Examination and Vivas

1) A complete pdf file (including signatures) of the written MSc Thesis report must be sent by email (mer@merconsortium.eu) to MER Consortium Secretariat before AUGUST 15th at 24:00 CET. Likewise, one original for the library of the PiE-UPV/EHU (available for those who request it conveniently) must be delivered before the vivas, otherwise the public dissertation will not be allowed.

2) Written reports can be presented in English, French, Spanish or Basque but in any case a second language summary must be also included.

3) The written report must be done according to the standard structure and extension of a scientific paper in which an extended Introduction is also included in order to help in evaluating the candidate’s skills and basic knowledge in the study field.

  • As a whole, the extension should correspond to a (numbered) 35-50 pages manuscript plus tables, legends and figures written in a common text processor (Word, …) with a letter type similar to Times New Roman 10-12, with 1,5 space between lines and at least 2,5 cm margins at both sides.
  • The candidate can decide to present it edited and formatted or without editing and formatting with tables and figures after the text.
  • Use the cover front page, back page and tutor agreement form provided by the MER Consortium Secretariat.

4) The report structure will be as follows:

  • Cover page: title, filiations, and indication, if it proceeds, of whether the work has been published or submitted for publication in the fork of an article or contribution to a congress, etc.
  • Tutor agreement form and if different, also scientific supervisor signature.
  • Summary (max. 1 page)
  • Second language summary (max. 2 pages)
  • Introduction (scientific paper style-context, objectives, hypothesis, justification of the research interest-, plus an additional preamble where the basic concepts of the research field are presented)
  • Material and Methods
  • Results
  • Discussion: including a list of conclusions. (Results & Discussion section may be accepted as a single section)
  • References (up to here 50 pages at most)
  • Annexes: Tables, Legends of figures, Figures, etc.

5) The public dissertation and the discussion will be held in the Plentzia Marine station (PiE-UPV/EHU) at early September (and always before September 10th).

6) Dissertation will consist of a 20 min oral presentation plus a questions/discussion session for additional 15 min. Oral presentation will be done in English and simultaneous translation service will not be available.

7) The following aspects will be considered for evaluation, according to the Academic Assessment Form:

  • Integration of the student in the research group where the MSc Thesis research has been carried out.
  • Basic skills achieved regarding the methods employed.
  • Ability to design and plan and carry out a research work, under the consideration that the MSc Thesis must be done within a period of 6 months.
  • Quality of the written scientific report.
  • Quality of the oral presentation and ability to discuss and defend each one’s postulates concerning the MSc thesis.
  • Overall, it will be evaluated whether the candidate has achieved sufficiency for research in order to undertake in a next step the realisation of the PhD Thesis work or a professional activity as researcher in the field of marine environment and resources.

8) Each Examination Commission awards a best MSc presentation prize (by consensus; based on the presentation and defense, rather than in the scientific quality of the research; the achievement of cross-cutting skills are thus acknowledged), that is publically recognised during the graduation ceremony and accredited to the awarded student. We are looking for sponsors to give these awards more visibility.

Graduation Ceremony

At the concluding part of the vivas and following discussion of the presentations, a Graduation Ceremony takes place.

  • an external examiner or industry representative gives the closing lecture;
  • the MER Consortium recognises publically Special Awards to prominent students (i.e. best MSc thesis presentation; best marks; special mentions), which are given by representatives of the partner universities; and
  • a “get-together” lunch is provided to students/staff/representatives.