THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2020/2021

Information in the Degree Programme Tables may still be subject to change in response to Covid-19

University Homepage
DRPS Homepage
DRPS Search
DRPS Contact
DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Social and Political Science : Politics

Undergraduate Course: Dissertation (MA International Relations) (PLIT10057)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Social and Political Science CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate)
Course typeDissertation AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits40 ECTS Credits20
SummaryDissertations are worth 40 credits and are compulsory for students taking an International Relations degree.
The dissertation may be on an empirical or theoretical topic related to International Relations. Research can be wholly or largely library-based or can involve empirical data collection. Dissertations can relate to any International Relations teaching or research area, altought the topic will have to be approved by the Dissertations Convener. Students should discuss a topic for their dissertation with a relevant member of staff during the summer term of their Junior Honours year.
Course description a. Academic Description

Dissertations are compulsory for students taking single Honours Politics or single Honours International Relations and are open to all those taking Politics as part of a Joint Honours degree. A number of Joint Honours degrees have a compulsory dissertation project, which students may opt to write either in Politics or in their other subject area.

The dissertation is 10,000 words long and may be on an empirical or theoretical topic related to Politics. Research can be wholly, or largely, library-based or can involve empirical data collection.


b. Outline Content

Students are expected to attend the full-class meetings convened by the Dissertation Convener. These are intended to convey important information necessary to the smooth development and completion of the dissertation, as well as offering the opportunity for an exchange of ideas between the students as a group, and with the Dissertations Convener.


c. Student experience

Students submit short dissertation proposals at the beginning of the academic year and are allocated supervisors by the Dissertation Convener. They are expected to attend the full class meetings organized by the Dissertation Convener, as well as work with their supervisor towards the completion of the project.

Supervisors give advice on practical issues such as: the subject and title of the dissertation, its organisation and structure, on source material and bibliography. Supervisors will comment upon dissertation outlines, chapter plans and timetables, and provide feedback on the components of the formative assessment.

Supervisors are not expected to comment on the final draft: a dissertation is intended to demonstrate a student's ability to work independently.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2020/21, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  120
Course Start Full Year
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 400 ( Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 8, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 392 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Feedback Students will be offered advice and feed-forward on all the components of the assessment for this course: in the full class meetings and workshops preceding deadlines, via LEARN, and by appointment with supervisors and/or the Dissertation Convener. Feedback will be provided for both components of the formative assessment and students are expected to incorporate it in their text. The markers of the dissertation will offer comments on the final text.
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
We would expect students to:

- deepen knowledge in specific topic related to Interational Relations
- develop independent research skills
- develop further ability to think critically
Reading List
None
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
Additional Class Delivery Information Plus meetings/workshops
KeywordsNot entered
Contacts
Course organiserDr Stephen Hill
Tel: (0131 6)51 5362
Email: stephen.hill@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMr Daniel Jackson
Tel: (0131 6)50 8253
Email: Daniel.Jackson@ed.ac.uk
Navigation
Help & Information
Home
Introduction
Glossary
Search DPTs and Courses
Regulations
Regulations
Degree Programmes
Introduction
Browse DPTs
Courses
Introduction
Humanities and Social Science
Science and Engineering
Medicine and Veterinary Medicine
Other Information
Combined Course Timetable
Prospectuses
Important Information