EDUCATION ACT (CAP. 327)

Master of Arts - M.A. - Degree Course Regulations, 1999

IN exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 30 (5) and 31 (6) of the Education Act (Cap. 327), the Chancellor of the University of Malta has promulgated the following Regulations made by the Senate of the University of Malta by virtue of the powers conferred upon it by sections 31 and 35 of the said Act:

Citation and interpretation

1. (1) These regulations may be cited as the Master of Arts - M.A. - Degree Course Regulations, 1999.

(2) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires -

"the Board" means the Board of the Faculty of Arts;

"the Course" means the course of studies leading to the Degree of Master of Arts - M.A.;

"the Degree" means the Degree of Master of Arts - M.A.; and

"the Faculty" means the Faculty of Arts.

Applicability

2. These regulations shall apply to courses starting in October 1999 or later.

Eligibility for the Degree

3. To be eligible for the award of the Degree, students must: (a) be registered as regular students in terms of the Admission Regulations of the University and satisfy the Admission Requirements laid down in regulation 4;

(b) complete the appropriate course of studies, obtain all the required credits, be approved in the dissertation and satisfy any other requirements prescribed in these regulations; and

(c) satisfy any other requirements prescribed in any other relevant statutes, regulations and bye-laws of the University.

Admission Requirements

4. Subject to the conditions laid down in regulation 5, the Course shall be open to applicants in possession of one of the following qualifications:

(a) the degree of Bachelor of Arts (Honours) - B.A. (Hons) - with First Class Honours or Second Class Honours in a relevant area of study; or

(b) the degree of Bachelor of Arts - B.A. - with at least Grade B in the same principal area of study as that chosen for the Course or in an area of study deemed by the Board relevant to that chosen for the Course; or

(c) a degree from this or another University which the Board considers as comparable to any of the degrees indicated in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this regulation.

Preparatory Course

5. (1) Applicants for registration under paragraphs (b) and (c) of regulation 4 shall be required, in addition to satisfying any other special conditions laid down by the Board, to follow a Preparatory Course which extends over one year of full-time study or its equivalent in part-time study and to pass a qualifying examination at the standard of at least Second Class Honours. The qualifying examination shall normally be similar to all or part of the Synoptic Examination for the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) course in the area of study concerned.

(2) During the Preparatory Course students shall be required to register for a number of study-units for which a total of not less than twenty and not more than twenty-five credits are assigned. At the discretion of the department concerned, the required number of credits may include a dissertation to which seven credits shall be assigned.

(3) At the end of the Preparatory Course, students shall be required to sit for a Synoptic Examination which shall consist of two three-hour papers.

(4) The final result shall take into account the students' performance in the study-units and in the Synoptic Examination according to the following weighting:

Study-units - 50%
Synoptic Examination - 50%

(5) The final result of all students shall be published in a list in alphabetical order showing the names of students who passed or failed.

Registration for the Course

6. (1) Applicants wishing to register for the Course or for the Preparatory Course shall apply on the prescribed form and within the time specified by the Office of the Registrar. Applications for the Course shall include the following:

(a) the proposed title of the dissertation;
(b) a detailed research proposal, normally of approximately 500 words;
(c) a statement on whether the studies will be undertaken on a full-time or a part-time basis, and, in the latter case, the number of
hours that will be dedicated to this research work; and
(d) the name of a member of staff of the University who has agreed to act as supervisor after the applicant has consulted the head of department.

Course Structure

7. (1) The Course shall be offered in areas of study where the Faculty can provide expert guidance and supervision. The Board shall indicate which areas of study may be taken by research only and which by research and taught study-units before the commencement of each Course. It shall also indicate the areas of study offered in the full-time and part-time courses.

(2) The Course shall consist of components to which not less than 30 credits shall be assigned. The components shall be:

(a) research and the writing of a dissertation to which 28 credits are assigned, and study-units to which 2 credits are assigned; or

(b) a number of taught study-units to which not less than 16 credits are assigned, and research and the writing of a dissertation to which not less than 14 credits are assigned.

Course Duration

8. (1) The Course shall extend over a period of not less than twelve months and not more than eighteen months of full-time study or its equivalent in part-time study.

(2) The Board may allow students to extend their studies by not
more than six months.

(3) All students, whether full-time or part-time, shall be required to
register at the beginning of each academic year.

Catalogue of Study-Units

9. The Board shall draw up a programme of studies for the Course and shall publish a catalogue of study-units. The catalogue shall indicate the code, title, description and type of each study-unit, the credits assigned to each study-unit, which study-units are compulsory, concurrent or pre-requisites for other study-units, and the methods of teaching and assessment. The Board shall publish the catalogue for the Course prior to its commencement, following the approval of Senate.

Progress and Assessment

10. (1) Study-units shall be assessed through coursework and examinations held at the end of the semester in which they were held.

2) Credits shall be assigned according to the following grades in descending order of merit: A, B, C, and D. Failure shall be indicated by F. Incomplete work due to justifiable reasons (illness, approved absence, etc.) shall be indicated by I. In all other cases the results of uncompleted study-units shall be indicated as F. The grades awarded shall take into account the students' performance in one or more of the following elements, as deemed appropriate by the Board: coursework, fieldwork, research, and practical, written and/or oral assessments.

