Regulations

The procedure below is valid for students of the English Master programmes of the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering (FBE) that defend their master dissertation at Ghent University.

Students registered in:

• the international joint programmes 'International MSc in Rural Development' and 'International MSc in Sustainable and innovative natural resource management' have to comply both with the regulations of the FBE and the regulations of the international consortium as described in their programme specific master dissertation guidelines.
• the Master of Science in Technology for Integrated Water Management will be informed about the master dissertation procedure by the programme coordinator of UAntwerpen.

The Master's dissertation is scheduled during the final year of the standard learning track of the Master programme. The master dissertation is domain-related to the study programme of the student (Exam and Examination Code EEC, Art. 59).

For more programme specific information of the master dissertation:

• The UGent course catalogue
• For the international joint programmes : the master's dissertation guidelines, provided by the programme coordinator

Procedure

At the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, the procedure for announcing and establishing the Master's dissertation subjects follows following steps:

1. Before May: students get all necessary information (through programme or course coordinators) on the following topics:

• organization and regulation of the Master dissertation
• explanation on plagiarism
• explanation on the research topics and projects in the departments involved in the master programme
• announcement of the subjects
• explanation on the possibility to propose one’s own subject

Remark: In the second year of the Master of Science in Environmental Sanitation, three majors are offered (soil, water and air). The Master dissertation has to be linked to the major selected.

Master's dissertation of two students with the same subject

• A Master's dissertation by two students with the same subject is possible.
• The work must be submitted in separate volumes.
• The defence is individual, so separated in space and time.
• For each Master's dissertation, a separate Board of Examiners is appointed, so a separate written assessment is required.
• If a common title is used, this has to be complemented with a separate subtitle.
• In the introduction of each Masters dissertation, the cooperation should be mentioned and the similarities and specificity of the work have to be identified.

Counselling and feedback

The student is entitled to get the necessary supervision and guidance, by means of a number of counselling talks during which all aspects of the work can be discussed. These talks can be organised at fixed points of time or after making an appointment. The promoter coaches the student actively during these counselling talks, during which both the scientific aspects and the learning process can be discussed.

The student has to discuss and reach an agreement with the promoter(s) and the tutor(s) on the following topics:

• availability (the starting date of the experimental work, working schedule during the week, availability during the first term first examination period, final date of the experimental work)
• going abroad
• possibility for scholarship
• confidentiality
• applications for the ethical committee
• practical arrangements concerning the literature
• feedback: the student is entitled to receive an interim evaluation based on the final competentences to be obtained (as listed on the assessment form used by your promotor).

Problems concerning the availability of the student or concerning the availability of and the guidance by the tutor(s) or promoter(s) can be reported to the ombudsperson. He formally lays down the complaint in writing, and tries to find a solution.

The student is ultimately responsible for the content of the Master dissertation.

Written dissertation

• Size: A4
• Colour cover: white
• Paper copies: printed on both sides
• Size & contents => course specifications
• Front page:
• Front page for Master programmes (UGent, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering)
• Front page Master of Science in Food Technology
• Front page Master of Science in Physical Land Resources
• Front page International Master of Science in Rural Development - Erasmus Mundus Learning Path and Atlantis Learning Path
• Front page International Master of Science in Rural Development - Ekafree Learning Path
• Front page International Master of Science in environmental technology and engineering: provided by the program
• Front page exchange students
• Copyright declaration
• Write formally, use correct language, structure the text logically and keep the layout formal and clean (cf. criteria mentioned in the "How to write" guide for students" )
• custom (readable) font
• Handing over a master dissertation to all jury members, if requested also to the promotor(s)
• Handing in Master dissertation:  the latest at 17:00 in Minerva and a hard copy at the student administration (room A1.101)
  

  Friday 18 January 2019 (only for students who can graduate after the first semester)

  Friday 7 June 2019

  Friday 23 August 2019

Defence

The defences of the Master dissertations take place on the following dates:

Master of Science in Technology for Integrated Water Management

The procedure below is only valid for students of the "Master of Science in Technology for Integrated Water Management".

The Master's dissertation is scheduled during the second semester of the standard learning track of the Master's programme.

Course specifications

This programme is jointly offered by Ghent University (UGent) and the University of Antwerp (UA).

• Master of Science in Technology for Integrated Water Management (UGent)
• Master of Science in Technology for Integrated Water Management (UA)

Subject

The following procedure for announcing and establishing the Master's dissertation subjects is used:

1. Introduction day: students get all necessary information on the organization and regulation of the Master's dissertation, explanation on plagiarism, explanation on the research topics and projects in the departments involved in the master program, announcement of the subjects, explanation on the possibility to propose one’s own subject. This information is also posted on the programme website.
2. 30 November: final deadline for establishing the subject, the dissertation supervisor(s), the tutor(s) and the possibility to keep the results confidential. These should be advised by the OC-TIWM and forwarded to the FSA-FBE and the Faculty Board of January.
3. 15 April: final deadline for establishing the final title of the Master dissertation and the composition of the dissertation reading committee. These should be advised by the OC-TIWM and forwarded to the CKO and the Faculty Board of April.

Counselling

The student has to discuss and reach an agreement with the dissertation supervisor(s) and the tutor(s) on the availability (the starting date of the experimental work, working schedule during the week, availability during the first term first examination period, final date of the experimental work).

The student is ultimately responsible for the content of the Master's dissertation.

The student is entitled to get the necessary supervision and guidance, by means of a number of counselling talks during which all aspects of the work can be discussed. These talks can be organized at fixed points of time or after making an appointment. Problems concerning the availability of the student, or the availability of and the guidance by the tutor(s) or dissertation supervisor(s), can be reported to the ombudsperson. He formally lays down the complaint in writing, and tries to find a solution.

Written dissertation

• Size: A4
• Colour cover: white
• Paper copies: printed on both sides
• Size & contents => course specifications
• Confidentiality
• Front page
• Submission procedure:
• In case the student is enrolled at UA, one copy must be handed in at IMDO. One copy must also be given personally to each dissertation supervisor, tutor and each member of the dissertation reading committee.

Defence

The details of your defence (date, hour and place) will be corresponded by email.