Duration
10h AUTR
Number of credits
| Master in political sciences : general (60 ECTS) | 10 crédits |
Lecturer
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 final dissertation constitues an important step in a student's degree. It aims at crystallizing the scientific knowledge and skills aquired at the university, from the Bachelor to the Master, into a coherent research. The final dissertation should include a delimited object of study, a research question, a literature review, exploitable empirical date and a methodology.
The students will have the opportunity to exchange with their respective supervisors during the research process, to ensure a qualitative evolution of the thesis.
Learning outcomes of the learning unit
By the end of their final dissertation, the students should:
- be able to articulate a coherent research in political science
- have aquired a consolidated experience in practicing the different component of the research process (formulating a question, reviewing the relevant literature, advancing a hypothesis or argument, constructing a theoretical framework; defining concepts, variables and relationships; and designing a test of the hypothesis or argument)
- be in capacity to use and exploit a method
- be able to orally defend their work
Prerequisite knowledge and skills
Prerequisite or corequisite units are presented within each program
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
The final dissertation is mostly a personal work but regular meetings with the supervisor are highly encouraged. The students will also beneficate from the methodological formation delived in the Preparatary seminar to the final seminar, which aims at guiding them in the different steps of the research process.
Mode of delivery (face to face, distance learning, hybrid learning)
Face-to-face course
Additional information:
The final dissertation is mostly a personal work. The students are expected to be significantly autonomous in their research project. Regular meetings with the supervisor are of course encouraged to ensure the quality in the progress of the project.
The dissertation is formally achieved with the oral defence, which consists in a scientific discussion with the jury.
Course materials and recommended or required readings
Howard Becker. 1983. Writing for social scientists: how to write and finish your thesis. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Janet Buttolph Johnson Reynolds, Jason D. Mycoff. 2016. Political Science Research Methods. London: SAGE Editions.
Sandra Halperin, Oliver Heath. 2017. Political research: methods and practical skills. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
David Marsh. 2002. Theory and methods in political science. London: Palgrave MacMillan.
Exam(s) in session
Any session
- In-person
oral exam
Written work / report
Additional information:
Submission of master's thesis:
Students must submit their dissertation on the MatheO platform for the first day of the January session, for June 1 for the first session or for the first day following August 15 at the latest for the second session.
The platform provides for the on-line conclusion of a licence agreement. The version submitted online and the date of the on-line submission are considered proof of submission. Students must agree with their promotors and reviewers as to how a bound, printed copy should be submitted.
The dissertation is defended orally. The defence takes place in English.
The quality of a dissertation is not connected to its volume. The publication must consist of 20,000 words, +/- 2,000 words excluding footnotes, in A4 format, excluding any bibliography or annexes.
Work placement(s)
Organisational remarks and main changes to the course
Students must submit their dissertation plan during the year they are registered for the Masters, as part of their registration for the Dissertation Preparation Seminar, no later than 31 December. The dissertation plan is a document containing:
- a presentation of the issue and an initial research question;
- a proposed methodological approach
- a plan of your work for the rest of the year of the Master
- a bibliographical review on the theme of the dissertation.
When the plan has been approved, students who have included the dissertation in their curriculum are asked to make contact with their promoter before 14 February.
Students must submit their dissertation on the MatheO platform no later than: - the first day of the January session , for June 12 for the first session - for the first day following August 15 at the latest for the second session.
For more details, please refer to the following document containg the instructions for submitting the Master thesis : https://www.droit.uliege.be/upload/docs/application/pdf/2023-09/sc_po_-_reglement_tfe_master_60__anglais_2022-2023__en-1.pdf
Contacts
Dr. Julien Pomarède
Associate Professor in International Politics, Departement of Political Science
https://www.uliege.be/cms/c_9054334/en/directory?uid=u240686
Bât. B31 International Politics
Quartier Agora
place des Orateurs 3
4000 Liège 1
Belgique
Office R.77, level 0
email: julien.pomarede@uliege.be