Offer 1 with catalog number 4019536FNR for all students in the 1st and 2nd semester
at
a (F) Master - specialised level.
- Semester
- 1st and 2nd semester
- Enrollment based on exam contract
- Impossible
- Grading method
- Grading (scale from 0 to 20)
- Can retake in second session
- Yes
- Enrollment Requirements
- If you want to enroll for the Master Thesis in Communication Studies, you must be able to graduate. In other words: you can only enroll for this course when you are able to finish the programme.
- Taught in
- English
- Faculty
- Faculty of Social Sciences & SolvayBusinessSchool
- Department
- Communication Sciences
- Educational team
- Luciano Morganti
Wendy Van Den Broeck
Promotor .
(course titular)
- Activities and contact hours
- 8 contact hours Seminar, Exercises or Practicals
482 contact hours Independent or External Form of Study
- Course Content
The Master Thesis in Communciation Studies is the work by which you complete the master’s programme. With the Master Thesis the student demonstrates analytical and synthetic skills or an independent problem-solving capacity on an academic level. The work reflects the general critical-reflective mindset or the research mentality of the student.
The Master Thesis treats a topic that is related to one of the subareas that are addressed within the master’s programme Communication Studies.
- Additional info
The administrative and substantive procedures for the Master Thesis go digitally though the ‘Master Thesis Information System’ (MaThIS). The student takes the initiative in this.
The Master Thesis is written in the language of instruction of the programme.
A manual with additional information (on deadlines, manner of submitting, evaluation,…) can be found on the course space in Canvas and is regarded as an integral part of the course description.
The faculty regulations concerning the Master Thesis are also included in the supplementary faculty regulations, chapter V, of the Teaching and Examination Regulations: https://student.vub.be/en/ES#regulations-and-forms
This course is a final paper completing a Master’s programme and cannot be taken as part of a credit contract.
Teaching Methods
- Lecture: collective contact-dependent moments during which the lecturer engages with learning materials
- Seminar, Exercises or Practicals (Practical): collective or individual contact-dependent moments during which the students are guided to actively engage with learning materials
- Independent or External Form of Study (Self): independent study
This description of the teaching methods is indicative, in order to assess the expected study load.
The master thesis stands for 18 ECTS-credits and represents an expected study load of 490 hours. On a yearly basis (35 weeks) this means that each week the student will be expected to work for 14 hours on his/her thesis. These 14 hours include the independent work, but also regular contacts with the promotor and possible participation in individual and collective counseling activities.
Practical: 8 hours (meetings/contacts with the promotor and/or assisting team)
Self: 482 hours (independent work for the master thesis)
- Learning Outcomes
-
Algemene competenties
The Masters Theses contributes to the following Masters’ learning outcomes:
- Students show in-depth knowledge, understanding and insight within the field of communication sciences and in relation to the latest evolutions and discussions at both the national and international level.
- Students demonstrate the ability to critically contextualise and evaluate current national and international developments and discussions, and are able to independently deepen insights related to complex problems on the basis of an original framework of analysis, thereby expanding the theoretical basis related to their own fields of interest.
- Students show an open and constructive attitude whilst having respect for other views and beliefs.
- Students are open to scientific doubt and societal pluralism. They demonstrate courage, ambition and perseverance in questioning both established insights and alternative points of view.-
- Students act upon an open attitude in a culturally diverse international context. They critically reflect on their own (geographical, social, cultural, local, personal, …) position.
- Students demonstrate the skill to discuss and debate current societal and scientific topics and theoretical developments within the field of communication studies. The students discuss issues on the basis of critical and substantiated reflections and research findings, open-mindedly and willing to acknowledge other arguments.
- Students demonstrate entrepreneurial spirit, responsibility, communicative attitude, creativity and the ability to plan, coordinate, supervise and advise. The acquired skills enable the graduates to become independent, responsible, inquiring and reflective professionals.
- Students are competent to translate acquired understandings and findings into concrete conclusions, scenarios, advice, policy recommendations and strategies, and are able to communicate and implement these in a professional manner.
- Students are able to independently elaborate, organise, plan and conduct their own original research, interpret its results and groundedly, coherently and convincingly communicate it orally and in writing.
- Students are competent to – partly independent, partly guided – train specific and topical research methods within a particular field of study and apply these methods independently in concrete research situations.
Your master thesis proves that you are able to complete a scientific research project independently, using the format of an individually written, original scientific text. You are expected to use the various research skills and competences that you have learned during your master’s training. You must apply them to a well-defined problem, relevant to the field of media and communication studies.
Your thesis demonstrates that you can perform all steps of the scientific process, and that you can conduct empirical research that results in sound conclusions, which are innovative and contribute to the field of communication studies and to the knowledge of stakeholders, policy makers and society in general.
In particular you are expected to:
- Translate a scientific and/or a social problem into a feasible research question, both on a theoretical and empirical level, and to develop this into an appropriate and attainable research strategy.
- Critically collect, contextualise, synthesise and process scientific sources and literature related to the research theme in an independent and systematic way. In the process you move beyond the level of compilation and description, and become capable of developing an analytical framework based on existing literature.
- Independently conduct original research at the level of a novice researcher. You should be able to do this without much help from your supervisors. You should be able to write an original research plan and use the appropriate methods, departing from a theoretical framework and central research problem.
- Plan, conduct and report on your scientific research in a grounded, coherent, structured, clear and accurate way, with all necessary attention to the use of language, the bibliographic reference system, the lay-out, editing, attachments, and deadlines. We recommend that students use the APA reference system.
- Formulate clear conclusions answering the central research problem.
- Demonstrate a scientifically based critical and constructive attitude towards societal (ethical, political, social, cultural) issues related to media and communication.
- Grading
-
The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Master Thesis determines 100% of the final mark.
Within the Master Thesis category, the following assignments need to be completed:
- Master Thesis
with a relative weight of 1
which comprises 100% of the final mark.
- Additional info regarding evaluation
The following applies to both examination sessions:
- The student is obligated to upload his/her Master Thesis electronically on the antiplagiarism server indicated by the faculty and to provide the printed proof hereof when submitting the paper versions.
The student who submits a Master Thesis agrees with the rules regarding plagiarism: https://student.vub.be/en/ES#regulations-and-forms (scroll down).
- The evaluation of the Master Thesis is done in accordance with the evaluation form that can be found on the digital learning platform Canvas.
- It is not mandatory to defend the Master Thesis in Communication Studies orally.
The student who would like to request an oral defence must notify the department secretariat on this at the latest three days after the publication of the result in Mathis.
On the basis of a reasoned report, a public defence may be imposed on the student.
- Allowed unsatisfactory mark
- The supplementary Teaching and Examination Regulations of your faculty stipulate whether an allowed unsatisfactory mark for this programme unit is permitted.