Duration
Number of credits
| Master in space sciences (120 ECTS) | 15 crédits |
Lecturer
Collégialité
Coordinator
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 (CSL), in a private company, in non-university research centres, 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 after discussion with a supervisor. The subject and the name of the supervisor have to be approved by the board of examiners.
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 ULiège (including the CSL), a co-supervisor attached to Uliège must be nominated, in concertation with the chair of the board of studies.
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 thinking of the student. This allows the student to discover the work of a professional of the space sector, either from the point of view of fundamental scientific aspects or following applied approaches (depending on the focus and the specific thesis topic).
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/her work.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Leaning activities are intimately related to the thesis topic, taking into account the focus (either research or professional). These activities are established by the supervisor, in agreement with a co-supervisor if any.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid 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.
Organisational adjustments related to the current health context
Students are encouraged to privilege activities at home as much as possible. Remote contacts with the supervisor are encouraged, using the on-line platforms made available by the supervisor.
Activities requiring to be present on the campus are organized in compliance with the measures applicable at ULiège.
Recommended or required readings
If needed, the supervisor can recommend the reading of scientific articles or books allowing the student to improve his/her knowledge of the subject.
Assessment methods and criteria
Below you will find information on the evaluation methods planned for in-person and remote exams as well as those planned for hybrid sessions. Depending on how the health crisis evolves, the chosen method will be communicated to you no later than one month before the start of the exam session.
Any session :
- In-person
oral exam
- Remote
oral exam
- If evaluation in "hybrid"
preferred remote
Additional information:
The manuscript of the master thesis has to be submitted to the MatheO repository at the latest on the deposit date set by department council, following recommendation by the chair of the board of studies. The manuscript can be written in French or English. 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 deposit date.
The master thesis is presented on the date set by the department council, following recommendation by the chair of the board of studies. The presentation is made in front of the reviewers and the board of examiners 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 and the answers to questions. 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.
In case of remote evaluation:
The presentation and the defence will be organized using the Lifesize platform. Connections details will be communicated in due time by the secretary of the Board of Examiners. The duration of the presentation will be reduced to 15 minutes, and the question/answer session will also be reduced to 15 minutes. The deliberation for every thesis will immeditatly follow the defence, in the presence of the specific reading committee members who are the only ones to participate in the evaluation. The chair and secretary of the Board of Examiners of the master attend all defences and play the role of moderator for the uniformisation of evaluations during the deliberations.
Work placement(s)
In the framework of the professional focus, the thesis must primarily consist in an internship out of the AGO department.
Students who are doing an intership for their master thesis must comply with the requirements in terms of internship agreement and risk analysis sheet. Students must contact Mrs Kristel Karrremans (K.Karremans@uliege.be) who is the contact person for the Faculty of Sciences.
Organizational remarks
The manuscript can be written in French or English.
For students following the full master course (programme 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 programme of 60 ECTS), the master thesis is restricted to the present learning unit (15 ECTS).
Note that for the 60 ECTS adapted programme, only the research focus can be selected.
Contacts
Dr. Michaël De Becker
debecker@astro.ulg.ac.be
Dr. Christian Barbier
cbarbier@ulg.ac.be