Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Final Master's Degree Project
Other languages of instruction: Catalan
Introduction
The Master's Thesis is structured as follows:
- the resolution, to be carried out individually and in writing, as well as its subsequent oral defense, of a practical case that encompasses the subjects covered by the students during the master's program and reflects real scenarios of consulting and litigation.
Pre-course requirements
Given that it is convenient for the student to have received training from external internships to provide ample evidence of the utilization of acquired competencies and skills, the Thesis will be conducted in advance of the semester in which students have completed 30 credits of external internships. Additionally, this assessment will be contingent upon the successful completion of previous modules in the Master's program.
Objectives
The objective of the Master's Thesis is:
- to develop a research activity that allows students to familiarize themselves with the most recent case studies on the topics covered during the master's program, to understand the doctrinal and jurisprudential research tools in the academic field of legal sciences, and to draft an opinion on the proposed practical case, which they will subsequently have to present clearly and concisely in an oral defense.
- for students to confront a series of real, complex, and cross-cutting factual scenarios and attempt to resolve them using all the conceptual, theoretical, and practical apparatus acquired during their undergraduate and master's studies.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- CN03 - The students will be able to determine the administrative or jurisdictional instance and the action or procedure undertaken to defend the rights of the client.
- CN04 - The students will be able to determine the legal instrument appropriate to represent the interested parties before third parties, before public administrations and before the courts.
- CP04 - The student will respect the fundamental rights of equality between men and women, and the promotion of human rights and the values inherent in a peaceful society of democratic values.
- HB01 - Students will be able to correctly and adequately apply the specialised knowledge acquired in the bachelor's degree to professional practice before courts or public authorities, as well as in the advisory functions with respect to the principles of equal treatment and non-discrimination.
- HB02 - Students will be able to use techniques aimed at ascertaining and establishing the facts in a range of different proceedings, particularly in regard to the preparation of documents, interrogations and expert evidence.
- HB03 - Students will be able to integrate the right to defence and the procedural postulation of clients appropriately within the framework of the national and international jurisdictional systems of protection.
- HB05 - Students will be able to appropriately apply procedural techniques for the implementation of acts that take place in different jurisdictional ordinances with special attention to the deadlines, communications, implementation and proceedings for collection.
- HB07 - Students will be able to clearly and precisely differentiate the private interests represented by legal professionals from those of a public nature which have been entrusted to them by the law and the courts when collaborating with the courts in the implementation of judicial decisions.
- HB08 - Students will be able to incorporate the rights and deontological duties of the person exercising the law or practising it in relation to clients, other parties, courts, public authorities and other professionals.
Syllabus
The Master's Thesis consists of:
- The oral and written resolution of a practical case that encompasses different subjects related to the specialties of Law studied by students during the master's program, and in connection with paradigmatic or real scenarios of consultancy and litigation.
The thesis should demonstrate the application and integration of the learning received in the modules of Professional Organization, Legal Counseling, General Litigation, Special Litigation, and Professional Practice, as well as the effective use of available resources to efficiently solve the problems arising from its preparation.
The thesis should present an exposition of the problem considering the current legal-doctrinal reality, with a proposal from the student of the ways of resolution and/or interpretation of the analyzed topic.
Each thesis will consider all possible alternative solutions applicable to the case. For its development, the student must demonstrate autonomy, initiative, and the ability to apply acquired knowledge, as well as the ability to communicate their conclusions and the underlying knowledge and reasons supporting them, orally and in writing, to a specialized audience, in a clear and unambiguous manner.
Teaching and learning activities
In person
Each thesis should consider the broadest possible perspective on the legal issue being analyzed and the different approaches to addressing it; all possible alternative solutions applicable to the case. For its development, the student must demonstrate autonomy, initiative, and the ability to apply acquired knowledge as well as the ability to communicate their conclusions, and the underlying knowledge and reasons supporting them, orally and in writing, to a specialized audience, in a clear and unambiguous manner.
The Master's Thesis includes 20 hours of in-person sessions, during which different sessions will be conducted throughout the course aimed at presenting the practical case, style and writing rules, to resolve any doubts that students may have about the case contents.
In the first half of June, the master's direction will provide students with the practical case to analyze.
At the same time, each student will be assigned a tutor, who will support the student throughout the process of completing the thesis. Support can be provided through in-person meetings, video conferences, or other forms of communication agreed upon by both parties.
The assignment of the tutor will be made from among the professors of the UIC and/or external professionals linked to the UIC, based on their knowledge of the subject matter of the case.
Students must have a minimum of 3 sessions with their respective tutors to be considered eligible to submit their thesis and proceed to the oral defense.
Similarly, two sessions will be organized during the course for doubt resolution for all students. In these meetings, specialized tutors from each area of the practical case will meet individually with students who have previously requested it, to address any theoretical doubts that may exist and could not have been resolved directly with the assigned tutor.
The publication of the practical case, the style guide, as well as all communications to students about the thesis will be made through the specific Moodle platform created on the UIC website. Likewise, the submission of the practical case by students will be done via Moodle.
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
In the evaluation of the work, the following aspects will be taken into account:
Written work:
The written version of the TFM must be submitted before the deadline published on the course calendar on the UIC Moodle platform created exclusively for the TFM.
In its assessment, the following aspects will be particularly considered:
- Conceptual aspects: especially the application of acquired knowledge and concepts as well as the coherence and clarity of the presentation.
- Formal aspects: presentation of the work in accordance with the standards established in the style book of the UIC Faculty of Law.
Oral defense:
In its assessment, the following aspects will be particularly considered:
- Communication skills, particularly the precise use of legal language, as well as the organization and clarity of the presentation.
- Regarding content, the ability to apply acquired knowledge.
The student will conduct the oral defense individually, which will have a maximum duration of 25 minutes. This maximum duration will be controlled by the members of the tribunal and should not be exceeded.
The defense will be conducted before a tribunal composed of three members, chosen by the master's direction from UIC professors and/or external professionals considered knowledgeable in the area of the work being evaluated.
The student will have a maximum of 10 minutes to present their TFM and may use presentation tools such as PowerPoint, PDF, or others deemed necessary, subject to authorization from the master's direction.
Subsequently, there will be a question-and-answer session by the tribunal, with a rebuttal turn for the student. The maximum time for this part will be 15 minutes.
The order of intervention of the students will be by drawing lots and will be communicated to the students 72 hours in advance.
Evaluation criteria:
The written part of the TFM accounts for 40% of the final grade.
The oral defense of the TFM represents 60% of the final grade.
In both cases, the evaluation will be carried out according to the criteria established in the TFM evaluation rubric.
In the written TFM, the standards established in the Faculty's style book must be followed, which has been made available to students.
A delay in the submission of the written part of the TFM within the first 24 hours after the deadline deducts 5% from the final TFM grade; if the delay exceeds this, it deducts 10%.
A delay in the start of the oral session deducts 5% from the final grade.
Bibliography and resources
Specific to each module.