Duration
Number of credits
| Master in space sciences (120 ECTS) | 15 crédits |
Lecturer
Collégialité
Language(s) of instruction
French language
Organisation and examination
All year long
Schedule
Units courses prerequisite and corequisite
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Learning unit contents
The students of the 2nd block of the master in space sciences have to present a master thesis. This is an individual work related to space sciences done under the supervision of a scientist. In the context of the research focus, the thesis must be fully research-oriented. In the framework of the professional focus, the thesis consists of an internship, for instance at the Liège Space Centre, in a private company, or in any external space organization such as ESA.
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.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
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.
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
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.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Mode of delivery (face-to-face ; distance-learning)
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.
Recommended or required readings
If needed, the supervisor can recommend reading scientific articles or books allowing the student to improve his/her knowledge of the subject.
Assessment methods and criteria
The manuscript of the master thesis has to be submitted to the MatheO repository at the latest on the deposit date set by the board of studies. Following validation by the manager (see contacts), the electronic version of the manuscript is available to the members of the board of reviewers. Each member of the board of reviewers receives in addition a printed copy of the manuscript by the date set by the board.
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 (maximum 20 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.
Work placement(s)
Organizational remarks
The manuscript can be written in French or English.
For students following the full master course (program of 120 ECTS), this learning unit must be accompanied by SPAT0070-1 Complément de mémoire, leading to a total of 27 ECTS for the master thesis. For students directly accepted in the block 2 of the master (adapted program of 60 ECTS), the master thesis is restricted to the present learning unit (15 ECTS).
Note that for the 60 ECTS adapted program, only the research focus can be selected.
Contacts
Dr. Michaël De Becker
debecker@astro.ulg.ac.be
Dr. Christian Barbier
cbarbier@ulg.ac.be
Adaptation of teaching commitments following the COVID-19 pandemic for the May-June 2020 session
Teaching methods implemented : distance-learning
Assessment subjects
Assessment methods
The student is not asked to give a printed copy of the manuscript to the members of the board of reviewers, but an electronic (pdf) version, or the link to Matheo, must be sent to them by email, and also to the chairman and the secretary of the jury. The defence of the master thesis is organised as a videoconference, for which the schedule and the needed technical details will be provided in due time. Only the members of the board of reviewers, together with the chairman and the secretary of the jury, attend the presentation. The duration of the presentation should not exceed 15 minutes, followed by a session of questions (maximum 15 minutes). Then a 10 minutes deliberation takes place to evaluate the defence. For this deliberation, the chairman and the secretary play the role of fixed-point.
Contacts
Dr. Michaël De Becker
michael.deBecker@uliege.be