EDUCATION ACT (CAP. 327)

Master in Diplomacy ­ M.Dip. ­ Degree Course Regulations, 2005

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 in Diplomacy ­ M.Dip. ­ Degree Course Regulations, 2005.

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

"the Board" means the Board of the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies;

"the Course" means the course of studies leading to the degree of Master in Diplomacy ­ M.Dip.; and

"the Degree" means the degree of Master in Diplomacy ­ M.Dip.

Applicability

2. These regulations shall apply to courses starting in October 2003 or later.

Qualifications for Admission

3. To be admitted to the Course, applicants must be:

(a) in possession of a Bachelor's degree of the University of Malta or of a degree recognised by Senate as equivalent;
(b) in possession of a certificate of proficiency in English at the level required by the University of Malta; and
(c) employed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of their country or in another governmental administration active in external relations and have served in this capacity for at least one year.

Course Duration

4. The Course shall extend over one year of full-time study.

Course Structure

5. The programme of studies for the Course comprises the following components, to which 60 credits shall be assigned:

(a) taught study-units in:

International Relations (10 credits)
International History (10 credits)
International Economics (10 credits)
International Law (10 credits)
Diplomacy (6 credits)
Methodology (4 credits);

(b) a research paper, to which 6 credits are assigned, to be written during the second semester and falling within one of the following fields: International Law, International Economics, International Relations,  International History and Diplomacy; and

(c) language study-unit/s, to which 4 credits are assigned. Students who are fluent in English are required to follow study-units in an international language taught at the University of Malta, whilst students who are not fluent in English are required to follow study-unit/s in that language.

Catalogue of Study-Units

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

Assessment

7. Results for the assessment of the study-units and the research paper shall be published as a percentage mark and grade as indicated in the table below:

Mark Range  Grade

80% -100%        A
70% - 79%         B
55% - 69%         C 
45% - 54%         D
0 - 44%              F

Both the percentage mark and the grade shall be recorded in the students' academic record. However, only the percentage mark shall be used for the purpose of calculating the final classification of the Degree. The marks and grades awarded shall take into account the students' performance in one or more of the following elements, as deemed appropriate by the Board: assignments (to which a percentage of the final marks and grade for the study-unit may be assigned) and written and/or oral examinations.

8. Students who fail to obtain a pass mark and grade in a written and/or oral examination or in an assignment or in both may be allowed to sit for a supplementary examination, or to resubmit the assignment, or both. Students may be allowed to repeat an examination and to resubmit an assignment for a particular study-unit only once.

9. Supplementary assessments are limited to no more than two of the study-units in: International Law, International Economics, International Relations and International History.

10. Students failing in the research paper may be allowed to rewrite the paper within three months from the publication of the result of the research paper. Students failing in the rewriting of the research paper shall not be awarded the Degree.

Award of the Degree

11. (1) Students who obtain the 60 credits indicated in regulation 5 shall be awarded the Degree.

(2) The final classification of each student shall take into account the results obtained in the assessments of all components of the Course, which shall be weighted according to the number of credits assigned to each.

(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.