Universitat Internacional de Catalunya
Final Master's Degree Project
Other languages of instruction: Catalan, English
Teaching staff
Students may contact both the subject coordinator and their tutor by e-mail.
Introduction
The Master’s Thesis (TFM) consists of the development of an original project in which the knowledge, skills, and attitudes acquired during the master’s degree are integrated, applied, and developed. This work therefore has an integrative nature, as it mobilizes the full range of general and specific competencies associated with the degree.
The TFM must address relevant topics within the field of psychology and may take different formats: quantitative research project, qualitative research project, systematic literature review (PRISMA guideline), and evidence-based (clinic, mental health promotion or prevention) intervention proposal. The topic of the thesis will be proposed by the student, reviewed by the course coordination of the TFM, and finally agreed upon with the supervisor.
TFMs must be carried out individually under the guidance of a supervisor, who will be assigned to the student preferably based on their experience in the research line or methodology applied in the TFM, and who will act as a facilitator of the learning process. The supervisor will ensure the quality of the work and must approve its submission and defense.
Pre-course requirements
There are no prerequisites to enrol in this subject
Objectives
The main objectives of the TFM are to reinforce and integrate the knowledge acquired during the master's degree of clinical matters and research methodology, as well as to promote critical and reflective thinking based on the scientific method.
Competences/Learning outcomes of the degree programme
- CB10 - Students should have learning skills that allow them to continue studying in a largely self-directed or autonomous manner.
- CB6 - Have and understand knowledge that provides a basis or opportunity for the student to develop and/or apply original ideas, often in the context of research.
- CB7 - Students should be able to apply their knowledge and ability to solve problems in new or little-known environments, within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to their area of study.
- CB8 - Students should be able to integrate their knowledge and cope with the complexity of formulating judgements based on information that, being incomplete or limited, includes reflection on the social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgements.
- CB9 - Students should be able to communicate their conclusions and the knowledge and arguments supporting these conclusions in a clear and unambiguous manner to specialised and non-specialised audiences.
- CE18 - Design, develop and, if necessary, supervise and evaluate psychological intervention plans and programmes, based on psychological evaluation and the individual and social concurrent variables and apply it in different contexts (private, primary care, community, and crisis and emergency situations).
- CE2 - Apply the fundamentals of bioethics and the method of deliberation in professional practice, aligning their practice as a health professional to the provisions of Law 44/2003, of 21 November, on the organisation of the healthcare professions.
- CE4 - Analyse critically and use clinical information sources.
- CE5 - Use information and communication technologies in professional practice.
- CE7 - Formulate working hypotheses in research and collect and critically evaluate information to solve problems, applying the scientific method.
- CG1 - Ability to use the different information and communication technologies in professional performance in the clinical and healthcare field.
- CG2 - Formulate working hypotheses in research and critically assess information to solve problems, applying the scientific method in the clinical and healthcare field.
- CT4 - Connect knowledge in a critical, synthetic and rigorous way in the clinical and healthcare field.
- CT5 - Analyse work done in a critical and constructive way, valuing the strengths and weaknesses in the practice of their profession.
- CT9 - Ability to integrate psychological knowledge and developments in the practice of their profession.
Learning outcomes of the subject
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
- Perform bibliographic searches in different databases
- Understand scientific articles and know how to analyse them critically
- Determine the most appropriate methodology for the research question
- Design an original research project
- Adequately evaluate the results of any study
- Discuss the results within the framework of current knowledge
- Present a research project in writing, in a rigorous, clear and precise manner
- Effectively defend the research project before other researchers
Syllabus
The contents of the Master's Thesis (TFM) course will be delivered by the thesis supervisors and the TFM coordinator. The supervisors will provide individual support to students throughout the entire TFM development process. The coordination team of the TFM course will hold in-person group tutorials during the TFM process on topics of common interest to students.
The main topics covered in the course are:
˗ TFM modalities: quantitative research project, qualitative research project, systematic literature review (PRISMA guideline), and evidence-based (clinical, mental health promotion or prevention) intervention proposal.
˗ Literature search: main data sources.
˗ Presentation of background/theoretical framework and justification of the study.
˗ Operationalization of research question, hypothesis, and objectives.
˗ Temporal feasibility of the research: timeline.
˗ Rationale and writing of the methodology and ethical aspects.
˗ Data analysis.
˗ Writing of the results obtained.
˗ Discussion and conclusions.
˗ Presentation of a research project.
