Part 7: Master’s Dissertation Faculty Regulations

Article 1: OBJECTIVE

§1 A master’s dissertation proves that students are able to implement the knowledge and skills acquired during their studies. The master's dissertation is the capstone of the programme and therefore has to demonstrate a significant degree of independence and a certain degree of creativity. he supervisor guides the entire process.

§2 Given the importance of the Master's dissertation for the programme, a failing grade for the Master's dissertation can never be deliberated.

§3 The master's dissertation course unit consists of three mandatory components: the process, the written paper, and the oral defence.

Article 2: FORMATS

There are three possible dissertation formats: the academic dissertation, the policy report, and the journal article.
The academic dissertation cannot be chosen by students of Communication Sciences or Sociology.

ACADEMIC DISSERTATION
The academic dissertation is the final product of a research project developed by the student, in which the student conducts scientific research on a chosen topic within the relevant field. As part of the Master's dissertation course, the entire project is developed and written down in a concise scientific report.
Only for students in Political Sciences, EU Studies or Conflict & Development Studies.

POLICY REPORT
In a policy report, practice-oriented knowledge is built through a social-scientific analysis for a client or within a context in which the report is prepared. The problem statement and research questions may be formulated in consultation with the relevant actors (clients, stakeholders, etc.).
This format can be chosen by students from all master's programmes within the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences.

JOURNAL ARTICLE
The Master's dissertation can also take the form of a journal article.
In this format, the dissertation has to be written in such a way that the “article” in its current form could be submitted directly to a scientific journal.
This format can be chosen by students from all master's programmes within the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences.

Regardless of the format, the criteria for scientifically sound research in communication sciences, political sciences, or sociology remain valid. 
The choice of format is made in consultation with the supervisor.

Each programme has to clearly communicate the general expectations regarding formatting requirements, content, and structure for each format  via UFORA at the beginning of the academic year.

Article 3: FORMAT REQUIREMENTS

More below, you can find the dissertation format requirements. 

A. ACADEMIC DISSERTATION

§1 An academic dissertation consists of the following elements:

1. The abstract
The first page contains a centred title, followed by an "Abstract" (an English summary of the paper of at least 150 and maximum 250 words). The abstract outlines the examined problems, the methodology and the obtained results.

2. The Recommended corpus

The corpus comprises the entire dissertation including tables and figures inserted to clarify the presentation. Similar to a journal article, the structure of the corpus is emphasised by the choice of appropriate headings.

-In an empirical or a methodological study, the corpus may be divided into the following sections: "Introduction", "literature review (conceptual and theoretical framework)", "Research design (including methodology), "Results", and "Discussion and Conclusion".

The conclusion links the findings of the study to the findings from the literature and discussed theoretical framework. It also discusses the limitations of the study and offers suggestions for further research.

B. POLICY REPORT

§2 There are a number of obligatory components for a policy report. 

• An executive summary
• Problem definition
• Theoretical background
• Methodology and results
• Conclusions
• Recommendations 

A policy report does not need to have this exact structure, but it has to cover each of these components sufficiently in terms of content. 

C. journal article

§3 This format of a master’s dissertations adheres to the guidelines that authors follow when writing a journal article. 

The first page contains a centred title, followed by an English "Abstract" of the article (a summary of the article of at least 150 and maximum 250 words). The abstract outlines the issues that were explored, the methodology and the obtained results. 

D. GENERAL FORM REQUIREMENTS

Source reference

§4 Students use an APA system for references. In consultation with the supervisor, they can also use another reference system, provided that they can motivate their decision. In any case, students should consistently follow the same reference system when writing their dissertation. (See APA manual on Ufora). In the bibliography, for each source used, the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) or another permanent link has to be added (where available) immediately after the reference (in APA format).

Layout

§5 A standard title page is used (indicating the chosen format). A template is made available on Ufora. The chosen format (academic dissertation, policy report or journal article) should also be indicated on the title page. 

E. SCIENTIFIC TRANSPARENCY, LANGUAGE AND PLAGIARISM

§6 The student took an independent approach to the master's dissertation and the choices made fully reflect the student's vision.

