EDUCATION ACT (CAP. 327)

Master of Arts - M.A. - in European Studies Degree Course Regulations, 1998

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. - in European Studies Degree Course Regulations, 1998.

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

"the Board" means the Board of the European Documentation and Research Centre;

"the Course" means the course leading to the Degree; and

"the Degree" means the degree of Master of Arts - M.A. - in European Studies.

Applicability

2. These regulations shall apply to courses starting in October 1995 or later.

Eligibility for the Degree

3. To be eligible for the Degree a student must:

(a) be registered as a regular student in terms of the Admission Regulations of the University;

(b) satisfy any qualification requirements for admission to the Course;

(c) complete the course of studies, qualify in the examinations and comply with any other requirements prescribed in these regulations; and

(d) comply with any other requirements prescribed in any other relevant statutes and regulations of the University.

Qualifications for admission

4. Candidates for admission to the Course shall be in possession of one of the following qualifications:

(a) the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree obtained with not less than Second Class Honours (Upper Division) in European Studies or in any other area of studies deemed acceptable by the Board; or

(b) equivalent qualifications from this University or another university recognized by the Senate for the purpose, provided that candidates in possession of a Bachelor of Arts degree in Legal and Humanistic Studies with not less than Category IIA and candidates in possession of an Honours degree with Second Class (Lower Division) may also be admitted but in these cases only after an interview, and if the Board is satisfied that the candidates are able to follow the Course successfully. In such cases, the Board may require that candidates follow a preparatory programme of studies and pass a qualifying examination prior to registration for the Course or to satisfy additional conditions during the Course.

Course duration

5. The Course shall extend over twelve months of full-time study. Students, however, may choose, with the permission of the Board, to study for the Degree on a part-time basis, in which case the Course shall extend over twenty-four months of part-time study.

Course of studies

6. (1) The Course shall be offered in European Studies in the areas of Politics, Economics and Law as determined by the Board.

(2) In order to complete the Course, students must obtain not less than 30 credits as follows: 20 credits for study-units, comprising 8 credits in one are of study and 6 credits in each of the other two areas of studies. Students must also submit a dissertation, to which 10 credits are assigned, and which shall be either in one of the areas of study chosen or of an interdisciplinary character involving two or more of these areas of study.

(3) A catalogue of study-units for each are of study and of the credits assigned to each study-unit shall be published before the commencement of the Course.

(4) The Law study-units shall be determined by the Board from the list of the study-units offered in the Magister Juris course of the Faculty of Laws (in European and Comparative Law) and shall be published in the catalogue of study-units before the commencement of the Course.

(5) On admission to the Course students shall be required to choose the areas of study they intend to follow from the areas of study indicated in paragraph (1) of this regulation and to register for the appropriate number of study-units in the areas of study chosen, as shall be indicated in the catalogue of study-units published as required in paragraph (3) of this regulation.

Assessments and examinations

7. (1) Each study-unit shall be assessed through coursework and by examination which shall be held at the end of the relevant semester. Students shall be required to pass in the coursework and in the examination.

(2) Credits for each study-unit shall be assigned according to the following grades in descending order of merit: A, B, C and D. F indicates Fail and I indicates Incomplete.

(3) A student who fails in one or more examinations or in the coursework shall be allowed to re-sit the examination or re-submit the coursework for the study-unit/s failed only once. In such cases, the maximum grade that may be awarded shall be Grade D. A student who fails to obtain a minimum of 12 credits in the first session shall be considered to have failed and shall not be allowed to proceed with the Course.

(4) The final mark for each study-unit shall be weighted as follows: 40% for the coursework and 60% for the examination.

Dissertation

8. (1) The dissertation shall be a compulsory element of the Course.

(2) The dissertation shall be of between 15,000 and 20,000 words in length on a subject proposed by the student and approved by the Board. It shall provide evidence of independent research and constitute an original contribution to the subject.

(3) The student shall present a written proposal for a dissertation topic not later than six months from the beginning of the Course. Part-time students shall present their proposals not later than six months from the beginning of the second year of the Course.

(4) On approval of the dissertation proposal the student shall be assigned a supervisor who shall be appointed by the Board.

(5) A student shall submit his dissertation not later than three months after taking the examinations referred to in regulation 7. Part-time students shall submit their dissertation not later than three months after the examinations in the second year of the Course.

(6) The Board may, at its discretion, grant a student an extension of the submission date referred to in paragraph (5) of this regulation up to a period of three months.

(7) The dissertation shall be examined by a Board of Examiners appointed by the Senate on the recommendation of the Board.

(8) The student shall submit four copies of the dissertation and declare in writing that the dissertation is his own work and conforms to paragraph (2) of this regulation.

(9) The Board of Examiners shall be convened by its Chairman to discuss the dissertation. A student may also be required to take a viva voce examination to defend his dissertation.

(10) The Board of Examiners may approve the dissertation. It may require the student to make amendments or to completely rewrite the dissertation within a stated time limit or may reject the dissertation altogether.

(11) A student whose dissertation is rejected or whose amendments or rewriting are considered inadequate or who has not submitted his dissertation within the required time limit shall not be awarded the Degree.

(12) A student who has to make amendments to the dissertation in accordance with paragraph (10) of this regulation must, after completion of the dissertation as instructed, re-submit four copies in hard bound cover to the Board of Examiners within eight weeks from being notified of the changes to be made.

(13) Successful students shall be required to submit four copies of the dissertation in hard bound cover to the European Documentation and Research Centre.

Classification and Award of the Degree

9. (1) The final result shall take into account the students' performance in the study-units and the dissertation, which shall be weighted according to the number of credits assigned to each, as indicated in paragraph (2) of regulation 6.

(2) The names of successful students shall be published in alphabetical order classified as follows:

Pass with Distinction
Pass.