Master’s Dissertation
The Master’s dissertation represents the culmination of the work undertaken throughout all master's degree courses.
One of the primary objectives of the Master’s dissertation is to acquire the fundamentals or basics of scientific research through the design and execution of a research project.
The dissertation is supervised by a master’s faculty member, who must approve it before it can be submitted. Upon submission, students will defend their dissertation orally in front of an examining board.
The chosen topic and the objectives of the dissertation project must be closely related to the various themes covered in the master's degree. To initiate this process, students must submit a dissertation proposal, which must be accepted by the Master's Studies Committee. Students can make their own proposal, which must be approved by the supervisor. The dissertation proposal can also be based on the research suggestions provided by the instructors.
Typology: students can choose to do either a research-oriented or outcome-oriented Master’s dissertation:
- Research-oriented dissertation: this shall involve investigation into any aspect dealing with the interplay between language and digital communication.
- Outcome-oriented dissertation: this shall focus on designing and producing a professional digital communication project.
Enrolment
Registering for the Master’s Dissertation in the first period (July or September) is not recommended. We recommend registration in the second period, which opens in February-March (*), since then students already know if they meet the registration requirement for this course, which consists of passing 50 credits of the master’s degree (excluding bridge courses).
(*) This registration period is exclusively offered for the Master’s dissertation and does not apply to the rest of the courses.
Submission and defense of the Master’s dissertation
- The dissertation cannot be submitted or defended until 50 credits of the master's courses have been completed.
- Another prerequisite for enrolment in this course is that students are required to have passed the course Research methods in digital media.
- The deadline to submit the dissertation is mid-September (the exact date must be consulted with the coordination body).
- The oral defense must take place before September 30th.