Scientific transparency

§7 In academic work, all assertions always have to be well and clearly substantiated on the basis of academic literature and/or empirical data. The student has to enable the reader to follow the argumentation properly and to assess the academic value and scope of each assertion. 

Whenever using the ideas or empirical findings of others, the student has to refer to the source(s) used in an appropriate manner. He/she must also make a clear distinction between his/her own summary/interpretation and the literal quotation of a source. In the interests of transparency, it always has to be clear to the reader which ideas or conclusions originate from the student and which originate from other authors.

Language

§8 The master’s dissertation is written in the language of the study programme. On request and agreed upon by the supervisor the master's dissertation of a Dutch study programme can also be written in English or French .In this case, a summary in Dutch is required (OER art 59). This Dutch summary may take the form of an abstract, unless other agreements have been made with the supervisor.

Plagiarism

§10 The Faculty has drawn up Faculty Plagiarism Regulations (see section 9 of the Faculty's education and examination code) with regard to master’s dissertation irregularities when writing a master’s dissertation or dealing with other forms of (written) reporting.

§11 It is not allowed to copy text parts in the Master's dissertation from papers made in the context of other course units. This applies both to the format 'academic dissertation', 'journal article' and 'policy report'. A student who opted for a CSL course or a 'challenges course' may therefore also not (re)use the research question and/or the results in his/her Master's dissertation either.
An exception is the research paper. After all, this may count as a preparation for the actual master's dissertation and a certain degree of similarity (e.g. in the discussion of the literature and the conceptual framework) will therefore not be considered auto-plagiarism.

Ethics Protocol/Data Management Plan (DMP) and Generative AI

§12 A submitted master's dissertation has to include a properly completed data management plan and ethics form. The completed form is to be added to the master's dissertation as an attachment (together with the references and other attachments). If an informed consent form is required, it should also be included. 
The DMP should be completed according to all relevant research dimensions (e.g. research design, data collection, analysis, etc.) that are explicitly discussed in the research paper, even if the research paper does not contain or discuss (self-collected) data. The form is to be completed in the same language in which the master's dissertation is written. In this form, the student also briefly indicates whether/how generative AI was used. 

Data availability 

§13 The supervisor of the master's dissertation has to be granted read access to all data generated or processed by the student in the context of his/her research at all times until the end of the academic year in which the master's dissertation is submitted. This applies to all stages of the entire process. Examples of such data are the following (non-exhaustive list):

-raw data such as interview recordings, survey data, field observation authenticity evidence

-(semi)processed data such as transcripts

-analyses (for example, output from coding software such as MaxQDA, SPSS, etc.)

Upon request of the supervisor, students have to the files available. Depending on the nature of the files, this can be done by email (as an attachment), via a link to secure files on a site (such as Sharepoint) or by providing read access to a certain application (for example, sharing a Qualtrics project).

When data is shared, the principals of confidentiality have to be adhered to (third parties do not have access). Granting this "read access" to the supervisor does not imply an automatic transfer of rights to this data.

Article 4: SIZE

The table below shows the minimum and maximum word count for the master's dissertation in function of the study programme and format. These numbers do not include abstract, tables, bibliography, footnotes and appendices (such as the DMP). 

	Communication Sciences	Political Sciences, EU Studies and Conflict and Development Studies	Sociology
ACADEMIC DISSERTATION	/	12,000 to 17,000 words	/
POLICY REPORT	10,000 to 12,000 words	8,000 to 12,0000 words	8,000 to 12,000 words
JOURNAL ARTICLE	8,000 to 10,000 words	8,000 to 10,000 words	8,000 to 12,000 words

Please note: these minimum and maximum word counts may not be exceeded under any circumstances. If they are exceeded, the Master’s dissertation will be declared inadmissible. The Faculty Student Administration checks the word count for each Master’s dissertation, although an examiner may also contact the Faculty Student Administration if they suspect that these minimum and maximum word counts have been exceeded. The final decision on inadmissibility is taken by the Master’s dissertation coordinator. If the Master’s dissertation's coordinator is personally involved as a supervisor or commissioner for the dissertation, the decision is taken by the Programme Committee Chair. The decision with regard to inadmissibility always has to be reported to the Faculty Student Administration and the department secretariat.

