Legal Notice 193 of 1997 Malta Government Gazette No. 16,540 18 November 1997
Amended by:
Legal Notice 233 of 2000 Malta Government Gazette No. 17,010 10 November 2000 |
EDUCATION ACT (CAP. 327) Master of Arts in Financial Services - M.A. - Degree Course Regulations, 1997 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 in Financial Services - M.A. - Degree Course Regulations, 1997.
(2) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires -
"the Board" means the Board of the Faculty of Laws;
"the Course" means the course leading to the degree of Master of Arts in Financial Services - M.A.;
"the Degree" means, as the case may require, the Degree of Master of Arts in Financial Services - M.A.
Applicability
2. These regulations shall apply to courses starting in October 1995 or later.
Board of Studies
3. The Course shall be administered by a Board of Studies appointed by Senate and shall normally be composed of members proposed by the Faculty Board of Laws and the Faculty Board of Economics, Management and Accountancy and two students elected by and from among the students in the Course.
Eligibility for the Degree
4. To be eligible for the award of the Degree a candidate must
(a) be registered as a regular student in terms of the Admission Regulations of the University;
(b) satisfy the special course 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.
Special Course Requirements
5. (1) Candidates for admission to the Course shall be in possession of one of the following qualifications:
(a) the LL.D. Degree or the Diploma of Notary Public; or
(b) a Bachelor's degree with at least second class honours in Accountancy or Banking and Finance; or
(c) professional qualifications in Accountancy or Accountancy and Auditing recognised by the University for this purpose, or any other recognised professional qualifications which are considered to be equivalent to a first degree of this University, together with a minimum of seven years experience in a senior position in a field related to the area of financial services; or
(d) equivalent qualifications in a related area from this University or another University recognised by the University of Malta for the purpose.
(2) The admission of candidates may be made conditional on the results of an interview and, in the case of candidates who are not in possession of the LLD or the BA (Hons) in Accountancy or the BA (Hons) in Banking and Finance, the Board may impose additional requirements including the requirement to follow a preparatory programme of studies and to pass a qualifying examination prior to registration for the Course.
Course Duration
6. The Course shall extend over one academic year of full-time study followed by a period of not more than six months during which candidates shall be required to complete a dissertation, provided that a candidate may choose, with the permission of the Board, to study for the degree on a part-time basis, in which case any period spent in part-time study shall be deemed to be equivalent to half the period required in full-time study.
Course of Studies
7. (1) In order to complete the Course candidates must obtain not less than twelve credits. At least eight credits must be in "core" subjects, three credits must be chosen from a list of elective study-units in the law area and one credit must be chosen from a list of elective study-units in the finance area. In addition, candidates must complete, and be approved in, a dissertation as prescribed in regulation 9.
(2) A catalogue of study-units comprising the "core" subjects and electives, with the credits assigned to each, shall be published before the start of each academic year. A candidate may not register for more than fourteen credits.
Assessments and examinations
8. (1) Each study-unit shall be assessed through course work and/or by assessment tests.
(2) Comprehensive examinations consisting of four papers of three hours' duration each shall be held at the end of the first year, and in the case of part-time candidates, at the end of the second year.
(3) Credits for the coursework assessment or test of each study-unit and the grade for the examination papers shall be assigned according to the grades A, B, C, D or F in descending order of merit, F indicating Fail.
(4) A candidate who fails in the coursework assessment or test of one or more study-units together totalling not more than four credits shall be allowed to resubmit the coursework or re-sit the assessment test for the study-unit/s failed once only, normally within three months from the publication of the result of the coursework assessment or test. In such cases the maximum grade that can be awarded shall be D. A candidate who fails to obtain a minimum of eight credits at the first sitting shall be considered to have definitely failed but may be allowed to recommence the Course once only.
(5) A candidate who fails in not more than two of the four examination papers referred to in paragraph (2) of this regulation shall be allowed to re-sit the papers/s failed once only. In such case the maximum grade that can be awarded shall be D. A candidate who fails in more than two examination papers at the first sitting or any paper in the resit shall be considered to have definitely failed but may be allowed to recommence the Course once only.
Dissertation
9. (1) The dissertation shall be a compulsory element of the Course.
(2) The dissertation shall be of not more than 25,000 words in length on a subject proposed by the candidate and approved by the Board. It should provide evidence of independent research and constitute an original contribution to the subject.
(3) The candidate must present a written proposal for a dissertation topic not later than six months from the beginning of the Course. Part-time candidates shall present their proposal not later than six months from the beginning of the second year of the Course.
(4) On approval of the dissertation proposal the candidate shall be assigned a supervisor who shall be appointed by the Board.
(5) The dissertation must be submitted not later than six months after the taking of the Final Examinations referred to in regulation 8 above. Part-time candidates shall submit their dissertation not later than twelve months after the Final Examinations in the second year of their Course.
(6) The Board may in its discretion grant a candidate an extension of the submission date referred to in the preceding paragraph of this regulation up to a maximum of six months.
(7) The dissertation shall be examined by a Board of Examiners appointed by the Board.
(8) Each candidate shall submit 8 copies of the dissertation and declare in writing that the dissertation is his own work and conforms to the requirements stated in paragraph (2) of this regulation.
(9) The Board of Examiners shall be convened by its Chairman to discuss the dissertation. A candidate may also be required to take a viva voce examination in defence of his dissertation.
(10) The Board of Examiners may approve the dissertation. It may require the candidate to make corrections or to completely re-write the dissertation within a stated time limit. It may reject the dissertation altogether.
(11) A candidate whose dissertation is rejected or whose corrections or re-writing are considered inadequate or have not been submitted within the prescribed time limit shall not be awarded the Degree.
Classification and Award of the Degree
10. (1) The award of the degree shall be classified as a Pass with Distinction or Pass depending on the overall results obtained. For classification purposes the performance of the candidate in the credits shall account for 20% of the final weighting. The performance of the candidate in the examinations shall account for 50% of the final weighting while the performance of the candidate in the dissertation shall account for the remaining 30%.
(2) The names of the successful candidates shall be published on the notice board of the University, in alphabetical order as well as in the order of classification obtained.
