Course specification for MAR8004

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MAR8004 Master of Arts Project B

Semester 1, 2020 Online
Short Description: Master of Arts Project B
Units : 2
Faculty or Section : Faculty of Business, Education, Law and Arts
School or Department : School of Humanities & Communication
Student contribution band : Band 1
ASCED code : 090300 - Studies in Human Society
Grading basis : Graded

Staffing

Examiner:

Requisites

Pre-requisite: Students must be enrolled in one of the following Programs: MSTA or MARA or MAEP

Other requisites

It is recommended students successfully complete a minimum of five Masters level courses before enrolling in MAR8004.

Rationale

This course has been designed to allow students in the Master of Arts degree to complete their thesis, or practice-led project with accompanying written exegesis, and represents the second half of the research project commenced in MAR8003. Students will use this course to undertake structured independent learning under the guidance of a supervisor.

Synopsis

This 2 unit course enables students enrolled in the Master of Arts program to either complete their thesis, or their practice-led project with written exegesis. The thesis shall consist of 20,000 words on a topic chosen by the student and approved by the supervisor, and may be either the result of original investigations, or embody a critical appraisal or analysis of primary or secondary source material. The practice-led project will be accompanied by a written exegesis of 10,000 words and will enable students to explore at an advanced level the intersection between theory and practice applying their experiential knowledge. The emphasis will be primarily on practice in order to identify and articulate significant discoveries made through experiential methodologies to increase Masters-level discipline expertise.

Objectives

On successful completion of this course students should be able to demonstrate:

  1. self-management by undertaking independent research, under supervision;
  2. the review of literature and application of methodology relevant to a selected topic;
  3. the capacity to devise, develop and sustain a lengthy but sound argument;
  4. effective academic written and oral communication with the presentation of a completed thesis, or project and written exegesis, ready for submission to examiners.

Topics

Description Weighting(%)
1. Topics will be determined in consultation with a supervisor from the student's particular discipline. 100.00

Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed

ALL textbooks and materials available to be purchased can be sourced from (unless otherwise stated). (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/textbooks/?year=2020&sem=01&subject1=MAR8004)

Please for alternative purchase options from USQ Bookshop. (https://omnia.usq.edu.au/info/contact/)

To be advised.

Reference materials

Reference materials are materials that, if accessed by students, may improve their knowledge and understanding of the material in the course and enrich their learning experience.
These will be advised on the basis of the topics determined within specific discipline or hybrid disciplines.

Student workload expectations

Activity Hours
Directed ¾«¶«´«Ã½app 100.00
Independent ¾«¶«´«Ã½app 230.00

Assessment details

Description Marks out of Wtg (%) Due Date Notes
THESIS OR EXEGESIS 100 100 05 Jun 2020

Important assessment information

  1. Attendance requirements:
    It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them, to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.

    Students must attend and complete the requirements of the Workplace Health and Safety training program for this course where required.

  2. Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
    To successfully complete an individual assessment item, a student must achieve at least 50% of the marks .

  3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
    Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4)

  4. Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
    To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course.

  5. Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
    The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative assessment items in the course.

  6. Examination information:
    There is no examination in this course.

  7. Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
    There is no examination in this course, there will be no deferred or supplementary examinations.

  8. ¾«¶«´«Ã½app Student Policies:
    Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene ¾«¶«´«Ã½app policies and practices. These policies can be found at .

Other requirements

  1. Students can expect that questions in assessment items in this course may draw upon knowledge and skills that they can reasonably be expected to have acquired before enrolling in the course. This includes knowledge contained in pre-requisite courses and appropriate communication, information literacy, analytical, critical thinking, problem solving or numeracy skills. Students who do not possess such knowledge and skills should not expect to achieve the same grades as those students who do possess them.

  2. Students are strongly advised to maintain regular contact with their supervisor.

  3. Early in the semester, the student and his/her supervisor must decide on specific objectives for the course. This would typically involve such activities as writing a first draft of the literature review, writing a first draft of the method section, completing data collection, or other research activities as specified by the supervisor.

  4. Assessment of thesis or exegesis normally shall be carried out by two qualified examiners, at least one of whom is external to the ¾«¶«´«Ã½app of Southern Queensland, and none of whom is supervising the student for this thesis/exegesis.

Date printed 23 June 2020