(3) Students who fail in any study-unit shall be allowed a supplementary assessment. Such a supplementary assessment should normally have the same mode of assessment as the corresponding first assessment. A supplementary assessment of a study-unit shall be held at the next scheduled examination session (May or September) as the case may be. In the case of assignments, the supplementary assessment shall be made by arrangement with the lecturer concerned. In the supplementary assessment, the maximum grade that may be awarded shall be grade D.

(4) If unsuccessful in the supplementary assessment, students may not continue the Course, except in special circumstances and with the permission of Senate.

(5) Students shall not be allowed to be re-assessed for a study-unit if they have already been awarded credit/s for it.

Dissertation

11. (1) Students registering for the taught Course shall submit the title and a research proposal for the dissertation for the approval of the Board within four months of their registration for the Course. Students registering for the Course by research shall submit the title and a research proposal on registration. In both cases, the research proposal should be as detailed as possible to enable the Board to properly assess its suitability.

(2) Dissertations shall be either a record of original work or an ordered and critical expression of existing data with regard to a particular subject, and must satisfy the Department concerned as regards language and literary presentation.

(3) For the course by research, the dissertation shall be of such length as shall be decided by the relevant Head of Department, but shall not exceed 50,000 words, apart from the footnotes, bibliography and appendices. For the taught and research course, the Board shall establish the length of the dissertation.

(4) No dissertation shall be accepted which is identical in substance to a dissertation already submitted for a degree in this or any other University. However, students shall not be precluded from incorporating such previous dissertation work as may be necessary to the presentation and fuller understanding of their exposition, provided that the nature and extent of such incorporation are clearly indicated in the dissertation itself.

(5) The Board shall appoint a supervisor for each student. Students shall be required to report to their supervisors at least once every two months and, in addition, as often as the supervisors deem necessary. Supervisors may refer to the Board students whose work they consider unsatisfactory and shall refer for the approval of the Board any substantial modification in the title or content of the dissertation. No dissertation may be submitted to the Board of Examiners without a certificate, signed by the supervisor, confirming the work's originality and conformity with these regulations.

(6) Students shall be required to take a viva voce examination on their dissertation and on the general field of knowledge within which it falls. The external examiner need not be present for the viva voce examination. 12. Students whose dissertation is found unsatisfactory may be allowed by the Board, on the recommendation of the Board of Examiners, to re-submit it in a revised form within a period of not less than six and not more than eighteen months from the day on which it is referred back to them.

Format and Presentation

13. (1) Dissertations shall meet the following specifications:

(a) Paper Size: International Standard Size A4 (29.7 cm x 21 cm);

(b) Typing: Double spacing for the main text. Single spacing for footnotes. Single spacing may also be used for long quotations in the main text. Left-hand margin of 3.5 cm. Top and right-hand margin of 1.5 cm. A top margin of 5 cm to be left on the first page of every division, i.e. chapters, bibliography, etc. Footnote/s should appear at the bottom of the relevant page or after every chapter;

(c) Pagination: The main text, including the introduction (if any), the bibliography and any appendices of the dissertation shall have Arabic numerals; the title page, dedication (if any), preface, acknowledgements, table of contents, etc. preceding the main text, shall have Roman numerals;

(d) Binding: Three unbound copies of the dissertation shall be submitted. After a successful defence, two copies of the dissertation as approved by the Board of Examiners, shall be sewn and bound as follows:

in cloth (preferably black) with stiff boards and good quality end papers; with
lettering (preferably in gold ) on the front and spine showing:

(i) the name of the student;

(ii) the title or short title of the dissertation;

(iii) the degree for which the dissertation is submitted; and

(iv) the year of submission. Maps, diagrams, graphs, printed material, etc. should be bound with the dissertation, but if this is not possible they should be presented separately in special folders or volumes and numbered.

(e) One bound copy of the dissertation shall be deposited in the University Library and the second bound copy shall be deposited in the Department concerned; and

(f) Layout of title page: Title of dissertation and subtitle (if any) followed by the name of the student, the subject, and the date of submission, e.g. "A dissertation presented to the Faculty of Arts in the University of Malta for the degree of Master of Arts in (name of subject e.g. History)", followed by month and year of submission.

(2) The dissertation shall include a declaration signed by the students that the work is their own original work.

Boards of Examiners

14. Each dissertation shall be examined by a Board of Examiners composed of at least three members, one of whom shall normally be an external examiner from another university. The Board of Examiners for any written papers may be other than those for the dissertation itself.

Final Result

15. (1) The final result of students following the Course by research shall take into account the merits of their dissertation.

(2) The final result of students following the Course by taught study-units and research shall take into account all components of the Course which shall be weighted according to the number of credits assigned to each component.

(3) The names of students who qualify for the award of the Degree shall be published in a list in alphabetical order classified as follows:

Passed with Distinction
Passed.