Responsibilities of Master Student and Thesis Supervisor

 

The primary responsibility of the supervisor is to assist student to complete the research within designed time frame. This includes taking reasonable steps, consistent with available resources, to:

-provide a framework within which the academic work can take place;

-provide academic guidance;

-determine a task for the master’s thesis;

-help the student to prepare an individual working plan encompassing the timeline for preparation of the master's thesis;

-recommend to student the list of scientific, methodical literature, archival materials, projects and other sources for thesis;

-provide appropriate and timely feedback;

-meet regularly with the student to give him scientific and methodical advices, according to the individual working plan;

-assess progress;

-facilitate administrative compliance;

-act as a guide to the University resources;

-encourage the student to participate in university intellectual life.

The supervisor is the primary person responsible for determining the relevance of the questions and issues posed. With this goal in mind he constantly makes personal consultations for the student and controls the Individual plan’s fulfillment. During student’s assessment, the supervisor evaluates the readiness of the master’s thesis and the effectiveness of the student’s work. The supervisor fixes all remarks in the student’s Individual Plan.

The supervisor is responsible for evaluating and monitoring a student’s academic progress. He (she) should provide adequate and timely written feedback on all submitted work. If any doubt arises as to the ability of a candidate to complete the research, this must be raised and dealt with as soon as is practicable for the benefit of both the student and the University.

Supervisors must keep a record of formal supervisory meetings and any significant advice or transactions that are not dealt with in the master’s thesis progress reports.

Completing a master’s thesis program requires progressive development of skills, competence and confidence. The student must take responsibility for independently pursuing his (her) studies with the guidance of supervisor in a manner which develops his (her) own intellectual independence. This includes taking reasonable steps, consistent with available resources, to:

- plan and actively pursue the research;

- follow the accuracy of information given in the master’s thesis;

- identify and deal with any research-related problems;

- comply with administrative requirements;

- keep supervisor informed about his (her) progress;

- meet ethical guidelines;

- take responsibility for the final form of the thesis;

- participate in University intellectual life, conferences, forums etc.

2.4 Individual Plan of Master Student Work

Making a working plan of writing master’s thesis, which has to be fixed in a form entitled INDIVIDUAL PLAN OF MASTER STUDENT WORK (IPMSW) is one of the obligatory stages in the master program. This stage is to be realized jointly by student and supervisor. Afterwards the IPMSW must be signed by the student, supervisor and head of Department, then discussed at the Department’s session and finally approved by the BSEU Rector.

The thesis-writing timetable should be fixed in point 2, “Work on master’s thesis” of IPMSW. Schedule for submission of drafts and approval of the final version is at the supervisor’s discretion. It may include the following stages:

Begin research; prepare abstract, bibliography, and outline;

Meet with prospective supervisor;

Give first draft to supervisor;

Give revised, final version to supervisor;

Final, clean copy of thesis, with title page signed by supervisor;

See the example of IPMSW in appendix B.

On page 3 of IPMSW the exact title of the master’s thesis and supervisor approved by Department must be fixed (with the number of minutes and its date).

On page 4 of IPMSW the student should present the full structure and plan of the thesis with sections and subsections as well as the aim of the research.

2.5 Certification and Interim Evaluation of Master’s Thesis

Students regularly report to the supervisor and Department on the preparation of their thesis.

A timetable for meetings and submission of drafts is discussed and agreed on mutually with supervisor, then fixed in IPMSW. Non-compliance with the submitted timetable by student is considered as non-fulfillment of the IPMSW. Based on this, the student is not admitted to defend his (her) thesis.

In most cases, the student and supervisor need to meet three or four times: initially, to finalize a topic, and to review the first or second draft – and more during thesis’s investigations. Keep in mind that the supervisor must have enough time to read and evaluate work before returning it to the student with comments, and that the student must have time to incorporate those comments. It is the student’s responsibility to see that the final copy is free from spelling and grammatical errors; the supervisor is not responsible for proof reading.

The certification is a kind of interim assessment of master student program progress. A master’s thesis certification is organized once a semester to ensure that the student is making adequate progress and the supervisory relationship is working well. At the end of the last semester a more substantial master’s thesis progress report is to be completed. The date of certification is specified by the management of the Department.

To attend evaluation procedure master’s student must:

- prepare a substantial paper report using standard form (appendix C). According to thesis results presented in the report, the preparedness level of the work is determined;

- get it submitted and signed by supervisor and Head of Department;

- fill out the IPMSW jointly with supervisor. On page 5 of IPMSW, the supervisor makes comments and recommendations to student based on intermediate evaluation of IPMSW, master program and master thesis taking into account the Department’s resolution on that student’s work.

The final evaluation of the master student’s thesis made by the Department gives the resolution granting the right of submission to its defense. The respective notes are to be fixed on page 6 of IPMSW and signed by the student, supervisor and head of Department.

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