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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 (Ln 65 Of 2009 )

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:

1. (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;
Arts;
“the Course” means the programme of study leading to the degree of Master of
“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.

2. These bye-laws shall be applicable for courses commencing in October 2008 or later.

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3. The Course shall be offered in any area of study that falls within the academic responsibility of the Board, after approval by Senate.

4. 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.

5. (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.

6. The Course shall extend over three semesters of full-time study or the equivalent in part-time study.

7. The programme of study shall comprise study-units to which a total of 90 credits shall be assigned.
8. (1) The programme of study for any area of study offered in the Course may be either mainly taught or mainly by research.

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(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.

9. (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.

10. (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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11. (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.
12. (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.

13. 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.

14. (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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15. 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.

Ippubblikat mid-Dipartiment tal-Informazzjoni (doi.gov.mt) Valletta - Published by the Department of Information - (doi.gov.mt) - Valletta

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