22 ECTS credits
660 u studietijd

Aanbieding 1 met studiegidsnummer 4024189FNR voor alle studenten in het 1e en 2e semester met een gespecialiseerd master niveau.

Semester
1e en 2e semester
Inschrijving onder examencontract
Niet mogelijk
Beoordelingsvoet
Beoordeling (0 tot 20)
2e zittijd mogelijk
Ja
Inschrijvingsvereisten
Due to specific risks and safety issues, students must have successfully passed the complete bachelor programme of Biomedical Sciences. In order to enroll the 'Master Thesis', students must be enrolled in the final year of their study programme, and must effectively be able to graduate in that year.
Onderwijstaal
Engels
Faculteit
Faculteit Geneeskunde en Farmacie
Verantwoordelijke vakgroep
Basis (bio-) medische wetenschappen
Onderwijsteam
Karin Vanderkerken (titularis)
Kim De Veirman
Arne Van der Vreken
Onderdelen en contacturen
680 contacturen Zelfwerk en -studie
Inhoud

The data generated during the Research Internship (see course Research Internship/Journal & data club, 010903), the statistical processing of the data, the relevance of the obtained data with regard to the state of the art and the overall conclusions of the performed work are written down in a thesis/dissertation. This thesis must be written in English and should be in the form of a scientific article, including an abstract, introduction with objectives, material and methods, results, discussion and references. Detailed guidelines on how to write the Master Thesis are available on Canvas.

Studiemateriaal
Digitaal cursusmateriaal (Vereist) : Practical information about the Research Internship & Master Thesis is given during an info session before the start of the Master Program. The presentation used during this info session and all related documents are available on Canvas., Canvas
Praktisch cursusmateriaal (Vereist) : International scientific literature in the field (both from the laboratory where the internship is carried out and from other research teams), textbooks about relevant methodologies.
Bijkomende info

Students must submit an Internship Plan signed by the promoter for approval to the Educational Council Biomedical Sciences before 1 September for students who passed the first exam period and before 1 October for students who passed in the second exam period. This Internship Plan contains the original scientific research question and workplan, thereby formally establishing the subject/topic of the Master Thesis. A change in either the topic of the Master Thesis and/or the host lab or promotor must be reported to the chairperson of the Educational Council Biomedical Sciences before 1 November at the latest.

To prepare for the public defense, students will also need to give a prepresentation, summarizing the rationale and positioning of their work with regard to the state of the art, the research objectives, the obtained results and the overall conclusion(s) so far, during the Biomedical Research Week (end of March/beginning of April). The prepresentations are mandatory for all students, except for those students that are doing their Research Internship abroad. Absence is only justified with a doctor's certificate. In the event of a non-legitimate absence, the student will be excluded from the exam.

All practical information about the Research Internship & Master Thesis is given during an info session before the start of the Master Program. The presentation used during this info session and all related documents are available on Canvas.

Leerresultaten

Algemene competenties

The Master Thesis is an important part of the final assessment of the student in the Biomedical Sciences Program and should be regarded as a "graduation work". This course contributes to the following Program-specific learning outcomes:

The Master in Biomedical Research has in-depth knowledge and insight into:

  • The clinical aspects of the main pathologies and the concomitant deviations in molecular, cellular and physiological processes in the human body.
  • The working mechanisms of current treatments and principles of drug discovery and development, prevention and diagnosis.

The Master in Biomedical Research can:

  • Formulate complex research questions, research the relevant literature as exhaustively as possible and design a research plan, including the selection of methods and techniques for the generation of data, followed by correct interpretation of the data.
  • Write a Master Thesis in English to present the results of one’s own scientific research in the format of a peer-reviewed international paper.  
  • Present the obtained results in a scientifically sound manner to an (inter)national audience using modern means of communication.
  • Function constructively in an (inter)national and (inter)cultural setting.
  • Collaborate in an (interdisciplinary) team.