The written thesis has a minimum length of 13,000 words and a maximum length of 18,000 words, not including the cover page, abstract, table of contents, bibliography, and appendices. The written work must include the official UIC Barcelona TFM cover page (available on the course Moodle), followed by an abstract with a maximum length of 300 words, a paginated table of contents, the mandatory sections depending on the chosen modality (listed below), bibliography, and, if necessary, appendices. The sections of the thesis must match the TFM modality:
- Quantitative, qualitative, or systematic review: introduction, methods, results, and discussion.
- Evidence-based intervention (clinic, mental health promotion or prevention proposal) based on evidence: introduction, methods, intervention proposal and evaluation of its effectiveness, discussion.
Teaching and learning activities
In person
The Master's Thesis (TFM) essentially consists of the student's independent work, supported by the thesis supervisor during individual tutorials and by the TFM course coordinator during group seminars.
Tutorials may be held in person or online, depending on the availability of the supervisor and the student, and must respect class hours. The student is responsible for contacting the supervisor to schedule the tutorials. The supervisor guides the student in the development of the thesis and monitors the process. During the master’s program, three individual tutorials of approximately 60 minutes are held, except for the third tutorial, which may be conducted in a group format at the supervisor’s discretion and is intended to rehearse the oral defense. The first tutorial focuses on reviewing the thesis approach, objectives, and methodology. The second tutorial involves reviewing the results, their interpretation, and identifying key points to be addressed in the discussion. The third tutorial is aimed at rehearsing the oral defense.
In addition to guiding the student during the tutorials, the supervisor oversees the writing process of the thesis and provides feedback for improvement. The student submits each chapter of the thesis to the supervisor on previously agreed dates and according to the timeline proposed by the course coordination (available on Moodle). Supervisors do not accept submissions during the week prior to the written thesis submission deadline.
The completion of tutorials and submission of the written thesis are mandatory and must follow the timeline set by the course coordination to ensure the quality of the work. As stated in the "Assessment" section, the TFM supervisor decides whether a thesis can be defended based on whether it meets the minimum requirements to be considered a quality academic work.
The group seminars are held in person and consist of presenting relevant and necessary information for conducting the research project. Four seminars will be held throughout the semester.
Evaluation systems and criteria
In person
Assessment requires the submission of the written thesis on the course Moodle, as well as a public defence before a panel composed of three master's professors holding a doctoral degree.
The types of accepted projects are described in the “Contents” section, along with the different sections that the thesis must include, depending on the type of project. The oral defence consists of a 20-minute presentation by the student, highlighting the most relevant points of each section of the written thesis, followed by 10 minutes of questions from the evaluation panel.
Assessment is carried out using evaluation rubrics that standardise assessment criteria. The final grade of the Master’s Thesis (TFM) is calculated by combining the score of the written thesis (60%) and the oral presentation (40%). Each of the three panel members’ grades carries equal weight when calculating the final grade. Both the written thesis and the oral defence must receive a minimum grade of 5 in order to pass the course. The evaluation criteria are identical across all sessions (first, second, and extraordinary).
The “Honours Distinction”, which recognises outstanding student performance, is awarded based on the criteria provided by the evaluators. The distinction may be left unawarded and is only granted in the first session.
Plagiarism or copying (more than 30% similarity on Turnitin or 90% similarity in one section) will result in a fail for the TFM in the session in which it is submitted. Likewise, the TFM supervisor decides whether a thesis can be defended, based on whether the work meets the minimum standards to be considered an academically sound project.
1st call: TFM Deposit November 25th 2025 - defenses December 11th and 12th 2025
2nd call: TFM Deposit January 12th 2026 - defenses January 22nd 2026
Extraordinary call
In the event that the student does not pass or does not attend the ordinary sessions (first or second), they may request to submit their thesis in the extraordinary session by submitting an application to the master's academic office. The purpose of the extraordinary session is for the student to complete and submit the thesis started during the previous academic year and, therefore, they must continue with the same project and previously assigned supervisor.
Bibliography and resources
Baldwin, S (2017). Manual de Publicación de la Asociación Americana de Psicología. Washington DC : American Psychological Association.
Carmelina Paba Barbosa, Zuany Luz Paba Argote, David Felipe Vega Villa, & Guillermo Augusto Ceballos Ospino. (2021). Normas para la presentación de informes finales de investigación y artículos científicos: incluye citas y referencias bibliográficas según Normas APA de la 7a. edición (1st ed.). Editorial Unimagdalena. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv2cmr939