Dissertation

ECTS allocation : 30 credits (12 contact hours, plus student workload of 730 hours)
Module Coordinator : M.Phil. Programme Coordinator, Dr Balázs Apor
Teaching Staff : Supervisors assigned

Aims

The aim of the dissertation is to enable students to devise, initiate and complete an original research project, in a defined time-frame and drawing on the insights, skills and knowledge acquired during their study on the M.Phil. programme. The dissertation process serves both developmental and scholarly purposes, and the completed work will be assessed in terms both of its intellectual content and of its presentational accuracy and clarity.

Working methods

Students will be invited to develop and refine proposals by the middle of Hilary Term (Week 8). They should consult with members of staff for assistance. They will be asked to make class presentations of their dissertation proposals, and to provide constructive criticisms of the dissertation proposals of fellow students. They will be assigned supervisors from the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies or, if circumstances warrant, from other schools, according to available expertise. Supervisors will provide guidance both on subject matter and on the process of completing a research project in a timely and scholarly manner appropriate to the discipline.

Learning outcomes

Students will

• Learn how to identify and refine a manageable research proposal
• Enhance skills in identifying and exploiting source materials, and in analysing such materials in the light of existing scholarship.
• Enhance capacity for constructive engagement with other people's ideas and arguments
• Enhance project management skills, through the planning, development and completion of a complex and demanding academic exercise requiring practical as well as intellectual qualities.

Assessment

The length of the dissertation should be 15,000 to 20,000 words. It should be submitted by the end of August in each year. It will be marked both internally and by an external examiner. A passing grade will be 40%.