Course Organisation

Following an initial course presentation session (at the beginning of November), a list of potential Master's Thesis topics, together with the names of the corresponding supervisors, will be published between November and December. Students must contact the relevant supervisor(s) and agree on a thesis topic. Once the proposed topic has been approved by the supervisor(s), students may begin their research.

During January, the course coordinator will send students a specific form in which they must indicate the title of their Master's dissertation and the name(s) of their supervisor(s) before the end of January 2027.

During March, students must submit a first draft describing the research to be undertaken, including an introduction, the research objectives, and the proposed methodology.

In April, a compulsory seminar will be held for each Master's specialisation. During this seminar, students will present their research project and its current stage of development to their classmates and to the specialisation coordinator.

During May, students must indicate the examination session in which they intend to submit and defend their Master's Dissertation (June or September).

General Guidelines for the Submission of the Master's dissertation

In addition to the main text, the Master's dissertation must include the following elements:

A cover page including:

• Title of the Master's dissertation.
• Name of the Master's programme.
• Master's specialisation.
• Name of the scientific journal whose author guidelines have been followed for formatting the manuscript.
• Name of the supervisor(s) and the Department or Research Institute where the research has been carried out.
• Date of submission.

A second page including:

• A description of no more than 500 words explaining either: (a) how the project fits within the research carried out by the research group in which the student has been working; or (b) how the project originated from the student's own research interests.
• A link to the Instructions for Authors webpage of the selected scientific journal.
• A brief explanation of the use of artificial intelligence tools during the preparation of the thesis (see the specific section below).

Students must submit the final version of the Master's dissertation in PDF format through the corresponding submission folder on the Virtual Campus before the submission deadline (see the end of this document).

The file must be named using the following format: Surname_Name_MastersThesisTitle.pdf

The examination committee reserves the right not to accept submissions received after the official deadline.

A Master's dissertation may have up to three supervisors. At least one of them must be a full-time UAB faculty member or researcher holding a doctoral degree.

Supervisors must submit a brief report on the student's research work, including a proposed grade for the Master's dissertation, to the corresponding specialisation coordinator by the thesis submission deadline. This report must be completed using the assessment rubric that will be provided to supervisors in advance.

The Master's dissertation must comply with the standard formatting requirements for manuscripts submitted to a scientific journal, which must be selected by the student in agreement with the supervisor(s).

Appropriate use of language and format are fundamental assessment criteria. Consequently, a Master's dissertation may receive a failing grade if it does not meet the minimum standards in either of these two areas.

Students will be assessed on both the written document and the oral presentation. They are expected to submit a research paper that complies with the formatting requirements established by the selected scientific journal, with the approval of the supervisor(s). Although the exact structure will depend on the journal's guidelines, the manuscript will typically include the following sections:

• Abstract
• Introduction: background and rationale
• Objectives
• Materials and Methods
• Results
• Discussion and/or Conclusions
• References

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is permitted in this course as part of the thesis development process, provided that the final work reflects a substantial contribution by the student in terms of analysis, critical thinking, and personal reflection. On the first page of the document, students must:

1. Identify which parts of the thesis were generated using AI tools.
2. Specify the AI tools that were used.
3. Include a brief critical reflection on how these tools influenced both the research process and the final outcome of the thesis.

Failure to disclose the use of AI will be considered a breach of academic integrity and will result in a grade of 0 (Fail) for the Master's Thesis, with no possibility of reassessment, without prejudice to any additional disciplinary measures that may be applied in cases of serious academic misconduct.

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.

Students will be assessed on both the written document and the oral defence. The final grade will be calculated as follows:

• Supervisor's assessment: 25%
• Examination committee's assessment: 70%, comprising: Written document: 30%; Oral defence: 40%
• Initial submission and compulsory seminar: 5%, corresponding to the submission of the initial research proposal (including the introduction, objectives, and methodology) and participation in the compulsory seminar held in April with the specialisation coordinator, during which students will present the current status of their research to their classmates.

Assessment criteria used by the examination committee

For the written thesis the examination committee will assess:

• Appropriate use of language. The thesis may be written in Catalan, Spanish, or English. The choice of language will not influence the assessment; the committee will evaluate only the correctness and appropriateness of the language selected.
• Formatting. Compliance with the formatting requirements established by the scientific journal selected by the student. As a general guideline, the thesis should be approximately 8,000–10,000 words, unless the journal's author guidelines specify otherwise.
• Academic quality and originality.
• Ability to interpret and critically discuss the research findings.
• Interdisciplinary scope of the research.

For the oral defence the examination committee will assess:

• Communication skills.
• Clarity, conciseness, and adherence to the allotted presentation time.
• Quality of the presentation.
• Ability to answer the committee's questions.

The examination committee will consist of two members, all of whom must be UAB faculty members or researchers holding a doctoral degree. One of the members, who will act as Chair of the Examination Committee, will be the coordinator of the corresponding Master's specialisation.

The oral defence is limited to 15 minutes. Following the presentation, the committee may ask specific questions about the research project as well as more general questions related to the knowledge and competences acquired by the student within their Master's specialisation.

Oral defences will be conducted in person. Students are therefore expected to ensure their availability on the scheduled date and time (see the assessment timetable below).

The final grade will be communicated individually to each student by the Chair of the Examination Committee within a maximum of three days following the oral defence.

Submission of the supervisor's assessment report within the same deadline established for the student's dissertation submission is mandatory.

Single Assessment

This course does not offer a Single Assessment option, in accordance with the Master's programme coordination and the Dean's Office of the Faculty of Science.

Additional considerations

Any assessment criteria or circumstances not covered by these guidelines shall be determined by the Master's dissertation Course Coordinator and/or the Coordinator of the Master's Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies in Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability.

Submission deadlines and oral defence dates

First assessment period (June/July)

• Deadline for submission of the written document: 22 June 2027
• Oral defences: 28 June – 1 July 2027

Second assessment period (September)

• Deadline for submission of the written document: 29 July 2027
• Oral defences: 1–3 September 2027

Note: The extraordinary February assessment period (dates to be announced) is available only to students who were unable to complete their Master's dissertation during the previous academic year or to those who are undertaking additional coursework required for admission to a doctoral programme. Students wishing to use this assessment period must submit a formal request to the Faculty Academic Administration Office within the deadlines and according to the procedures established by the Faculty. Should any student apply for this assessment period, the corresponding submission and defence dates will be announced during the month of December.