Master’s Thesis
The Master’s Final Thesis (TFM) concludes the academic learning process made in the Degree by the student and gives them the opportunity of integrating knowledge, skills and abilities acquired during studies.
The TFM will consist on the development, presentation and defense of an original work that must show intellectually maturity, critical spirit and use of the knowledge acquired in the program, accompanied by the descriptive, informative or arguments aspects of that contribution. Synthetic capacity will be especially valued by showing the specifically personal contribution in the subject addressed.
Accordingly, and with the purpose of being considered as a determining element in the academic curriculum of the student, the TFM consist of an on-site teaching load where the student will be guided by the director of the academic staff. The theme of the TFM must be adequate to the curricular itinerary developed by the student during the master.
If the Academic Committee deems it appropriate, the student may propose to develop her/his TFM in a company according to what is established in the academic regulations of external academic practices of the UPC.
The documentation that must be submitted by the student to the Examination panel and all the documents submitted online are:
A copy with DinA4 format with the following contents:
- Cover: Name of the Master and specialization line, if it’s necessary, full name of the student, academic course, title of the project and name of the project director
- Abstract with keywords (3 least)
- Introduction and general description of the developed subject
- Specific sections: aims, hypothesis, basic working method and studies conducted.
- Conclusions and obtained contributions.
- Bibliography.
- Required appendix for understanding and justification of the thesis.
The student must upload in the virtual campus (Atenea-TFE) the information described below: (the members of the panel and the director will have access to it)
- PDF format document of the Report described before depending on the TFM modality chosen.
- PPT format document or similar, of the presentation done in front of the examination panel.
- Project summary (DinA4 format)
The School secretary will publish the deadline up to which the student has to upload that information in his/her virtual campus so the examination panel can get access to this information before the project defense. The student will submit online which will be permanent kept. Only students who have formalized the submission online of the final report within the established time frame for it, will be included in the certificate of the Defense of TFM.
The panels of examiners who will evaluate the defense of the TFM are comprised of a least of three members of the PDI. At least, one examination panel will be appointed per specialization line as well as special panels of examiners who will evaluate students taking the Master without specialty or with double specialization. These will be designated by the Academic Commission of the Master. Optionally, a fourth external member could be assigned. The composition of the University Panel of examiners will be the following:
- President: A titular Professor or assistant of the specialization line
- Member 1: (acts as Secretary) Professor
- Member 2: Professor
- Member 3: external member (optional)
In case of an examination panel that evaluate students who has taken 2 specializations, the President and the Member 1 must be teachers of each one of the specialization lines taken by the student.
The enrolment in the TFM take place at the beginning of the course and will be developed in the second semester except for students taking dual specialty. In this case, these students will make the enrolment at the beginning of the third semester of the studies. In both cases, the School secretary will register the TFM before enrolment and will assign to the student a panel of examiners associated to his/her specialization line, dual specialization. The student must give the Project title, once it has an agreement with his/her Director, at the latest, before making the delivery of the TFM in the School secretary. If the student does not have all approved credits of the Master on the scheduled date of his/her enrolled defense will not be included on the certificate and cannot be evaluated. In this case, the student must enroll again in the TFM.
If the student meets the conditions for the presentation of the TFM but finally he/she does not appear in the defense of the TFM he/she can access to an extraordinary announcement foreseen under the Academic Regulations of the Degree and Master’s studies - Normativa Acadèmica dels Estudis de Grau i Màster - of the UPC, upon payment of the required fees specified on the above-mentioned regulations. This announcement cannot exceed the date 31st of October for TFM that are defended in the second semester or the date 31st of May in case of TFM defended on the first semester. If the student does not pass or he/she does not appear on this extraordinary defense of the TFM, the student will have to enroll again in the next period that the TFM is offered.
The student has the right to ask for a review of the grade earned in the TFM. In this case, the student must give a reasoned request to the President of the Academic Commission within a maximum period of 7 days counting from the date of the publication of the assessment certificate of the TFM. The review is always performed on the work deposited in Atenea-TFE. The Master's Academic Commission, or his/her delegate, will announce an extraordinary panel of examiners for the revision where the President of the affected Panel of examiners will attend. The examination panel will give the student the option of explaining his/her project. The resolution will be communicated to the student in a maximum period of 7 days from the revision date.
The TFM's have to be published in open access deposit of academic Works UPC, prior authorization of the author, provided that this does not affect the possible confidentiality and/or industrial property associated with the work.
The online deposit has been implemented in the academic year 2019-20. Check the updated information on the documentation deposit in the section Final Master's Thesis > Deposit and defense
MENTION OF EXCELLENCE TFE-ETSAB
In order to give visibility to the best TFE work developed at the School, each academic year the center's management will agree on a commission or tribunal of academic and/or professional prestige to award these mentions of quality, which will be included in a separate section within the UPCommons digital repository.
The commissions or tribunals may meet once a year to evaluate these mentions based on all the TFE works qualified with a minimum grade of 9, or those works that, having a lower valuation, their tribunal or tutor considers that they should exceptionally be taken into consideration.
The composition of the committees and/or tribunals will be discretionary each year and may be composed of both PDI staff of the UPC, as well as academics and professionals of recognized prestige outside the UPC-ETSAB.
The works proposed for the Mention of Excellence may eventually be presented in public and before a tribunal, thus becoming an academic act of prestige for the School, linked to the academic beginning of the course (October and November).
Approved by the MBDesign Academic Committee on July 21, 2017