Legal Notice 151 of 1999 Malta Government Gazette No. 16,835 3 September 1999
As amended by:
Legal Notice 122 of 2000 Malta Government Gazette No. 16,966 7 July 2000 |
EDUCATION ACT (CAP. 327) Master of Science - M.Sc. - 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 Science - M.Sc. - Degree Course Regulations, 1999.
(2) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires -
"the Board" means the Board of the Faculty of Science;
"the Course" means the course of studies leading to the Degree of Master of Science - M.Sc.;
"the Degree" means the Degree of Master of Science - M.Sc.; and
"the Faculty" means the Faculty of Science.
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 qualifications for admission laid down in regulation 4;
(b) complete the appropriate course of studies, obtain all the required credits, be approved in the dissertation (if applicable) 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.
Qualifications for Admission
4. (1) The Course shall be open to applicants in possession of the degree of Bachelor of Science (Honours) of this University, normally obtained with Second Class (Honours) or better, or another degree the studies for which the Board considers comparable to those for the Bachelor of Science (Honours).
(2) Applicants in possession of the Bachelor of Science ordinary degree of this University, with Category II or better, or are in possession of a comparable or a related degree, may only be allowed to register subsequent to the successful completion of a Preparatory Course as stipulated by the Board on the advice of the Department/s concerned, provided that the Preparatory Course consists of not less than six credits in a relevant area of study.
Course of Studies
5. The Course shall be offered in areas of study in which the Faculty can offer expert guidance and supervision and subject to the availability of resources as determined by the Department/s offering the area of study. The areas of study shall be indicated by the Board before the commencement of the Course.
Registration for the Course
6. Applicants wishing to register for the Course shall apply on the prescribed form and within the time specified by the Office of the Registrar. Applicants opting for the Dissertation mode of study or the Coursework and Dissertation mode of study must include a provisional title for the dissertation, a 300-word proposal and a supporting statement by a member of the Faculty who has agreed to supervise the work.
Course Duration
7. (1) The Course shall normally extend over a period of twelve calendar months of full-time study or the equivalent in part-time study.
(2) The Board may allow students to extend their studies by not more than six months or their equivalent in part-time study.
Course Structure
8. Students must register for a number of study-units (including the dissertation where applicable) to which a total of at least 30 credits are assigned in any one of the following modes of study as determined by the Board, on the advice of the Head of Department of the area of study concerned:
(a) Dissertation Mode of Study: consisting of the writing of a dissertation based on work of an advanced or original nature performed by students during the Course and the presentation of their findings and conclusions in a scholarly manner, to which 28 credits are assigned; a seminar assignment as described in regulation 9, to which 2 credits shall be assigned.
(b) Coursework and Dissertation Mode of Study: higher level study-units, to which between 6 and 10 credits are assigned; the writing of a dissertation, to which between 18 and 22 credits shall be assigned to reflect the research of the students; a seminar assignment as described in regulation 9, to which 2 credits shall be assigned.
(c) Coursework Mode of Study: higher level study-units, to which not less than 28 credits shall be assigned and which may include a practicum component; a seminar assignment as described in regulation 9, to which 2 credits shall be assigned.
9. (1) The seminar assignment, to which 2 credits shall be assigned, shall usually involve a literature review of a topic selected for the students by the Panel of Supervision.
(2) Students shall make a 40-45 minute oral presentation to an audience consisting, inter alia, of members of the Faculty and students. They shall answer questions posed by the audience and shall previously have submitted an abstract of about 300 words describing the contents of the seminar presentation. The seminar assignment shall be assessed by members of the Panel of Supervision.
(3) Students who fail the seminar assignment may be allowed to repeat the presentation, once only, on the recommendation of the Panel of Supervision. In this case, the maximum grade that may be awarded shall be grade D.
Catalogue of Study-Units
10. 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 catalogue shall include also guidelines on the conduct of seminars, the production of the dissertation and its oral defence. The Board shall publish the catalogue for the Course prior to its commencement, following the approval of Senate.
Progress and Assessment
11. (1) The taught component of the Course shall be assessed through coursework and examinations or through examinations only; examinations are normally held at the end of the semester in which the study-units 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 of Examiners: coursework, fieldwork, research, and practical, written and/or oral assessments.
(3) Students who fail in any study-unit pertaining to the taught component 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 that require re-submission, 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) Students shall not be allowed to be re-assessed for a study-unit if they have already been awarded credit/s for it.
Supervision
12. (1) The Board shall appoint a Panel of Supervision for each student normally composed of three members as follows: the Head of Department as chairman, and two other members, one of whom being the research supervisor, where applicable, provided that when the Head of Department is the supervisor, he shall not chair the Panel.
(2) The Panel of Supervision shall follow, as it deems fit, the progress of students through the Course, provided that it meets at least once to review such progress.
(3) 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.
(4) Supervisors shall be required to submit regular reports on students to the Panel of Supervision. Students shall seek approval from the Panel of Supervision for any substantial modification in the title or content of the dissertation. The dissertation may not normally be submitted to a Board of Examiners without the approval of the supervisor.
(5) The Panel of Supervision may advise the Board, in writing, on the performance of a student; such advice may recommend either (a) an extension of the study period in order to enable the student to pass in study-units taken by coursework; or (b) an extension of the study period in order to enable the student to complete the dissertation; or (c) a premature termination of studies if the Panel deems this to be proper in the circumstances; provided that the extension of the study period referred to in (a) and (b) shall be according to paragraph (2) of regulation 7.
Dissertation
13. (1) Dissertations presented for the Degree shall:
(a) be work of an advanced or original nature in the students' area of study;
(b) satisfy the Board of Examiners as regards content and presentation; and
(c) fulfil the requirements stipulated in the relevant guidelines as regards format and length.
(2) No dissertation shall be accepted which is identical in substance to a document already submitted for a degree in this or any other university or to any other published material. Students shall, however, not be precluded from incorporating such previous 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.
(3) Students shall present three bound copies of the dissertation to the department, one of which shall be retained in the University Library.
Examination of Study-Units, Seminar and Dissertation
14. (1) A Board of Examiners shall be appointed for each study-unit taken by coursework and by seminar and, where applicable, for the dissertation, in accordance with the provisions of the University Examination Regulations. An external examiner from another institution shall be appointed for study-units taken by coursework. The Board of Examiners for the seminar assignment shall be the Panel of Supervision. The Board of Examiners for the dissertation shall be composed of at least four members and normally shall include the three members of the Panel of Supervision together with an external examiner from another institution.
(2) The Board of Examiners for the dissertation shall require students to defend the dissertation orally before them. The external examiner need not be present for the oral defence. The Board shall ascertain that the quality and substance of the dissertation reflects the number of credits assigned to it.
15. (1) Students shall be required to obtain all the compulsory credits associated with the coursework, where applicable, and in any case, not less than a total of 28 credits. Students who fail to obtain 28 credits shall be ineligible for the award of the Degree.
(2) Students whose dissertation is found unsatisfactory may either fail or may be required by the Board of Examiners for the dissertation to rewrite the document in whole or in part and to re-submit it for examination. Students may re-submit the dissertation not earlier than 2 months and not later than 6 months from the notification of the decision by the Board of Examiners for the dissertation.
Final Results
16. (1) The Panel of Supervision shall compute the final result taking into account all components of the Course which shall be weighted according to the number of credits assigned to each component. The Panel shall also establish the Degree classification and it shall inform the Board accordingly.
(2) The names of students who qualify for the award of the Degree shall be published in a list in alphabetical order and classified as follows:
Passed with Distinction
Passed.
