European Studies Degree Course Regulations, 2000

L.N. 22 of 2000

EDUCATION ACT

(CAP. 327)

Bachelor of Arts - B.A. - and Bachelor of Arts (Honours) - B.A. (Hons) - in

European Studies Degree Course Regulations, 2000

In exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 30 (5)

and 31 (6) of the Education Act (Cap. 327), the Chancellor of the

University of Malta has promulgated the following regulations made by

the Senate of the University of Malta by virtue of the powers conferred

upon it by sections 31 and 35 of the said Act

Citation and interpretation

(1) These regulations may be cited as the Bachelor of Arts - B.A. - and

the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) - B.A. (Hons) - in European Studies Degree

Course Regulations, 2000.

(2) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires -

"the Board" means the Board of the European Documentation and

Research Centre;

"the Centre" means the European Documentation and Research Centre;

"the Course" means the course of studies leading to either Degree; and

"the Degree" means the Degree of Bachelor of Arts - B.A. - in European

Studies or the Degree of Bachelor of Arts (Honours) - B.A. (Hons) - in European

Studies, as appropriate.

Applicability

These regulations shall apply to courses starting in October 1999 or

later.

Eligibility for the Degree

To be eligible for the award of either Degree, students must

(a) be registered as regular students in either Course in terms of the

Admission Regulations of the University;

(b) complete the appropriate course of studies, obtain all the credits

indicated in regulation 10 and satisfy any other requirements prescribed in these

regulations; and

(c) satisfy any other requirements prescribed in any other relevant

statutes, regulations and bye-laws of the University.

Admission and Special Course Requirements

(1) Applicants shall apply to register for either Course on the

prescribed form and within the time specified by the Office of the Registrar.

Applicants shall be required to indicate their choice of either the B.A. course or

the B.A. (Hons) course.

(2) To be registered as regular students in either Course, applicants

must, besides satisfying the General Entry Requirements specified in the

Admission Regulations of the University, satisfy also the Special Course

Requirements of the faculty offering the area/s of study in terms of regulation

3.2 of the Admission Regulations, where applicable.

Areas of Study

5. (1) Apart from European Studies, students in either Course shall

choose another area of study from the areas of study approved by the Board and

which are listed in the relevant regulations for first degrees in the Faculty of Arts

and the Faculty of Economics, Management and Accountancy or from other

degree programmes organised by other University entities, following agreement

with the said entities.

(2) The Board may designate a combination of specific study-units to

establish an identifiable option for a course of studies.

(3) The areas of study referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this

regulation and combinations of areas of study shall be offered depending on the

availability of resources and the number of applicants who choose them.

(4) Students choosing areas of study offered by other faculties shall be

subject to the regulations relating to those areas of study in the relevant course as

far as Special Course Requirements and study-units are concerned.

Duration of the Courses

6. (1) The courses shall extend over a period of three years of full-time

study. The Board may allow students to complete the courses in not more than

four years from the date of first admission, under those conditions it may impose.

(2) In special circumstances, Senate may allow a further extension of

one year, on the recommendation of the Board.

(3) The Senate, acting on the advice of the Board, may allow students,

for a good and sufficient reason, to suspend their studies for a maximum of

twelve months.

Registration for Courses and for Study-Units

(1) Students shall be required to register before the beginning of each

academic year and to register for study-units before the beginning of each

semester within the period stipulated by the Office of the Registrar.

(2) Students shall be awarded a grade for a study-unit only if they have

registered for it on the Study-Unit Registration Form. At the beginning of each

semester, students may add or drop a study-unit on the prescribed form and

within the period stipulated by the Office of the Registrar.

(3) Students are expected to inform the Registrar in writing if they

resign from the Course, indicating the date of their resignation.

Courses of Studies

Each Course shall consist of study-units to which at least'76 credits shall

be assigned and shall be structured as follows

(a) Year One shall be common for students admitted to either Course

and shall consist of study-units at Level 1 and Level 2 in European Studies and in

another area of study;

(b) Years Two and Three of the B.A. course shall consist of study-units at

Level 2 and Level 3 in European Studies and in another area of study;

(c) Years Two and Three of the B.A. (Hons) course shall consist of study-

units at Level 2 and Level 3 in European Studies;

(d) Compulsory study-units in History of Mediterranean Civilisation

which must be obtained during Years One and Two; and

(e) Optional study-units in any area of study approved by the University,

including the areas of study already chosen, which must be obtained during Year

Two and Year Three.

Catalogue of Study-Units

The Board shall draw up a catalogue of study-units. The catalogue shall

indicate the level, code (ES), title, description and type of each study-unit, the

credits assigned to each study-unit, which study-units are compulsory, concurrent

or pre-reqUIsItes for other study-units, and the methods of teaching and

assessment. The Board shall publish the catalogue prior to the commencement

of each Course, following the approval of Senate.

Progress and Assessment

(1) In each year of both courses students must obtain the following

credits

(a) In Year One: 10 credits in European Studies, 10 credits in the other

area of study and 6 credits in History of Mediterranean Civilisation;

(b) In Year Two of the

- RA. Course: 10 credits in European Studies, 10 credits in the other area of

study and 4 credits in History of Mediterranean Civilisation;

RA. (Hons) Course: 20 credits in European Studies and 4 credits in the

History of Mediterranean Civilisation;

(c) In Year Three of the

- B.A. Course: 11 credits in European Studies and 11 credits in the other area of

study;

- RA. (Hons) Course: 22 credits in European Studies. Students may opt to

write a dissertation to which six credits are assigned; and

(d) During Year Two and Year Three of both courses, 4 credits in French

or, if French has already been chosen, in a European language approved by the

Board, or in European Studies.

