Duration
Number of credits
| Specialised master in cosmos exploration | 15 crédits |
Lecturer
Collégialité
Coordinator
Language(s) of instruction
English 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 enrolled in the master in cosmos exploraiton have to present a master thesis. This is an individual work related to astrophysics, planetology, and Universe sciences in general, in relation with topics addressed in the master course programme, done under the supervision of a scientist.
The subject of this work must be established directly after discussion with a supervisor. 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 identified, in agreement 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 cosmos exploration. In short, the targetted outcomes are : - the achievement of a scientific culture in a field related to astrophysics, planetology and Universe sciences in general, - the development of scientific thinking in Universe sciences, - the development of a real opening to pluridisciplinary approaches (depending on the topic), - the development of a capability to interact efficiently and properly within a pluridisciplinary team (depending on the topic).
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
The skills needed to carry out his work are provided by the mandatory courses in the master programme.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Leaning activities are intimately related to the thesis topic. These activities are established by the supervisor, in concertation 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 must be written in 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. 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 mark 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 answers to questions. In the assessment of the manuscript, it is proposed 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)
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
Students are encouraged to define their master thesis topic at the latest at the end of the first term, in order to be able to work on it at the very beginning of the seccond term.
Contacts
Dr. Michaël De Becker Michael.DeBecker@uliege.be