be solicited by the promoter with the approval of the jury president. The student must submit his or her topic for approval to the promoter. The jury for the thesis is composed of the promoter and one other reader, designated by the master's jury.
The promoter's and the reader's marks take into consideration :

• the achievement of its objectives;
• the ability to produce a relevant and well-documented synthesis;
• the personal investment and the ability to discuss the methodological choices;
• the coherence of the work;
• the accuracy, quality and relevance of the writing.

In their final mark, the promoter also takes into account the involvement of the student and the continuity of the work performed throughout the Master's program in the framework of the thesis (in particular, the timely submission and the quality of the file submitted at the end of the first annual block).
The dissertation reader is responsible for preparing a detailed written report on certain formal aspects of the dissertation :

• the spelling;
• the language (precision and mastery of specialized terminology, syntactic correction);
• the punctuation;
• the presentation of the text itself, the bibliography, the notes, the references, etc.

This report may lead the jury to revise the grade attributed to the dissertation according to the methods defined in section 2 "Mastery of the standard language" of the dissertation Vademecum ROM (https://myalfresco.uclouvain.be/alfresco/service/ucl/streamDownload/workspace/SpacesStore/18e60fbc-ab6c-426b-9786-b77206423b32/Vad%C3%A9m%C3%A9cum%20m%C3%A9moire%20ROM.pdf?a=true).

Online resources

https://moodle.uclouvain.be/course/view.php?id=4142

Faculty or entity

ELAL