Preparation for Master Thesis

This module is required for all MOT students and is a formal prerequisite for the MOT Master Thesis. The course marks the beginning of the thesis trajectory, preparing you for research work and thesis writing. Students cannot begin their thesis until they have received an at least satisfactory grade in this module.

The course is designed to help MOT students prepare for their master’s thesis by guiding them through the research process, including selecting a topic, conducting a literature review, developing research questions, and writing a research proposal. The course also covers and improves important skills such as academic writing, critical thinking, and analytical skills to ensure students are well-prepared to succeed in their thesis work. Finally, this course equips students with all the necessary information in relation to the graduation process at TPM.

The assessment of this course includes the following:

a) Research proposal (80% of the final grade)

b) Data analysis assignment (20% of the final grade)

Together, these assignments ensure that students are well-equipped for both the planning and executing aspects of their master’s thesis research. The research proposal is crucial for planning, as it guides students in meticulously outlining their research objectives, methodology, and timeline. Simultaneously, the data analysis assignment contributes to the executing phase by allowing students to apply their analytical skills to real-world data, preparing them to effectively handle data during the research process. Both assignments are individual and mandatory for the course. More information about the grading rubric will be provided in Brightspace. Students need to score at least a 5.0 in each of the components, in order for them to be part of their final grade. Students will receive one final grade in the end. The course is successfully completed with an overall grade of 5.75. The Q2 grades of the proposal and the analysis assignment are also valid for Q4. Students who submitted an assignment in Q2 and want to retake the course, must submit a different topic (for proposal assignments) or use a different section of the dataset (for analysis assignment) in Q4, should they want to improve on one or both partial grades they received in the previous quarter.

Students will be offered a resit possibility one month after the announcement of the results. Students that failed can improve their existing proposal (with a maximum grade of 6.0) or work on a new topic (with a maximum grade of 10.0). The same conditions hold for the analysis assignment.