A master's project is a qualifying work, on the basis of the defense of which a state certification of a specialist is carried out with the assignment of a qualification level in a certain speci alty.
A master's thesis on the subject, content, sources used, method of implementation and results obtained should certify that the author has fully mastered the educational program of study in the master's program, can creatively use the theoretical knowledge and certain experience gained to conduct scientific research, solve problematic managerial and engineering and technical professional assignments in the chosen speci alty.
Working on a master's thesis
Writing a paper has several goals:
- Deepening, systematization and consolidation of the theoretical knowledge gained by the student during the training.
- Identification of his abilities in terms of choosing and analyzing a scientific or practical problem of work, the ability to draw theoretical conclusions and generalizations, to substantiate specificrecommendations.
- Development and development of skills for independent work, mastering the methodology of research and experiments.
- Determining the level of preparedness of a graduate for independent practical work and creative problem solving.
During the performance and defense of the qualifying work, the graduate must show:
- The ability to comprehend the information received and provide it in a form understandable for a certain field of science.
- Professional erudition and ability to think logically.
- The ability to work with scientific literature.
- General literacy and language culture.
- Computer skills.
- Acquaintance with the norms and rules for the preparation of manuscripts adopted in the scientific literature.
Examples of works (master's theses) are always available in higher education institutions, where they can be found.
Main stages of preparatory work
Preparation of a master's thesis is carried out in several stages. The main ones are:
- Selecting a topic and having it approved by the department.
- Preparation of tasks for master's work and execution of the calendar schedule.
- Selection, study, analysis of literature, execution of independent research and work.
- Familiarization of the supervisor with the text of the qualifying work, making comments on it.
- Final design and submission of the dissertation for normative control, review of the supervisor and review.
- Publicdefense of graduation work.
The student is given the right to choose the topic of the master's thesis on issues that are developed in accordance with a comprehensive research plan in the framework of international cooperation. Also, the student can propose his own topic that suits his inclinations and interests.
The topics of master's theses are determined after receiving a bachelor's degree, discussed and approved at a meeting of the department. If during the implementation of the master's work there is a need to clarify the topic, then such an opportunity is provided after the appropriate approval at the meeting of the department, but no later than a month before the defense of the qualification work.
Scientific supervisor and consultant
To guide the student's master's work, the department appoints a supervisor. For this activity, teachers who have scientific degrees and titles are involved. If necessary, an employee of another educational or scientific institution may be appointed as the head of the master's thesis. Consultants may be brought in to handle complex issues or sections.
Supervisor helps student:
- Choose the topic of the master's thesis and formulate it correctly.
- Identify sources of information and research.
- Find a sample master's thesis.
- Perform and arrange work in accordance with applicable requirements.
Clarification of the dissertation topic can beproposed at the initiative of the supervisor or consultant, but no later than one month before her defense.
Rights and control of the head
The requirements for a master's thesis also contain the duties of a supervisor. So, he exercises control:
- For student compliance with the work schedule.
- For the preparation, execution, writing and design of the dissertation.
- For its timely submission for feedback and review.
- Preparing a student for a public defense before an examination committee.
The supervisor also gets acquainted with the content and form of the final version of the master's thesis before submitting it for review. For his part, he submits a review of the student's work directly to the State Examination Commission and informs the department about the state of preparation of the qualifying work.
In the case when the defense of the master's thesis is considered unsatisfactory, and the examination committee agrees to re-defend this work, the supervisor should help the student with revision.
In this situation, he has the right to:
- Review the student's work review before defending it.
- Participate in an open meeting of the examination committee where the dissertation is defended.
- If necessary, raise the issue with the dean and vice-rector about the student's business trip to work in archives, institutions and enterprises on the topic of the work.
- Refuse to lead the preparation of a student who is withoutdoes not adhere to the approved schedule for good reasons, shows disorganization and irresponsibility, or insists on ideas that are at odds with the supervisor's scientific convictions, but no later than two months before the defense of the work. The basis is an official written statement. The decision on this matter is made by the department.
Student and scientific guide
The student has the right to:
- Choose a supervisor from the teaching staff of the department or (with the consent of the latter) from other scientific institutions. Also, a highly qualified specialist of any enterprise can be involved in the work.
- Receive advice from leading university experts on the choice of topic and the main stages of the master's thesis.
- Appeal to the department about replacing the supervisor, if there are good reasons for this.
Student must:
- Do not violate the schedule for preparing the master's work.
- Finish it in accordance with the requirements of the higher educational institution and department.
- Submit it in a timely manner for regulatory review and protection before the examination committee.
- Participate in the public defense procedure in accordance with the requirements of the department.
Responsibility for the composition, content, design and timely completion of the graduation project lies entirely with its author.
Content and structure of the master's thesis
Due to the fact that the results of the qualifying workare a scientific product, its content and structure are subject to certain requirements. The master's thesis reveals the essence of the problem, shows the degree of its scientific development and practical aspects.