(2) Students must obtain the following credits for study-units at Level

3 in the

(a) B.A. Course: at least 8 credits in European Studies and at least 8

credits in the other area of study; and

(b) B.A. (Hons) Course: at least 24 credits in European Studies.

(1) In each year students shall be required to register for study-units

for which not less than the number of credits indicated in regulation 10 and not

more than 30 credits are assigned.

(2) The Board may allow students to change the second area of study

during Year One of the Course, provided they satisfY all the requirements laid

down in these regulations.

(3) The Board may allow students admitted to the B.A. course to

choose two secondary areas of study instead of the second area qf study. In such

cases the requirements for each secondary area of study shall be half the

requirements for the second area of study stipulated in these regulations.

(1) Students in Year One or Year Two of either Course who do not

satisfY all the requirements stipulated in sub-paragraphs (a) or (b) of paragraph

(1) of regulation 10 may be allowed by the Board to proceed to the following

year, provided they have obtained not less than 22 credits. The missing credits

must be obtained during the successive year.

(2) Students in Year Three who do not satisfY all the requirements

stipulated in sub-paragraph (c) of paragraph (1) of regulation 10 but obtain not

less than 14 credits may be allowed by the Board to extend their studies by one

year if permitted in terms of paragraph (1) of regulation 6, provided that during

this additional year such students shall be required to obtain not less than 16

credits (including the missing credits of Year Three).

(3) Students in Year Three who obtain less than 14 credits shall not be

allowed to continue the Course, unless in special circumstances, on the

recommendation of the Board and with the permission of Senate.

Students may not register for a study-unit for which they do not have

the pre-requisites or without registering also for its concurrent study-unit/s,

except with the permission of the Board.

(1) Credits shall be assigned according to the following grades in

descending order of merit: A, B, C and D. Failure shall be indicated by F.

Incomplete work due to justifiable reasons (illness, approved absence, etc.) shall

be indicated by I. In all other cases the results of uncompleted study-units shall

be indicated as F. The grades awarded shall take into account the students'

performance in one or more of the following elements, as deemed appropriate

by the Board: coursework, fieldwork, practical, written and/or oral assessments.

(2)

Students who fail in any study-unit shall be allowed a

supplementary assessment. Such a supplementary assessment shall normally have

the same mode of assessment as the corresponding first assessment. A

supplementary assessment of a study-unit shall be held at the next scheduled

examination session (Mayor September) as the case may be. hi the case of

assignments, the supplementary assessment shall be made by arrangement with

the lecturer concerned. In the supplementary assessment, the maximum grade

that may be awarded shall be grade D.

(3) If unsuccessful in the supplementary assessment, students may take

the study-unit again once only. When students fail a re-taken study-unit, they

shall be allowed a final supplementary assessment. In the case of study-units

which are re-taken, the maximum grade that may be awarded in the assessment

and final supplementary assessment shall be grade D.

(4) Students shall not be allowed to be re-assessed for a study-unit if

they have already been awarded credit for it.

The Board may allow students to transfer credits obtained for study-

units in a course of studies at the University or at a university recognised for the

purpose by the Senate, provided that such study-units are comparable in content

and level to the ones offered in either Course. Not more than one-third of the

minimum number of credits required for the award of the Degree may be

transferred.

Transfer Between Courses

Students who, at the end of Year One, have obtained the credits

required for that year, may be allowed by the Board to transfer their studies to

Year Two of either the B.A. course choosing European Studies and the other

area of study or the B.A. (Hons) course in European Studies.

Dissertation

(1) Students in the B.A. (Hons) course may opt to write a dissertation

during Year Three.

(2) The dissertation must not be longer than 20,000 words, including

footnotes but excluding annexes and the bibliography, except with the

permission of the Board. It shall be assigned 6 credits out of the total number of

credits required in the European Studies area of study.

(3) The dissertation shall be submitted by not later than the end of

May of Year Three of the Course. The dissertation shall be graded according to

the grading scheme outlined in paragraph (1) of regulation 14. If a dissertation

is referred, students shall be required to re-submit it by not later than the end of

September.

(4) The Board shall establish rules and procedures to be followed in

the selection of title, supervisor and stylistic requirements.

(5) Before being allowed to graduate, students are to present two hard

bound copies of their dissertation to the Centre, one copy of which shall be kept

at the Centre and another copy shall be deposited at the Library of the

University.

Final Result

(l) The final result shall take into consideration the students'

performance in the study-units, and the dissertation, where applicable.

(2) For the purpose of paragraph (1) of this regulation, the weighting

for the study-units shall be calculated on the basis of an overall average of all the

credits obtained. If more than 76 credits are obtained, the best 76 credits

obtained in terms of regulation 10 (including the credits for all the compulsory

study-units) shall be taken into account.

(3) The names of the students who have qualified for the award of the

Degree shall be published in a list in alphabetical order as follows

(a) for the B.A. Degree: Category I, IIA, lIB and III; and

(b) for the B.A. (Hons) Degree

First Class Honours

Second Class Honours (Upper Division)

Second Class Honours (Lower Division)

Third Class Honours

Pass.