Module overview
You will complete a dissertation on a subject of your choice, subject to available supervisory expertise.
Aims and Objectives
Learning Outcomes
Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- present and debate ideas in an open minded and rigorous way
- conceptualize a feasible and intellectually adventurous research project as well as a programme of study to bring it to fruition
- critically evaluate a wide range of both primary and secondary texts, and the arguments contained in them
- synthesize and integrate the analysis of these texts and the philosophical positions they contain into a coherent, sustained and convincing dissertation argument
Knowledge and Understanding
Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:
- the place of your topic in philosophy considered more broadly
- the subject chosen for your dissertation, including principal primary and secondary literature
- the processes by which understanding is achieved and new ideas advanced within the discipline
Transferable and Generic Skills
Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:
- develop and manage a programme of study to bring your chosen research project to fruition
- identify a significant research question and the appropriate way of addressing it
- locate relevant scholarly literature, using a variety of bibliographic aids, to permit a convincing response to be made to the research question
- communicate a coherent, sustained and convincing argument at length
- demonstrate the capacity for self-directed problem-solving, independent working and autonomous time- management
Syllabus
You will complete a dissertation on a subject of your choice, subject to available supervisory expertise. This dissertation may follow on from (but not replicate) work completed in other elements of the programme, but this is not a requirement. You will be allocated an appropriate supervisor, and develop the project under their initial guidance. The bulk of the work, however, is done independently. Samples of written work and a full draft of the dissertation may be submitted for comment to the supervisor.
Learning and Teaching
Teaching and learning methods
Teaching methods include
- one-to-one meetings with supervisor
- feedback on written work
Learning activities include
- oral discussion with supervisor
- conceptualization of dissertation project
- research for and organization and composition of dissertation
Type | Hours |
---|---|
Teaching | 10 |
Independent Study | 740 |
Total study time | 750 |
Resources & Reading list
Textbooks
Liz Hampson (1994). w's your Dissertation Going?: Students share the Rough Reality of Dissertation and Project Work. Lancaster.
Charles R. Doty (1997). Guide to Dissertation Proposal Preparation & Dissertation Preparation. New Jersey.
Roy Preece (1994). Starting Research: an Introduction to Academic Research and Dissertation Writing. London.
James E. Mauch & Jack W. Birch (1993). Guide to the Successful Thesis and Dissertation: A Handbook for Students and Faculty. New York.
Derek Swetnam (1997). Writing Your Dissertation: How to Plan, Prepare and Present Your Work Successfully. Oxford.
Fred Pyrczak (1999). Completing Your Thesis or Dissertation: Professors Share Their Techniques and Strategies. Los Angeles.
Assessment
Summative
This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Dissertation | 100% |
Referral
This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Coursework | 100% |
Repeat
An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.
Method | Percentage contribution |
---|---|
Dissertation | 100% |
Repeat Information
Repeat type: Internal & External