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| SMEM0029-1 | Final thesis
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| Lecturer : | Collégialité |
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Language(s) of instruction :
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| French language |
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Organisation and examination :
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| All year long |
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Course contents :
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| The students of the 2nd year of the master in space sciences have to present a master thesis. This is a research work related to space sciences done under the supervision of a scientist.
The subject of this work can be chosen among the list of topics provided to the students at the end of their first year, or can be established directly in collaboration with a supervisor. The subject and the name of the supervisor have to be approved by the board of studies at its first meeting at the beginning of the academic year.
The supervisor must define the goals of the work and guide the student during its completion. The supervisor should have a PhD in science or applied science. If the supervisor is not attached to ULg (including the CSL), the board of studies must nominate a co-promoter attached to ULg. |
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Learning outcomes of the course :
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| The master thesis is a personal work that calls upon the skills acquired throughout the various courses of the master in space sciences. It aims at developing the independence, as well as the critical and scientific spirit of the student. This allows the student to discover the work of a scientist. |
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Prerequisites and co-requisites/ Recommended optional programme components :
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| The supervisor can advise the student to take one or several optional courses that will allow him/her to acquire the skills needed to carry out his work. |
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Planned learning activities and teaching methods :
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Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning) :
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| The student is encouraged to inform the supervisor on a regular basis about the progress of his/her work, and to discuss any relevant scientific question with the supervisor. At the beginning of the academic year, the supervisor can establish a calendar and/or a list of specifications defining the goal of the thesis work. |
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Recommended or required readings :
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| If needed, the supervisor can recommend reading scientific articles or books allowing the student to improve his/her knowledge of the subject. |
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Assessment methods and criteria :
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| The manuscript of the master thesis has to be submitted at the latest on the deposit date set by the board of studies. Each member of the board of reviewers and the secretary of the board of studies receive a copy of the manuscript.
The master thesis is presented on the date set by the board of studies in front of the reviewers and the jury of the master in space sciences. The duration of the presentation should not exceed 20 minutes, followed by a session of questions (10 minutes).
The board of reviewers consists of 4 to 5 members (including the supervisor and possible co-supervisor). Two of them must belong to another research team than the supervisor and the co-supervisor. If a reviewer cannot attend the presentation, he/she sends a brief report to the chairman and the secretary of the jury, at the latest the day before the presentation.
The score of the master thesis consists of 2/3 of the mean score on the manuscript attributed by the board of reviewers (the scores of the reviewers are
communicated to the secretary of the jury prior to the presentations), and 1/3 of the mean score on the presentation attributed by the jury. In the assessment of the manuscript, it is suggested to adopt the following criteria: (1) the content of the work (achievement of the work, methodology, the students effort, quality and relevance of the analysis,...), (2) originality of the student's contribution (autonomy, initiative and critical thinking,...), (3) quality of the manuscript (structure of the manuscript, quality of the figures, correct spelling, correct citation of references for any figure, table, or text excerpts from a published work, ...). The suggested weights for these criteria are 50% for the content, 25% for the originality of the contribution, and 25% for the quality of the manuscript. |
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Work placement(s) :
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Organizational remarks :
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| If the supervisor agrees, the manuscript can be written in English. |
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Contacts :
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| Prof. Gregor Rauw
rauw@astro.ulg.ac.be
Dr. Christian Barbier
cbarbier@ulg.ac.be |
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