The Master in Biomedical Research has:

  • The capacities to function in an actual research environment and appreciate the existence of various work settings.
  • Insight into the (inter)national character of scientific research.
  • A critical attitude towards his/her own research data and those of others and has the ability to distinguish correct scientific methods from pseudo-science.
  • High ethical and moral standards with respect to human subjects, human material, animal testing and the society as a whole.
  • Intercultural competences that are required to function as a world citizen in a globalizing world
  • An attitude of lifelong learning and is capable of self-assessment and application of self-learning strategies.
  • An eye for accurate reporting of research data in a laboratory notebook and the protection of raw data with respect to intellectual property and the reliability and traceability of the work. 
  • Obtained sufficient knowledge in statistical processing of data from complex study designs using general and generalized linear models.
  • Sufficient communication skills in English to write papers for international peer-reviewed journals, to present oral communications at international scientific meetings and to participate actively in discussions.

Beoordelingsinformatie

De beoordeling bestaat uit volgende opdrachtcategorieën:
Masterproef bepaalt 100% van het eindcijfer

Binnen de categorie Masterproef dient men volgende opdrachten af te werken:

  • Masterthesis met een wegingsfactor 100 en aldus 100% van het totale eindcijfer.

    Toelichting: A score on 40 points is given by each independent reader and a score on 20 points is given by the jury panel. For detailed information, see the section ‘Additional information regarding the evaluation’.

Aanvullende info mbt evaluatie

The deadlines for submission of the Master Thesis will be communicated on Canvas at the beginning of the academic year.

To submit the Master Thesis successfully, the following actions should be completed in due time:

  • Hand in 3 hardcopies of the Master Thesis (printed and bound!) at the Biomedical Research secretariat.
  • Upload a PDF version of the Master Thesis (including the Supplementary data) as one single pdf-file in Canvas (under ‘Assignments’). The Master Thesis will be checked automatically for plagiarism when uploading on Canvas. If plagiarism is detected, the Master Thesis will be refused and a new Master Thesis will be requested in the next exam period. For the definition of plagiarism, we refer to the SUPPLEMENTARY EDUCATION AND EXAMINATION REGULATIONS FOR FACULTY OF MEDICINE AND PHARMACY.

Students who do not submit the required Master Thesis documents on due time (being it either the hardcopies or the pdf-version) are automatically referred to the next exam period.

The Master Thesis is assessed as follows:

Master Thesis text/manuscript: 40% of the final mark

The evaluation of the written text is done by the 2 independent readers (the commissioners) and a panel of 2 jury members (consisting of 2 ZAP members). Readers will be scoring on the following aspects/criteria: 1) layout, referencing and language, 2) processing of the obtained results (including tables, graphs, statistics) and 3) discussion and conclusion. The 2 independent readers will be appointed by the internship coordinator based on expertise and indicated preference no later than the last business day before March 25.

Presentation and defense: 60% of the final mark

The student will defend the Master Thesis publicly in the presence of the 2 independent readers,  the panel of 2 jury members and the promotor (or representative). To this end, the candidate will hold a 10-minute live, on-campus oral presentation in English, summarizing the rationale and positioning of the work with regard to the state of the art, the research objectives, the obtained results and the overall conclusion(s). The presentation will be followed by a 20-minutes scientific discussion with questioning by the readers, the jury panel and, if time allows, also the audience in English. In the exceptional circumstances concerning confidentiality and/or intellectual property issues, the promotor is entitled to request an oral presentation and defense behind closed doors.

The final score of the Master Thesis is determined as the sum of the scores given per category (taking into account the above weighting percentage) by the promotor, 2 independent readers and 2 jury members, and reduced to 20. The jury panel and promotor reserves the right to upgrade or downgrade this final score based on the overall performance of the candidate. The jury panel, readers and promotor will deliberate on this at the end of each presentation.

Students that obtain a final score of less than 10/20 must submit a new version of the Master Thesis in the next exam period.

ATTENTION: if an exceptional admission has been granted for enrollment in the Master Thesis, it can only be defended if the enrollment conditions have been fully met.

Toegestane onvoldoende
Kijk in het aanvullend OER van je faculteit na of een toegestane onvoldoende mogelijk is voor dit opleidingsonderdeel.

Academische context

Deze aanbieding maakt deel uit van de volgende studieplannen:
Master of Biomedical Research: Standaard traject (enkel aangeboden in het Engels)