| CODE | GSC5512 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Dissertation | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 30 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Geosciences | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | The dissertation study-unit will provide students with the opportunity to undertake independent and original project work at Master's level within the domain of operational oceanography and other related applied thematics in the marine realm, including marine policy-oriented research and the implementation of methodologies and management tools such as in decision support systems. Hence, accepted dissertation titles will not revolve exclusively around rigorously theoretical scientific subjects, but can also include applicative, inter-disciplinary titles which straddle partly over other domains, including marine policy and management. In so doing, students will be applying both theoretical content and practical skills acquired throughout the course. Within three months of registration, a candidate shall submit to the Course Coordinator a title and an outline proposal of a dissertation and the name of a member of the course academic staff who has accepted to act as a supervisor, for approval by the Board of Studies for the proposed Masters Programme. Every dissertation presented for the degree shall include work of an original nature or an original appraisal of existing published endeavours, and might involve an element of field work or can be exclusively a desk study. The output of the dissertation must reflect knowledge and use in a field of operational oceanography, relating to coastal or open water marine scenarios even beyond the local domains. Chosen dissertation topics are expected to revolve around aspects related to scientific and operational delivery in oceanography, problem-solving activities, and innovative applications and services. The dissertation shall not normally be less than 20,000 words and not more than 30,000 words. The dissertation shall be presented in such a format and be submitted in such number of copies as the Board may direct. Students will be expected to work largely independently throughout the dissertation process, whilst keeping in regular contact with their supervisors. Students are also expected to familiarize themselves with relevant work in the subject area, and with appropriate styles/formats for academic writing. The independent dissertation project will entail standard components including identification and clear statement of a research question, problem-solving or application activity; a review of relevant literature; design of an appropriate methodology and use/development of tools to achieve the goals of the project; data collection and analysis, and subsequent discussion of results obtained and user feedbacks where appropriate. Students will also have the opportunity of discussing their work during the oral viva voce session. Study-Unit Aims: The overarching aim of this study-unit is the application by students of the concepts, theoretical background, and the practical and analytical skills acquired in the preceding seven study-units in their quest to address a relevant research question, proposal to solve a problem, or endaevour to deliver a service related to the marine environment and which would make use of methods and tools in operational oceanography. Additional aims of this study-unit include: (i) acquainting students to the acquisition and interpretation of knowledge to address research quests and problem solving activities and applications in the marine realm through a cross-cutting approach that merges science in oceanography to IT and environmental management skills, making use of data resources, tools and methodologies to achieve in applied research, identifying and resolving environmental problems, and providing solutions, services and applications in marine-related activities; (ii) introducing students to the tenets of the scientific method in applied oceanography; (iii) empowering students to embark on an autonomous project pursuant to providing additional insight for society at large on the marine environment, to practice undertakings in marine science with a scope of serving society, enhance the use of scientific knowledge to provide intelligent solutions to solve problems, and/or propose new application activities relying on operational oceanography such as in the form of assessments and support systems to stakeholders. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Identify the main cognitive stages in the research/application process; - Identify existing gaps in our understanding and knowledge of the dynamics of marine systems; - Distinguish between different methodological designs and usage of data resources to bridge such knowledge and understanding gaps; - Evaluate different methodologies for data collection and sourcing including operational data; - Interpret patterns and trends emerging from the analyses of data, and to transform data into knowledge and useful information; - Comprehend how operational oceanography can further our understanding of marine ecosystem functioning, our marine monitoring capabilities and our compliance with marine policy-related obligations. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Formulate and clearly state a marine research or service application endeavour ; - Provide justification for the project, its targets and expected results or outcomes; - Consult different typologies of the most relevant literature and data sources for the chosen project, including papers published in journals, books and reports and grey literature, existing experiences, stakeholder needs, etc; - Design a feasible and sound rigorous methodology for data collection, sourcing and usage; - Select and apply appropriate techniques to use and elaborate data; - Discuss the implications of project results through a thorough interpretation of the outcomes and/or feedback from peers and users; - Critique his/her own work, identifying both strengths and weaknesses; - Cite sources of information (references) in an appropriate manner, take stick of existing experiences and highlight the added value resulting from the project. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - Refer to list of main texts and supplementary readings listed for GSC 5501, with additional titles being provided by the assigned supervisor and co-supervisor. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-Requisite qualifications: Preferably a first degree which includes any two in combination of the following subjects: mathematics, physics (including computational physics), IT, and statistics as well as to applicants with an engineering degree. Students with a degree in just one of these subjects, in conjunction with biology, chemistry and geography will also be considered if the maximum course uptake numbers are not reached. Mature students and professionals with experience and already engaged on related jobs will be eligible for admission. | ||||||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Dissertation | ||||||||||||
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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