Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Final Master's Degree Project
Teaching staff
TFM coordinator:
Dr Marta Mas (mmas@uic.es)
Introduction
The purpose of the Master's Final Project (Spanish acronym TFM) is to demonstrate that the student has acquired the knowledge associated with the qualification in accordance with the credits assigned to it. The credits assigned to the TFM give an approximate idea of the time students should take to fulfil them. This compulsory subject is assigned 15 ECTS credits, equating to a requirement for students to dedicate approximately 150 hours of their effective time to complete it. The TFM will be produced in the second semester.
Objectives
The choice of subject for the TFM will be determined by the student's interest in a specific area of the degree course. Through the TFM it is expected that the student acquires a global perspective of entrepreneurship and the means of financing it (especially with regard to different aspects of Venture Capital & Private Equity). This is not just about being able to understand the concepts learned during the master's course but to apply them to real-life situations and to analyse their viability, implementation and impact. Thus, this work is integrative in nature and brings into play the full range of general and specific competences associated with this degree course.
A lecturer will be given the responsibility of directing the TFM which is a task that puts into practice all the knowledge acquired during the master's course and work placements. The director will monitor the student's work continuously, which will be defended before a committee according to established rules.
Learning outcomes of the subject
Learning outcomes can be summarised into the following three points:
- The student will compile the basic information to be able to undertake the work.
- The student must put forward some hypotheses, design a research methodology and reach some conclusions.
- The student will defend his/her TFM publicly before a specialist assessment committee.
Syllabus
Communication between the director and the student will be by email, apart from some face-to-face meetings while working on the TFM.
Presentation of the TFM thesis:
- There is an established template. It is available on Moodle.
- Language: multi-lingual option according to what is decided between the student and the TFM director.
- Length of the work: between 50 and 75 pages including bibliography, tables and figures (excluding annexes).
- The TFM should start with a numbered index that includes page numbers.
- Diagrams, graphs, tables etc. must be numbered and an index with page numbers included. All the pages of the TFM must be numbered.
- Any bibliography and webography used must be referred to in the section on documentary sources. References consist of the sources used in the work appropriately credited in the text. Annexes should include any material that supplements the explanations given in the work to help understand it better. This material needs to be selected carefully, putting forward only relevant information that cannot be included in the main body of the document because it would distort the logic of its presentation and its interpretation.
- Quotations should be given following the APA style (http://www.apastyle.org/). It is recommended, as far as possible, not to resort to generic references to web pages but rather refer to specific documents.
Enrolment for the TFM is treated like any other subject within the master's programme curriculum. If this does not happen, the student must enrol again for the 15 credits of the TFM in the following academic year.
Enrolment entitles the student to two exam sittings, as is the case for the other subjects that make up the degree course. Work for the first call to examinations is submitted in May, with the second call falling between the end of June and beginning of July (maximum mark 7/10). Earning the corresponding credits involves submitting the TFM and its oral defence.
Each student will have a TFM director, a UIC lecturer who will guide and supervise the student's work. The director will help the student define the subject and scope of the TFM.
The TFM coordinator is professor Marta Mas (mmas@uic.es) and, as such, she is responsible for assigning directors, constituting, convening and approving committees and signing certificates, in accordance with the report produced by the TFM grading committee. It will also be her responsibility to resolve practical queries that students may have concerning the management and procedures of the TFM.
Teaching and learning activities
In person
The teaching method used is based on the student working autonomously. Learning activities will be in the form of the tutoring and support provided by the TFM director.
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
The committee appointed by the TFM coordinator is the body that will assess the TFM. The committee will be composed of lecturers from the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences. The mark will be based on the following points:
- Continuous monitoring (20%) taking into account compliance with the deadlines and guidelines established by the director, initiative, the ability to overcome difficulties and the level of self-sufficiency and rigor shown by the student.
- Written work (50%): The TFM written document will be assessed according to the following criteria: presentation and structure, clarity and relevance of the content, originality and level of innovation, practical research, coherence, viability, incorporation of the competences and content worked on during the degree course, the reflective nature and internal argument of the work, management of the specialised bibliography, linguistic correctness, relevance of the conclusions.
- Presentation and defence (30%): taking into account the quality of the oral presentation, clarity and precision, linguistic correctness, organisation of the content, results and conclusions. Confidence demonstrated in the defence will also be evaluated as will the ability to answer questions competently. Finally, consideration will be given to the use of communication support material. The estimated timing of the defence is 20-25 minutes.
Grading the work will be undertaken using the same system currently applied to the other subjects of the degree course. The mark will be communicated after the oral defence.
If the defence is not successful, the committee will point out the perceived deficiencies, indicating the modifications that need to be made to the work or else recommending a new defence of the same one.
Work undertaken for a TFM is protected by the law on Intellectual Property. Consequently, the copyright of such work belongs to the author. If the TFM is based on a work placement, the company may require author's rights to the work.