The purpose of the Master’s Thesis (student research) is to stimulate and review the knowledge acquired thus far, to define and study a particular problem, to interpret a phenomenon or situation, or to combine these elements, depending on the topic and the student’s ability to analyze, synthesize, and logically process data. The most common approaches include literature-based research, experimentation, case studies, and surveys.
The objectives pursued through the preparation of the Master’s Thesis are as follows:
- To enhance the postgraduate student’s ability to address a problem.
- To reinforce learning through the study and processing of a significant issue and to acquire new knowledge derived from that study.
- To strengthen the postgraduate student’s capacity to provide a complete and accurate solution to potential problems that may arise.
- To train the postgraduate student to search for, investigate, select, use, and record information from bibliographic sources.
- To train the postgraduate student in writing and presenting a text based on bibliographic sources, without altering the meaning of the original information from which the data were obtained.
- To educate the postgraduate student in developing the ability to write not only a master’s thesis but any form of text requiring scientific reasoning, presentation of positions and proposals, submission of new ideas and directions, and, in general, any kind of writing that serves the author’s academic purpose and advances their ideas and proposals.
General Competences
- Search, analysis, and synthesis of data and information using the necessary technologies
- Independent work
- Work in an interdisciplinary environment
- Teamwork
- Generation of new research ideas
- Promotion of free, creative, and inductive thinking
- Adaptation to new situations
COURSE CONTENT
The process of preparing the thesis is divided into two or three parts:
- Collection of the required information through the study of available literature.
- Experimental section, if required by the topic of the thesis.
- Writing a text that systematically and coherently presents the perspective formed through the literature review and/or the data obtained from the experimental process.
The value of the thesis is not determined by the number of pages, although a minimum length is necessary. It is more precise to define a number of words required for the text to be considered complete and satisfactory. Specifically, 20,000 words are set as the minimum number of words for the main text, excluding references, figures, tables, etc. Specialized topics may be adequately covered in shorter works. In such cases, it is the responsibility of the supervisor and the three-member examination committee to determine the adequacy and completeness of the coverage and to accept the thesis accordingly.
It is self-evident that the level of acceptance and success of the thesis is determined by the quality of the work. The criterion of quality must always prevail above all else.