Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Final Master's Degree Project
Other languages of instruction: Catalan
Teaching staff
Coordinator: Dra. MANRESA MATAS, Alba - amanresa@uic.es
Attention hours: please contact with the coordinator. (amanresa@uic.es).Introduction
The Master’s Thesis (TFM) aims to certify that the student has acquired the knowledge associated with the degree in accordance with the assigned credits. As established by Royal Decree 1393/2007, Master’s studies conclude with the preparation and public defense of the TFM, which is always compulsory. It is an essential requirement to obtain the official Master’s degree.
Pre-course requirements
Being enrolled in all the other subjects included in the master program.
Objectives
The topic of the Master’s Thesis (TFM) will be determined by the student’s interest in a specific area of Business Management and Production Systems. Through the TFM, students are expected to acquire a global understanding of the company and its production systems. The aim is not only to understand the concepts learned during the master’s program, but also to apply them to real situations and analyze their feasibility, implementation, and impact. This work therefore has an integrative nature, as it mobilizes the set of general and specific competencies associated with the degree.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- CB7 - Que los estudiantes sepan aplicar los conocimientos adquiridos y su capacidad de resolución de problemas en entornos nuevos o poco conocidos dentro de contextos más amplios (o multidisciplinares) relacionados con su área de estudio.
- CB9 - Que los estudiantes sepan comunicar sus conclusiones y los conocimientos y razones últimas que las sustentan a públicos especializados y no especializados de un modo claro y sin ambigüedades.
- CE10 - Analizar una problemática, proponiendo una solución y determinando su viabilidad, implantación e impacto en el área de la dirección de empresas y/o sistemas de producción.
- CE11 - Convencer a un tribunal universitario de la solidez de un proyecto integral de organización de la producción bajo el enfoque de la dirección y organización de empresas.
- CG3 - Capacidad para generar nuevas ideas y evaluar de forma crítica las alternativas en presencia de múltiples criterios y actores.
- CT3 - Uso solvente de los recursos de información y capacidad de análisis y síntesis de la misma.
- CT6 - Entrepreneurship and innovation skills
Learning outcomes of the subject
The learning outcomes can be summarized in the following three points:
- The student will compile the basic information to carry out the work.
- The student must formalise some hypotheses, design a research methodology and obtain some conclusions.
- The student will publicly defend his thesis in front of a specialized committee.
Syllabus
The topic of the TFM may be:
- Proposed by the student, based on their interest in a specific area of Business Management and Production Systems.
- Related to internships.
- Based on a research project involving members of the master’s academic staff.
The TFM will be supervised by a responsible professor and is a project in which all the knowledge acquired during the master’s program is put into practice. The supervisor will continuously monitor the student’s work. It must be defended before a committee in accordance with the established regulations.
Presentation of the TFM report:
- There is a predefined template. Its use is mandatory, and the structure and instructions provided in the template must be followed when preparing the TFM document. It is available on Moodle.
- Language: multilingual option, depending on what is agreed between the student and their TFM supervisor.
- Length of the work: approximately 60–75 pages, including bibliography, tables, and figures (annexes excluded).
- The table of contents must be numbered and paginated and placed at the beginning of the document.
- Abstract in English and Spanish (max. 500 words).
- The document must include an introduction, a detailed presentation of the results under study, and conclusions.
- Diagrams, graphs, tables, etc., must be numbered, and a paginated index of them must be included. All pages of the TFM must be numbered.
- Indicate how the master’s program (which courses) has contributed to the development of the work. It is recommended to include this information in the first section.
- Any bibliography or webography used must be referenced in the sources section. References consist of the sources used in the preparation of the work and properly cited in the text. Annexes include materials that complement the explanations in the work to facilitate better understanding. A selection must be made, and only those that are relevant and cannot be included in the main body of the document (as they would disrupt the logical flow and readability) should be presented.
- Citations must follow the APA style (http://www.apastyle.org/). Whenever possible, it is recommended to avoid generic references to web pages and instead cite specific documents.
- The oral presentation and defense of the work may be conducted in Spanish or English.
Teaching and learning activities
In person
During the development of the TFM, there will be training sessions on how to prepare it, its structure, etc.
Continuous supervision by the tutor, according to a schedule agreed upon between the student and the professor.
Independent work by the student.
A series of videos and resources on how to prepare and write the TFM are available on the course Moodle. The student must independently review this material and apply what they have learned to their TFM. In case of any doubts, they should consult the professor coordinating the TFMs for clarification.
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
To be able to defend the thesis, approval from the supervisor will be required, followed by approval from the TFM coordinator at UIC. It is also necessary to have submitted all enrollment documentation within the official deadlines indicated above. The defense will take place according to the enrollment period and the corresponding call. The date and composition of the committee will be communicated via the email address provided during enrollment.
The committee will be composed of professors from the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences. The final grade will be based on the following components:
- Continuous assessment (30%): throughout the academic year, several meetings and submissions will be scheduled with the supervisor, who will be responsible for evaluating the work.
- Written work (40%): the TFM document will be assessed according to the following criteria: presentation and structure, clarity and relevance of the content, originality and innovative character, practical research, coherence, feasibility, integration of competencies and contents covered in the program, reflective character and internal argumentation, use of specialized bibliography, linguistic accuracy, and appropriateness of the conclusions.
- Presentation (30%): evaluated by a committee appointed by the TFM coordinator and composed of professors from the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences. The quality of the oral presentation, clarity and precision, organization of content, results and conclusions, linguistic accuracy, confidence during the defense, adequacy of responses, and use of supporting resources will be assessed. The oral defense may be conducted in Spanish or English.
It is the student’s responsibility to submit the work to the supervisor before each meeting for review and evaluation. It is the supervisor’s responsibility to guide the student, provide feedback on submissions, and, after each meeting, complete the supervision record for each session, ensuring that the student’s progress and work are properly documented. This continuous monitoring is particularly relevant following the emergence of artificial intelligence.
The university’s tools will be used to manage the schedule for partial submissions and any required meetings.
The grading of the work will follow the same system used for the rest of the courses in the program. A rubric will be used for this evaluation process and will be provided to students once they are enrolled. The final grade will be communicated through the usual Faculty channels.
If the defense is not passed, the committee will indicate the identified shortcomings, specifying the modifications required in the work or, if applicable, scheduling a new defense.
TFMs are protected under intellectual property law; therefore, copyright belongs to their authors. However, if the TFM is based on an internship, the company may claim authorship.
Bibliography and resources
Amat, O., & Rocafort, A. (2018). Cómo investigar - Trabajo Fin de Grado, Tesis de Máster, Tesis Doctoral y otros proyectos de investigación. Barcelona: PROFIT EDITORIAL.
Saunders, M. N., & Lewis, P. (2012). Doing research in business & management: An essential guide to planning your project. Pearson.