Article 5: PROCESS & DEADLINES

A. Process and obligatory supervision meetings

§ 1 Each student is supervised by a member of the professorial staff or a post-doctoral researcher/ assistant.

§2 The supervisor has to belong to the Faculty of Political and Social Sciences and is to be affiliated with the department responsible for the student's programme. An exception to this rule may be made if both the chair of the program committee of the study programme to which the student belongs and the supervisor agrees.

Master's student	Supervisor associated with department:
Political Sciences and EU studies	Political sciences
Conflict and Development Studies	Conflict & Development Studies
Sociology	Sociology
Communication Sciences	Communication sciences

§3 Assistants, scientific collaborators or externals with the necessary experience and expertise may also be involved in supervision activities, under the overall responsibility of the supervisor.

Supervision of the Master’s dissertation is initially provided in the form of a ‘supervision meeting’.

At least three supervision meetings take place over the course of the academic year, spread throughout the programme. Attendance at these meetings is a prerequisite for submitting the written dissertation. Students have to keep a separate brief report of each meeting (or a document proving that the supervision meeting took place) so that their progress is recorded individually.  

By ‘supervision meeting’, we mean an ‘interactive discussion’ between the supervisor and a student (in person or electronically, for example via a Teams call). A ‘supervision meeting’ may take place on an individual basis or within the context of a small group (e.g. during workshops).

The following are not generally considered to be supervision sessions: 
•    An exchange of emails or chat messages between the supervisor and the student
•    The introductory information sessions organised by the study programme 
•    A feedback session requested by a student after the examination period (if they have failed the course) 

§4 At the start of the academic year, the supervisor has to communicate the deadlines by which each meeting has to take place. The student should contact the supervisor to arrange the specific meeting moments. It is the student’s responsibility to request these meetings from the supervisor in good time (usually two weeks in advance). 

The three compulsory meetings are usually spread out over the academic year, depending on both the student’s progress and the supervisor’s availability. The following rules apply:
•    The three compulsory meetings do not all take place in the same semester
•    The three compulsory interviews take place before the submission deadline for the first examination period. 
•    If students submit their dissertation in the second examination period, the third meeting may take place (in consultation with the supervisor), but it must be held before the summer break
•    There has to be a period of at least two full weeks between two meetings
•    Students who, due to illness or proven force majeure, are unable to attend a previously scheduled meeting have to reschedule it as soon as possible. This does not apply to the third meeting if it is too difficult to arrange this before the submission deadline.

Students who wish to submit their Master’s dissertation during the ‘early first examination period’ shall, in consultation with their supervisor, agree on a schedule of supervision meetings. By mutual agreement, the number of three meetings may be deviated from.

The study programmes decide on and communicate further arrangements with regard the practical and substantive aspects of the supervision sessions. Each study programme communicates these further arrangements at the start of the academic year.

A student who, for whatever reason, finds it difficult to arrange three supervision meetings after contacting their supervisor should, as soon as possible, first contact the lecturer responsible for the master's dissertation or, secondly, the chair of the programme committee.  

B. Registration in Plato and Oasis

The registration deadlines are communicated via https://www.ugent.be/ps/en/education/administration/data.htm.

§ 4 If students fail to register in time in Plato and Oasis, they cannot hand in their master’s dissertation.

C. Submission of the master’s dissertation

§ 5 Students of all programmes have to submit the master's dissertation electronically on Plato (PDF format). The submission dates can be found on https://www.ugent.be/ps/en/education/administration/data.htm. It is possible to deviate from this, always in consultation with the supervisor. In this case, students have to mail the supervisor and commissioner (with the FSA in cc) to request a postponement. 

