Dissertation

lgerm2992  2024-2025  Louvain-la-Neuve

Dissertation
25.00 credits
Q1 and Q2

  This learning unit is not open to incoming exchange students!

Language
French
Main themes
The masters dissertation, irrespective of the subject, allows a student to :
  • carry out a critical analysis and synthesis of a given scientific question, 
  • contextualise an issue in relation to current knowledge, 
  • present the results of their work by justifying their methodological choices, arguing their hypotheses and scientifically presenting the results obtained. 
Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :

demonstrate the ability to present correctly the results of personal, objective and methodical work, the quality of which is not necessarily linked to its scope. 
The dissertation is, like the other forms of teaching, an integral part of the programmes in which it is included. It is a piece of research required of students which, at this stage of their training, should be considered as an introduction to research in the discipline concerned. 
The dissertation consists of research work :  
  • specific, in relation to other teaching activities ;  
  • methodical, the foundations of which are laid by the basic training ; 
  • integrated into the programme and limited in scope. 
If two Master's degrees are combined: the requirements for the dissertation, as well as the instructions in the Vademecum, remain unchanged. However, the promoter of the second dissertation may make some adjustments based on the first subject, but the precise nature of these adjustments is left to his or her discretion. 
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Content
The dissertation must present the results of personal and critical work and the scientific methodology used to obtain these results. In its presentation, the dissertation must respect the scientific and bibliographical conventions of the discipline.
A dissertation must be at least eighty pages long, i.e. 200,000 characters (including spaces; including bibliography and notes, but excluding appendices) of personal and original writing, the space needed to present a research hypothesis, a demonstration or an argumented presentation supported by quotations, references, sources and a familiarity with the bibliography of the subject. It includes an introduction, in particular a methodological one, a development showing the analysis and synthesis of the subject, a conclusion and a bibliography.
Teaching methods
Students must meet their promoter at least twice during the first annual block. No later than the first day of the final session of their first year block, they must send their promoter a dossier summarising the work carried out during the year.
This dossier must include at least: a title, a description of the problem (one page), an outline and a structured bibliography.
The jury may object to a student's registration for the dissertation if the student has not participated in the various stages of the teaching process as detailed above and, a fortiori, if the student has never contacted his/her promoter (except for validation of the dissertation subject when first registering for block 1 of the master's degree) cf. RGEE articles 73 and 74.
A student deemed to be at the end of the cycle may register for the dissertation in the June or September session. Only students who have already presented their dissertation, without credit, at the session of a previous academic year are authorised to register for the January session.
Evaluation methods
Supervision and composition of the dissertation jury 
The dissertation is supervised by a promoter. Exceptionally, if the subject of the dissertation so requires, a co-supervisor may be called upon by the promoter with the agreement of the chair of the jury.  
The student must submit his/her subject for approval to the promoter by the date specified in the faculty calendar. 
The dissertation jury consists of at least the promoter and one other reader appointed by the Master's jury (represented by the jury chair). 

The promoter's and reader's marks take into account : 
  • achievement of the objectives set ; 
  • the ability to produce a relevant and well-documented summary; 
  • personal commitment and the ability to discuss methodological choices; 
  • the coherence of the work carried out; 
  • the correctness, quality and relevance of the written word. 
Assessment criteria for the dissertation 
In its final mark, the promoter also takes into account the student's commitment and the regularity of the work done on the dissertation throughout the Master's programme (in particular, submission on time and the quality of the dossier submitted at the end of the first annual block).  
Rules on plagiarism and the use of AI 
Throughout the dissertation, students must demonstrate their perfect mastery of the rules of bibliographic referencing; at the risk of being suspected of plagiarism, they must  
  • NOT copy a text without inverted commas and/or without mentioning the source; 
  • NOT reproduce a graph, data, illustration, etc. without mentioning the source; 
  • NOT reformulate or summarise an author's original idea without mentioning the source; 
  • DO NOT translate, in whole or in part, a source without referencing it; 
  • DO NOT use someone else's work by presenting it as your own (even if the author of the work has given his or her agreement); 
  • DO NOT buy a work. 
See https://uclouvain.be/fr/etudier/uss/lutter-contre-le-plagiat.html 
This definition completes the definition given in art. 107 §2 of the RGEE and constitutes a special provision within the meaning of §3 of the same article. 
Any student who fails to comply with the standards of scientific referencing set out above is liable, in the event of irregularity or plagiarism established by the jury, to academic sanctions as detailed in the RGEE (section 7). 

Generative artificial intelligence (AI), if used, must be used responsibly and in accordance with academic and scientific integrity practices. As scientific integrity requires that sources be cited, the use of AI must always be reported.  
Oral presentation  

The dissertation is defended orally before a jury made up of the promoter and the reader. The oral examination is an opportunity for the student and the members of the jury to exchange views. The oral examination is taken into account in the final assessment of the dissertation. The practical arrangements for the oral examination are communicated to the student no later than the first day of the session in which the dissertation is registered.
Other information
The student must write his masters dissertation in one of the two languages in his programme and add a summary in French.
Faculty or entity


Programmes / formations proposant cette unité d'enseignement (UE)

Title of the programme
Sigle
Credits
Prerequisites
Learning outcomes
Master [120] in Modern Languages and Literatures : German, Dutch and English