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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2021/2022

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Divinity : Divinity

Postgraduate Course: Dissertation (MSc/MTh in Religion and Literature) (DIVI11025)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Divinity CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate)
Course typeDissertation AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits60 ECTS Credits30
SummaryAn opportunity to engage with a particular topic in the Religion and Literature field in depth through research, culminating in a 15,000 word dissertation.
Course description Academic Description:
This 15,000 word research dissertation represents the culmination of the Religion and Literature taught masters programme. Having prepared a research proposal in the Research Skills course with the guidance of a prospective supervisor, this course allows students to pursue their distinctive research interests in depth. Pursuing independent research in a structured and guided environment offers students scope to display and enhance their critical literary skills, while developing an argument in response to the research question(s) they have previously identified. Critical acumen is sharpened in dialogue with existing scholarship; skills in effective writing and accurate referencing are also developed.

Syllabus/Outline Content:
The content of this course falls within the field of Religion and Literature. Approval for the specific content and focus of the research project will have been gained by the student successfully proposing their project in the course, Approaches to Research: Religion and Literature. The project will be carried out in collaboration with a suitable supervisor, who will advise the student on relevant literature, and the direction of research.

Student Learning Experience Information:
There are no classes or taught components to this course, and students are expected to structure their own research and writing in collaboration with their supervisor. Students are encouraged to keep in regular contact with their supervisor, with whom they will have a number of one-to-one consultations, a broad timetable of work having been agreed at the commencement of research. Students submit drafts of the dissertation for comment and advice in good time before the final deadline.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2021/22, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Quota:  None
Course Start Full Year
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 600 ( Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 12, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 588 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) A dissertation of up to 15,000 words: 100%.
Feedback Not entered
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Prepare an effective dissertation, with an manageable scope, defined research questions, appropriate research methodologies, awareness of the scholarly context, and proper use and referencing of sources.
  2. Identify and locate research resources within their dissertation field.
  3. Employ critical skills in weighing and considering literary, sociological, textual, historical, and theological evidence (as appropriate to the scope of the project).
  4. Develop sustained arguments and support those arguments with evidence.
  5. Learn how to observe appropriate academic conventions with respect to style, tone, paragraphing, footnoting and referencing.
Reading List
None
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Curiosity for learning and openness to different perspectives.
Willingness to engage across disciplinary boundaries and to approach texts in new ways.
Finely-tuned skills of close reading and critical analysis.
Ability to construct a sustained written argument.
KeywordsReligion,Literature,research,dissertation
Contacts
Course organiserDr Alison Jack
Tel: (0131 6)50 8944
Email: A.Jack@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Rachel Dutton
Tel: (0131 6)50 7227
Email: rdutton@ed.ac.uk
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