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Master's Dissertation

Code: 43170
Credits: 6
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Management of Human Resources in Organisations TFE 1

Contact lecturer

Name :
Albert Espelt Hernàndez
Email :
albert.espelt@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Cesar Luis Fernandez Llano
Rafael Díaz Cortinas
Carles Poyato Nunez
David Menoyo Vilalta
Sergi Serrano González
Clara Selva Olid
Marc Castellví Canet

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

It is necessary to be enrolled or have completed all mandatory modules making up the Master. 

Objectives

The main objective of the Master’s Dissertation (MD) is to evaluate the integration of professional competencies that have been acquired in the Master.

It is a continuous task and the student receives supervision throughout its development. Students will work autonomously (131 hours), so it is important to have clear instructions for the supervision and evaluation (see the MD manual in the virtual classroom).

The MD subjects which can be chosen will be agreed with the work placements and/or with the academic tutors.

Learning outcomes

  • (CA18) Effectively communicate proposals, reports and findings and conclusions to different audiences.
  • (CA19) Assess the progress, conclusions and results of a project with different types of teams and for different audiences.
  • (CA20) Objectively measure the functioning of an organisation, including all members and professional roles, as well as one's own, in the execution of a specific project, pointing out strengths and areas for improvement.
  • (CA21) Analyse the individual, group and systemic factors that influence the development and well-being of the members of organisations.
  • (CA22) Assess one's own performance in the execution of a specific project, pointing out strengths and areas for improvement.
  • (CA23) Build a project that, directly or indirectly, has a positive impact on the development of the people who are part of an organisation.
  • (KA21) Identify the main qualitative and quantitative research methods in HR to analyse the functioning of an organisation, its strengths and limitations.
  • (KA22) Explain conclusions, motives and advanced supporting knowledge to specialised and non-specialised audiences in a clear, objective and unambiguous way.
  • (SA31) Design an intervention or applied research project in the field of HR.
  • (SA32) Employ critical and reflective thinking for problem-solving, decision-making, and continuous learning.

Contents

The MD is a cumulative and continuous project which is carried out during the second semester of the Master’s course. Students has to demonstrate their ability to establish links between the various modules of the master.


It is of a highly professional nature, which means that the dissertation has to show the student’s ability to address current problems in human resources and its management using appropriate intervention and analysis methodologies.


It may be theoretical or empirical. At a generic level three types of MD can be defined: (A) professional or an intervention project, (B) theoretical review of a current topic and (C) research.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Type: Autonomous
MD development 131 5.24
Type: Supervised
Mentopring 7.5 0.3
Scheduled sessions 10 0.4

The teaching methodology for the MD is divided into supervised activity, individual work and an evaluation activity. 

The supervised activity is carried out in two ways: firstly, programmed sessions are organised (8 hours over 5 sessions, 1+4) which are mandatory for all of the students; and secondly, the student may ask the supervising teacher for up to a maximum of 7.5 hours in tutorial time which is agreed between them and conducted virtually. 

The individual activities are those that allow students to develop their MD. Throughout the process, the student must present the progress of the work to the supervising teacher, in accordance with that stipulated in the MD manual stored in the virtual classroom, as well asthrough various essays to be evaluated by the teacher. In addition, the student will hand in their work through a public presentation of their defence. 

The evaluation activities are made up of various documents that must be submitted during the development of the dissertation and, once finished, will cover the competencies that the MD aims to achieve. 

* The way the MD works, the teaching methodology as well as its evaluation will be described and explained in a manual which can be found in the Master’s virtual classroom. 

Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Asgmt. 1aProject. Introduction and methodological approach 15% 0 0 CA23, KA21, SA31, SA32
Asgmt.1b Development and discussion of results 20% 0 0 CA19, CA20, CA21, CA23, KA21, SA31
Asgmt.1c Final report 30% 0 0 CA18, CA19, CA20, CA21, CA22, CA23, KA21, KA22, SA32
Asgmt.2a Executive summary 10% 0 0 CA18, KA22
Asgmt.2b Presentation (defence) 25% 1.5 0.06 CA18, KA22

The continuous evaluation of the MD is a competence-based evaluation. This means that the Learning Outcomes (LO), which indicate the achievement of competencies, will be evaluated throughout the process. 

To be able to consider that a student has passed the MD they must: 

  1. Attend the supervised sessions which are programmed. 

  2. Obtain a minimum mark of 3.25 (out of 6.5) in the report section (assignments 1a, 1b, 1c).  

  1. Give their presentation and corresponding defence of assignment 2b.  

  1. Submit the mandatory assignments (1a, 1b, 1c, 2a) through the virtual classroom within the set deadlines.  

  1. Achieve a final mark of 5 points or more for all the assignments submitted. 

In the event that any of these requirements are not met, the overall mark in the record shall be a maximum of 4 points. 

The recouping of marks is a continuous process and is included in the development of the course. It is not possible to redo it at the end of the course. 

Any student who has submitted assignments with a weight equal to or more than 4 points (40%) cannot include any work marked as “not evaluable” in their records. 

In the event that copying or plagiarism (copying of part of a published work without citing it) is detected, the tutor will inform the teacher responsible for the module, who will convene the student(s) involved. If confirmed, it will mean that the MD will be classed as a fail. 

 

Evaluation Guidelines of theFaculty of Psychology: https://www.uab.cat/doc/DOC_PautesAvaluacio_FP_23-24

Bibliography

Clanchy, J. y Ballard, B. (1992). Cómo se hace un trabajo académico. Guía práctica para estudiantes Universitarios. Zaragoza: Prensas Universitarias de Zaragoza.

Creme, P. y Lea, M.R. (2003). Writing at University: a Guide for Students. Maidenhead, Berks: Open UniversityPress.

Dintel, F. (2003). Cómo se elabora un texto. Todos los pasos para expresarse por escrito con claridad yprecisión. Barcelona: Alba Editorial, 2ª ed.

Golano, C. y Flores-Guerrero, R. (2002). Aprender a redactar documentos empresariales. Barcelona: Paidos.

Koval, M. y Koval, S (2015). ¿Cómo se hace un trabajo académico?. Ediciones Incertidumbre: Salta.

Román, A. (1992). Informes para tomar decisiones. Madrid: Deusto.

Sarafini, M.T. (2007). Cómo se escribe. Barcelona: Piados. 

Walker, M. (2000). Cómo escribir trabajos de investigación. Barcelona: Gedisa.

http://www.upc.edu/slt/comcomunicar/

http://wuster.uab.es/web_argumenta_obert/

http://comunicaciencia.unirioja.es/

http://www.aqu.cat/publicacions/guies_competencies/guia_tfg_socials.html

Software

Depending on the type of dissertation, the student will have to use statistical programs such as SPSS, STATA, R....

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TFMm) Treball de fi de màster 1 Unknown Undefined morning-mixed