Course Catalogue

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The dissertation is a detailed piece of writing to further develop student's knowledge and expertise in their area of study.

The dissertation is typically carried out through the summer months, between late May and mid-August.

It is supported via regular individual and collective supervisory meetings, including 4 pre-scheduled supervisory sessions.

A 2-hour preparatory lecture will be delivered by the relevant programme coordinators towards the end of the second semester to explain aims and learning objectives, supervisory arrangements and key deadlines.

Students need to meet the requirements for progression to the dissertation based on the taught courses of the programmes as detailed in the Code of Assessment, including a preparatory research methods unit of 10 credits in semester 2.

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Dissertation between 10,000 to 12,500 words (excluding the cover page, table of contents, references, and appendices if any), normally submitted before the end of August.

The overall aim of the dissertation is to enable students to develop skill to examine a particular topic/question in-depth. The dissertation is a detailed piece of research to further develop student's knowledge and expertise in their area of study. The dissertation aims to provide students with the skills to reflect upon the knowledge acquired during the taught elements of the MSc and to take independent responsibility for the application of explicit management principles and practices to a particular problem or issue.

The dissertation aims are to enable students to develop skills to:

■ Acquire research/project skills to develop an understanding of key management concepts, relevant theories and contemporary issues required to produce a piece of independent written work.

■ Develop a suitable topic to be investigated. 

■ Critically review a range of research designs, data collection methods and analytical procedures and select an appropriate approach to answer research questions meet the objective of the project.. 

■ Develop the ability to plan and undertake a critical review of literature and analysis of available data/ evidence. 

On completion of the dissertation students will be able to:

■ Identify research topic/ problem/ question and objectives on the issues relevant in their degree programme that can be effectively addressed given the constraints of an MSc dissertation

■ Conduct a critical literature review on the identified topic/problem/question including search for literature, evaluation and synthesis

■ Select an appropriate research design and critically acknowledge its advantages and disadvantages 

■ Develop a research plan/proposal for a specific management problem.

■ Demonstrate their understanding of key concepts theories and contemporary issues identified in the degree programme.

■ Demonstrate skills in problem solving by identifying gaps in the academic literature (dissertation) or specific business problems, and developing an organised and structure approach, drawing on data sources to address such gaps.

■ Plan, organise, conduct and present a distinctive and substantial piece of research based or applied scholarship.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.