MSc Project

MSc Project

The MSc Project comprises two parts:

1. Background research, specification, design studies, preparatory work and first first steps, project plan and Research Methods and Professional Skills, carried out February to May, worth 30 credits.

   Assessment: Project Progress Report (85%) and COMP60990 coursework(15%)

2. Completion of MSc project, from May to early September, worth 60 credits.

   Assessment: Dissertation (and Group Report for a group project)

All work must be original: students presenting work from another source, including from other students, without explicit acknowledgement may be regarded as attempting a fraud and will be dealt with under the University's disciplinary procedures. A more extensive discussion of what is and what is not permitted in this area can be found in Appendix *.

Project Progress Report and COMP60990

The assessment for COMP60990 (Research Skills and Professional Issues) is through:

• coursework (15% of the overal mark) and
• the Project Progress Report (85% of the overal mark) in the case of an individual MSc Research Project (or)
• a group report and individual report (85% of the overal mark) in case of a group based MSc Research Project.

The precise content of the Project Progress Report depends upon the nature of the Research Project, but typically will include (1) Description of the project and its context and aims, (2) Survey of relevant literature, (3) Study of relevant research methods, design methodology, and implementation tools, (4) Requirements and specification, (5) Criteria of success and evaluation, and (6) Project plan for the full project.

Reports are assessed according to the standards expected of the Masters Dissertation with respect to substance, soundness of contents, and quality of presentation. The supervisor and a second marker make independent assessments. An agreed mark is moderated by an external assessor. Reports contribute 85% of 30 credits to the MSc. The pass mark for this part of the MSc, for progression to the full dissertation, is 40%.

Students who achieve less than 40% in COMP60990 will have one opportunity to resubmit the Progress Report by a given deadline, normally within 3 weeks of the July Exam Board meeting. The mark for the resubmitted Progress Report will be capped at 40%, and will count 100% of the new COMP60990 coursework mark. Any student who fails to achieve 40% for the resubmitted work will not be allowed to progress to the dissertation stage, and will be deemed to have failed the MSc. Students who fail may be eligible for a Postgraduate Certificate.

Research Project and Dissertation

The general requirements for presentation of a dissertation are set out in the University's Ordinances and Regulations, in particular in the University's guidance on the presentation of taught Masters dissertations at http://www.campus.manchester.ac.uk/medialibrary/tlao/Presentation-of-dissertations.pdf.

Group-based MSc Projects

The assessment of group based MSc projects is:

• The group report worth 40% of 60 credits and
• The individual report worth 60% of 60 credits.

The group report is prepared by the group as a whole. The group report should include a brief description of the organisation of the project tasks, how decisions were reached and a summery of all joint and individual contributions to various aspects of the group report (typically this will include contribution to the specification and design, research, program code, program documentation, project management logs, minutes of meetings, editorship of group report). The group report, together with any supporting documents which are prepared jointly, should be submitted as a separate document under joint ownership. Each member of the group will normally get the same group report mark.

Each member of the group should prepare and submit an individual dissertation.

The Individual Report in a group project must include the following:

• Details about the individual contribution to the project and a summary of the other group member’s contributions to the project.
• A suitably formulated declaration about authorship. The declaration should state that the work referred to in the dissertation was completed as part of a group project, what portion of the work referred to in the dissertation has been (or will be) submitted by which other members of the group, and what portion (possibly none) of the work referred to in the dissertation has been submitted in support of an application for another degree or qualification of this or any other university or other institute of learning.

Examination of Dissertations and Reports

The MSc Project Mark is the credit-weighted average of the marks for the course unit COMP60990 (30 credits) and the MSc dissertation, and Group Project Report were applicable (60 credits). A pass for the Project is awarded for a Project Mark of 50% or above.

At the recommendation of the board of examiners, a student who achieves at least 40% but less than 50% for their MSc Project Mark will have one opportunity to resubmit the Dissertation--and Group Project Report were applicable --by a given deadline, normally within four months of the date of the publication of the result. In this case, the MSc Project mark will be capped at 50%, and the resubmitted Dissertation will count 100% of the new MSc Project mark. Resubmission will not be allowed if the mark is below 40%.

Students who pass the taught units and achieve an MSc project mark of between 40-49% may accept the award of Postgraduate Diploma with no further work required or may resubmit the dissertation/reports on one occasion, at the discretion of the Board of Examiners. Students achieving a mark 40-49% for a resubmitted dissertation/reports may be awarded a Postgraduate Diploma if they pass the taught course units at Diploma level.

The maximum mark to be awarded for resubmitted dissertations or projects will normally be 50% for the Masters degree and 40% for the Postgraduate Diploma. The Diploma project is assessed by the same procedure, applied to a project of 30 credits (instead of 90 credits) and the minimum pass mark is 40%.

MSc Project