The problem is considered on the basis of literature research, scientific sources, studied facts, experimental data. It is comprehensively analyzed, the conclusions are justified accordingly, the position of the author is displayed.
Structure of master's thesis:
- title page;
- task for master's project;
- abstract;
- content;
- list of conditional abbreviations (if necessary);
- intro;
- sections;
- final conclusions (recommendations);
- list of sources used;
- add-ons.
The abstract briefly provides a description of the main aspects of the work, as follows:
- volume, number of sections, figures, tables, additions, sources;
- list of keywords;
- brief description of the text of the work.
Intro:
- substantiates the relevance of the topic, its scientific and practical significance;
- a short description of the sources, an analytical review of the literature used;
- the choice of topic is argued and the subject of research is determined;
- show different views, trends in the development of the problem;
- displays the methodological framework.
The sections outline the main content of the study:
- theoretical foundations;
- practical matters;
- indicates methods and methods for solving certain problems.
Each section should end with short conclusions. A separate section may be dedicated to the experiment and its description.
The final part of the work highlights the theoretical and practical conclusions of the study. If necessary, recommendations are given on their practical application.
The general text of the master's work should be from 60 to 80 pages (without appendices).
How to draw up a graduation project
The design of a master's thesis begins with the title page. Behind it are placed "Assignments for the student's graduation project" and "Abstract".
The content of the qualifying work is submitted on the next page, which displays its structure (sections, subsections) with the designation of the pages for their placement.
Each structural part of the dissertation begins on a new page and is written in capital letters. The title of the subsections is written in small letters from the red line. The indent between the subsection and the text is two rows.
It is necessary to maintain the proportions of the volume of all structural parts of the qualifying work. It is recommended that the introduction and conclusions in total do not exceed 20% of the total volume of the dissertation. It is desirable that the distribution of material by sections be relatively even.
Computer typing of the manuscript is performed in the Word Microsoft Office text editor and printed on one side of the white sheetA4 paper, adhering to the following margin sizes: top - 20 mm, bottom - 20 mm, left - 30 mm and right - 10 mm. Line spacing - one and a half, font - Times New Roman, size 14, alignment is widthwise, paragraph indentation - five characters (1.27 cm).
Section headings are separated at the top and bottom in two rows and are written in capital letters. All pages are numbered. The general numbering starts from the title page, but the serial number is not put on it.
A mandatory condition for the high quality of a qualifying work is its scientific nature, literacy, clear logic, correct stylistic design. The author should diligently check the text after computer typing before printing. Responsibility for the accuracy of numerical, factual data and quotes rests with the author of the study.
After full completion, the student signs the title page of the work and passes it to the supervisor.
An example of a master's thesis can be viewed in the archive of a higher educational institution.
Thesis defense
To assess the degree of readiness of the work, the head of the department decides on the admission of the graduate to the preliminary defense. This procedure is carried out no later than three weeks before the meeting of the examination committee. Preliminary defense is a closed hearing of the master's work at the department. At the hearing, the presence of the supervisor and several leading specialists (associate professors, senior lecturers) who work in the field of research is mandatoryprepared dissertation.
The degree of readiness of the master's work, which is necessary for admission to the preliminary defense procedure, is determined as follows:
- Degree note and presentation - 90%.
- Report - 100%.
The thesis is approved by the head of the department, it is allowed to be defended after the shortcomings that were identified at the preliminary hearing have been eliminated.
Admission to protection
If the thesis is not prepared and the head of the department does not find an opportunity to allow the graduate to defend, then the issue is considered at an extraordinary meeting of the department, and the materials are submitted to the State Examination Commission for an appropriate decision (no later than two weeks before it official meeting).
The work admitted for defense is accompanied by a review of the supervisor, which gives an assessment of the graduation project and recommendations.
This review contains a rationale for the relevance, independence, completeness, scientific level, theoretical and practical significance of the research results of the chosen topic obtained by the graduate. There are also recommendations from the supervisor of the thesis for its official defense.
Graduate work reviewers
A review of a master's thesis can be written by leading experts who work in enterprises or scientific institutions in the field of solving a problem related to the topic of the thesis. The reviewer gives a preliminary assessment,because the thesis is finally evaluated by the State Commission in the process of defense.
The review is prepared in any form, but the following points must be covered in it:
- correct editorial wording of the topic;
- clear structural and logical presentation of the material;
- designing the scientific reference material of the dissertation;
- independence, creative approach of the graduate to the processing and research of theoretical and factual material;
- completion of research on the chosen topic;
- the ability to critically analyze scientific papers;
- stylistic level of work;
- level of the thesis in general.
Master students who have fully complied with all the requirements of the scientific plan are allowed to defend. The thesis is defended at an open meeting of the State Commission with the participation of at least three of its members.
Writing a master's thesis is a complex and time-consuming process. A student who successfully defends a paper is awarded a master's degree and a diploma.
