According to the Royal Decree 1393/2007, October 29th, 4th Chapter (3rd Point), Official Master’s Degrees “will conclude with the elaboration and public defense of a MA Dissertation, which will be granted between 6 and 30 ECTS credits”.

In line with the importance attributed to the student’s individual work during the Master’s Degree, the MA Dissertation has to be an original research, adapted to the students’ area of specialization, so that they will be able to integrate both the theoretical knowledge and the practical applications. This work of research, critical thinking and practice will be supervised by a tutor.

 

FORMAL REQUIREMENTS

1.  The Dissertation should be submitted in duly typewritten or printed, including the student’s personal data, the supervisor’s name, the institution, etc. Also, a table of contents should be included and all pages should be numbered.

2.    Conventions regarding format, typography, quotations, bibliography and references, etc., should follow the guidelines prescribed by manuals on academic research and similar publications (e.g. MLA)

3.   The Dissertation should be written in English. A summary of no more than five pages, written in Spanish, should also be included.

 

OPTION 1: LINGUISTICS RESEARCH LINKED TO ONE OF THE SPECIALTIES INCLUDED IN THE PROGRAM: (I) English Linguistics, (II) Information and Communications Technology (ICT) applied to the Teaching and Learning of English, (III) Communication, Intercultural Communication and Translation

 

1.A limit of 15,000-20,000 words applies to the Dissertation (60-80 pages approximately). This excludes bibliographies and appendices.

2.  Regarding the contents, the Dissertation has to be an original research, adapted to the students’ area of specialization, so that both theoretical knowledge and practical applications can be integrated. For instance, the paper may consist of a corpus-based analysis of a current linguistic theory, etc.

3. The Dissertation should conform to the structure established for research papers of such characteristics. Apart from an overview of the literature in the field selected, the paper should make explicit reference to the purpose of the research, its objectives, any hypotheses or research questions considered, the data analysis, the results and interpretations, and the final conclusions.

 

OPTION 2: TRANSLATION (linked to (III) Communication, Intercultural Communication and Translation)

 

1.  A limit of 15,000-20,000 applies to the Dissertation (60-80 pages approximately). See section 2.1 below for more information.

2.     Regarding the contents, the student should choose one of the following options:

2.1. The translation and critical analysis of a text which has not yet been translated into English/Spanish. The analysis should attend to both linguistic and cultural factors and the level of difficulty of the text should be appropriate to that expected at postgraduate levels. A limit of 5,000-7,000 words applies to the critical analysis.

2.2. A critical analysis/evaluation of an existing translation (e.g. how different translations approach a particular aspect of the work subject to analysis)

2.3. The application of Translation Studies to the critical analysis of a translation in a given work (e.g. the utility of theoretical concepts, orthe treatment of historical, sociocultural and ideological issues)

2.4. The Dissertation should include a theoretical part and a practical part, that is, the translation as such. The theoretical part should include an introduction in which the objectives of the research should be presented, and the choice of the text, as well as the translation procedures and strategies followed - making explicit reference to the choice of both linguistic and cultural elements - should be justified. Also, a theoretical framework regarding the text, the author and the state of the art should be provided.