§ 6 Digital attachments up to 1 GB have to be uploaded via Plato. Anything above 1 GB has to be supplied separately in consultation with the supervisor (via USB or CD-ROM or shared via OneDrive or wetransfer, ...). Interview transcripts should, therefore, not be added to the text of the master's dissertation itself, but can be forwarded as separate files, together with the audio files and consent forms, to the supervisor and the commissioner at the time of submission. Students should provide, as an appendix, all the material needed by the readers (supervisor and commissioner) so that their work and results can be correctly evaluated. Each supervisor can also ask for additional material (for example, code, SPSS output, specific consent forms, etc.) before or upon submission if he/she deems it necessary. For possible additional checks (e.g. conformity in terms of word count), students also have to keep a Word version of their master's dissertation available at all times.

Exception:

§ 7 The Examination Committee may also meet after the first part of the first exam period in a graduation year of a master's degree for students who only have to pass for their master’s dissertation and/or first semester subjects. In this case, students are allowed to submit the master’s dissertation in the first semester.

The submission deadline is communicated via https://www.ugent.be/ps/en/education/administration/data.htm

D. Oral defense

§ 8 The oral defence is an integral and compulsory part of the Master’s dissertation module. The oral defence is essential for determining whether, and to what extent, the student can account for the content and development of the Master’s dissertation, and whether the work meets the requirements of academic integrity.

The location and time of the Master’s dissertation defence will be announced electronically (via UFORA or email) by the degree programmes. Under no circumstances may a student withdraw from the oral defence (otherwise, the student will be deemed to have failed this module).
In exceptional cases (such as an internship abroad or a study period abroad), the oral defence may be organised via Microsoft Teams or similar platforms. 

F. The evaluation and final grade

§9 Each Master’s dissertation (submitted paper) is read and assessed by both the supervisor and at least one commissioner. Each assessor draws up an assessment report.. The Programme Committees appoint the commissioners. 

For the Master’s dissertation as a course module, only one final mark is awarded.

This final mark is only determined once all three components (process, written thesis and oral defence) have been completed. This final mark is not a simple arithmetic sum but is determined on the basis of the extent to which the student has demonstrated the required competences. 

A student who withdraws from any one of the components can no longer pass the Master’s dissertation.

If two assessors cannot reach a consensus, an additional assessor may be appointed. 

§ 11 Every student is entitled to feedback on their Master’s dissertation following the announcement of the results of the first (and/or second) examination period. The request for such feedback has to be made at the student’s initiative and within the feedback period specified in the Academic Calendar.

H. Master’s dissertation agreement

§ 12 If a third party is involved in a master’s dissertation (e.g. a company, external organisation) it is desirable that all parties sign a master’s dissertation agreement. This agreement governs the liability (confidentiality and property rights). This master’s dissertation agreement is signed in three copies, first by the supervisor and afterwards by the student. Students then submit the master’s dissertation for signature to the external party. Lastly, the Faculty Director of Studies signs the document on behalf of UGent.

The Faculty Education Services (called the FSA at our faculty) scans the signed agreement and attaches it as document type in OASIS to the course 'master’s dissertation' of the student. The signed copy of the master’s dissertation agreement is kept at the Faculty Education services. The other two copies are for the student and the third party. The formats for the master’s dissertation Agreement can be found on the website of UGent TechTransfer:
https://www.ugent.be/ps/nl/voor-studenten/administratie/masterproef/overzicht.htm

I. Communication Via Ufora 

§2 At the beginning of the academic year, the programmes communicate the necessary information in writing, via UFORA, about, among other things:

- Date of the first information session(s);
- Administrative procedure for choosing a supervisor/topic;
- All interim and final deadlines (including the conditions for deviating from them, e.g. because fieldwork, Erasmus or force majeure, etc.);
- Any assessment methods for the progress sessions (and alternative assessment in the event of illness or force majeure);
- Procedures for the second examination period (e.g. regarding the transfer of partial marks to the second examination period)
- Procedures for individual supervision, responsibility for planning supervision meetings
- Procedures for feedback after the first and second examination periods

Article 6: ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENT FOR STUDENTS WHO DO NOT PASS THEIR MASTER’S DISSERTATION AND RESUBMIT IT AT A LATER DATE

Students who do not pass their master’s dissertation and resubmit it at a later date, have to add a separate document, in which they (a) give an overview of the changes made, and (b) indicate how they have responded to the reports and the comments on the earlier version.