ENG7200 Individual Master’s Project Guidelines- Birmingham City University

1.0    Introduction

This Individual Master’s Project provides an opportunity to develop in-depth knowledge in a specialist area relevant to your course, and hence demonstrate your ability to:
•    manage your own activities and resources to solve problems
•    generate innovative ideas and solutions
•    write an academic paper following accepted conventions of style and referencing 
As well as contributing to the MSc award, a successful Project will both enhance your CV and benefit career development.

Please read through this carefully – it describes how to undertake the Project and includes essential information on assessment.  However, it is not a substitute for attendance at the scheduled tutorial classes and regular meetings with your Supervisor.  
Before starting you should also read the assessment criteria which indicate what the assessors will be looking for, and what you should be demonstrating, for each of the deliverables.
As well as attending the classes and meeting with your Supervisor, there is guidance in the web resources on Moodle.  Also, the Centre for Academic Success has texts, tip sheets and offers tutorial support through the year on different aspects of undertaking a Project.  

Appendix 1 is a copyright waiver to enable your Project report to be published by Birmingham City University.
Students who progress to the award of M.Sc. will undertake a Master's Project. The project will carry 60 credits at Level 7. This is a major piece of work of 600 notional study hours. The Master’s Project is assessed as below:

The MSc Project Process Map

The Project Log book must contain a dated chronological record of the work of the Project. The Log book must be a record of every significant event in the project.

Log Book

• Identification of Topic area:  Select a topic/theory area and pose a relevant question. A list of possible topics is contained on the appropriate Moodle site but the student can select their own.
• Project Registration: Student will be expected to register their project via the ‘Project Registration’ link on the appropriate Moodle site and then complete an ethical review questionnaire.
• Proposal 10%: A 6-8 page document covering aim and objectives, initial literature review, methodology and appropriate timing chart
• Viva Presentation: Students will give a presentation and formal Viva Voce of their work.
• Dissertation: 15,000-word report that is the culmination of the project.

1.1    Module Overview

The purpose of the module is to enable you to undertake a sustained, in-depth and research-informed Level 7 project exploring an area that is of personal interest to you. In agreement with your supervisor, you will decide upon your topic which will take the form of a practical outcome (artefact) with accompanying contextual material. The main consideration when choosing your topic is that it must be aligned to the programme you are studying and informed by the research strategy of your school, and you should consider the relevance of this topic to your future academic or professional development.

At this level, you will be expected to work independently but you will receive additional one-to-one support from your supervisor, who will be familiar with your chosen topic area. As you progress on the module, extra support will be available, and this may take the form of group seminars, workshops and online materials that will help to develop your project. 
This module is an opportunity for you to further develop not only academically, but it will also help you to extend life-long skills and attributes that identify you as a Masters-level graduate of BCU. These include being a creative problem solver, entrepreneurial, professional, and work ready, and having a global outlook.

In the context of technology-related industries, this means:

•    developing your ability to create work which demonstrates an advanced awareness of professional standards relevant to your discipline;
•    extending your application of successful project planning, which may include budgetary and other relevant constraints; 
•    being innovative, experimental and pushing the boundaries of your discipline; 
•    being able to effectively self-evaluate and reflect critically on your work and its potential impact, placing it within the context of relevant debates within your chosen medium. 
For the purposes of the Project, the exact nature of the artefact you create will be agreed in discussion with your Supervisor to ensure its relevance to your subject discipline.  

1.2     Learning Outcomes

1.    Plan a research informed project using appropriate literature and / or professional outputs including an appropriate risk assessment and ethical review.
2.    Assess the value of theoretical concepts and, where appropriate, consider how they may be applied to the solution of real problems
3.    Design an artefact/data-gathering strategy using appropriate techniques and tools
4.    Implement a design to produce an artefact/gather the data using appropriate techniques
5.    Critically evaluate and reflect on the implementation of the artefact/data collected and the overall project.