under the auspices of the Faculty of Arts

VER|JONI ELETTRONIKA

B

L.N. 65 of 2009

EDUCATION ACT

(CAP. 327)

Bye-Laws of 2009 in terms of the General Regulations for

University Postgraduate Awards, 2008

for the Degree of Master of Arts

under the auspices of the Faculty of Arts

IN exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sections 74

(5) and 75 (6) of the Education Act (Cap. 327), the Chancellor of the

University of Malta has promulgated the following bye-laws made by

the Board of the Faculty of Arts in virtue of the powers conferred upon

it by section 81 (1) of the said Act and which have been approved by

the Senate of the University of Malta as required by section 81 (2) of

the said Act

Citation and Interpretation

(1) These bye-laws may be cited as the Bye-Laws of 2009 in terms of the

General Regulations for University Postgraduate Awards, 2008 for the degree of

Master of Arts under the auspices of the Faculty of Arts.

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

“the Board” means the Board of the Faculty of Arts;

“the Course” means the programme of study leading to the degree of Master of

Arts;

“the Degree” means the degree of Master of Arts in the relevant area of study;

“the Postgraduate Diploma” means the Postgraduate Diploma in the relevant

area of study; and

“the Principal Regulations” means the General Regulations for University

Postgraduate Awards, 2008.

Applicability

These bye-laws shall be applicable for courses commencing in October 2008

or later.

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Areas of Study

The Course shall be offered in any area of study that falls within the

academic responsibility of the Board, after approval by Senate.

Requirements for Admission

Subject to the conditions laid down in bye-law 5, the Course shall be open

to applicants in possession of one of the following qualifications

(a) the degree of Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours or Second Class

Honours in the same or in a closely related area of study as the area of study applied

for; or

(b) the degree of Bachelor of Arts in the same or in a closely related area of

study as that applied for, with an average mark of not less than 65% in that area; or

(c) a degree from this or from another university which the Board considers as

comparable to any of the degrees indicated in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this bye-law.

Preparatory Programme

(1) Applicants not in possession of an Honours degree admitted under

paragraphs (b) and (c) of bye-law 4 shall be required to complete a preparatory

programme, comprising not less than 30 and not more than 60 credits as directed by

the Board, depending on the number of credits already obtained in that area of study,

with an overall average mark of 55% or better, prior to their registration as regular

students on the Course.

(2) Preparatory programmes shall also be governed by the Principal

Regulations.

Course Duration

The Course shall extend over three semesters of full-time study or the

equivalent in part-time study.

Programme of Study

The programme of study shall comprise study-units to which a total of 90

credits shall be assigned.

(1) The programme of study for any area of study offered in the Course

may be either mainly taught or mainly by research.

B

VER|JONI ELETTRONIKA

(2) (a) Mainly taught programmes of study shall comprise taught study-

units to which a total of 60 credits are assigned and a dissertation study-unit to

which 30 credits are assigned.

(b) Students who obtain the 60 credits assigned to the taught study-

units with an average mark of at least 50% and do not proceed with the Course, or

having proceeded do not successfully complete the dissertation, shall be eligible for

the award of a Postgraduate Diploma in the relevant area of study.

(3) Mainly research programmes of study shall comprise taught study-

units to which 10 credits are assigned and a dissertation study-unit to which 80

credits are assigned.

(4) Programmes of study shall be published by the Board after approval

by Senate normally not less than eight months prior to the commencement of the

Course.

Assessment and Progress

(1) The assessment of each taught study-unit shall be completed by the

end of the semester in which the teaching of the study-unit is held.

(2) Students following the mainly taught programme of study who in any

academic year fail in the assessment of not more than 20 credits, if following the

Course full-time, or not more than 10 credits if following the Course part-time, shall

be given the opportunity to re-sit the failed assessments during the September

supplementary examination session.

(3) Students who fail in more than the number of credits permitted under

paragraph (2) of this bye-law, or students who after re-assessment fail to obtain the

credits for any study-unit, shall be deemed to have failed the Course.

Dissertations

(1) In mainly taught programmes of study, students shall be required to

submit an individual dissertation of approximately 25,000 words in accordance with

the guidelines issued by the Board.

(2) Work on the dissertation shall be undertaken during the third

semester of the Course. Each student shall be assigned a supervisor who shall

provide guidance and advice on a regular basis during the period of study.

(3) A provisional title for the dissertation and a detailed research

proposal shall be submitted to the Board for approval not later than six weeks before

the end of the second semester.

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(1) In mainly research programmes of study, students shall be required

to submit an individual dissertation of approximately 50,000 words in accordance

with the guidelines issued by the Board.

(2) Work on the dissertation may be undertaken at any time during the

Course after approval of the proposal. Each student shall be assigned a supervisor

who shall provide guidance and advice on a regular basis during the period of study.

(3) A provisional title for the dissertation and a detailed research

proposal shall be submitted to the Board for approval at the time of application.

(1) In all cases, students shall be required to have regular contact with

their supervisor.

(2) Supervisors shall submit to the Board progress reports for the

students under their supervision at the end of each semester of studies, whether the

student is following the Course on a full-time or a part-time basis. Such reports may

include a recommendation to either (a) extend the period of study in order to enable

the student to complete the dissertation; or (b) terminate studies prematurely if the

supervisor deems this to be proper in the circumstances, provided that

(i)

the extension of the study period referred to in (a) shall be in

accordance with the provisions of the Principal Regulations; and

(ii) the Board may not terminate studies prematurely according to (b)

until it has first given the student a chance to be heard.

Classification of the Awards

The Final Weighted Average Mark for the purpose of the classification

of the Postgraduate Diploma and the Degree shall be based on the results obtained in

all the components of the programme of study, all credits being weighted equally.

Special Provisions for Part-Time Courses

(1) The Board may, from time to time, offer students the opportunity to

follow the Course on a part-time basis in areas of study which shall be indicated

before the commencement of each Course.

(2) The provisions of the foregoing bye-laws shall apply mutatis

mutandis to courses followed on a part-time basis, and subject to such changes as

may reasonably be deemed by the Board as necessary due to the part-time nature of

the Course.

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B

Repeal

The Master of Arts – M.A. – Degree Course Regulations, 1999,

published as Legal Notice 152 of 1999, shall be deemed to cease to be in force as

from 1 October 2008, provided that students registered for this course before 1

October 2008 shall continue to be governed by the regulations that were in force at

the time of their joining the course.

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