| Unit name | Dissertation with Placement |
|---|---|
| Unit code | AFACM0014 |
| Credit points | 60 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Krebs |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
none |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
none |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | Arts Faculty Office |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
The industrial placement optional unit will provide a structured and supervised opportunity for MSc students to engage in a period of fieldwork that enables them to research specific questions to be agreed with their academic supervisor, and which results in a written analysis. As part of the placement the student will conduct appropriate tasks under the guidance of a nominated mentor from the host organization and under the supervision of a teacher from the Department. A report on the student from the mentor will inform the assessment of the dissertation as a whole. It would normally be expected that this topic would arise from work already undertaken on the programme, creating an opportunity to explore a specialist area in more detail.
Students will receive a maximum of six hours of one-to-one supervision with their supervisor throughout Teaching Block 2.
Aims:
1. To provide the opportunity for students to gain in-depth knowledge of an specialist area by engaging closely with how creative industries function practically and within wider cultural and artistic contexts.
2. To enable students to develop and apply appropriate knowledge and skills within a professional industrial setting.
3. To enable students to design and execute a research project that includes fieldwork, and to explore a range of possible methodological approaches appropriate to the topic.
On successful completion of this unit, students should:
1. Be able to work independently, constructively and creatively in a non-academic setting.
2. Have become familiar with existing work on a particular subject and to understand processes in the selected areas of practice.
3. Be able to design a project that is realistic in scope to which the industrial placement is a necessary and integral part.
4. Be able to distinguish between a range of different research methods.
5. Be able to work within the disciplines of relevant professional processes, working to deadlines and within the regulations and budgets of the host organization.
6. Be able to reflect on individual work within an industrial context and with reference to an appropriate range of critical ideas.
7. Be able to communicate that knowledge with clarity appropriate to the determined mode of assessment through reflective and justified application of conceptual, formal and stylistic approaches within the selected field.
The dissertation will be supervised by an academic supervisor, and the student will work under the guidance of a mentor at the host organization. Placements will normally require a maximum of 150 hours.
The placement will be assessed primarily on the basis of the written element by applying the normal criteria for analytical written work, whilst also considering the report supplied by the mentor from the host organization.
For a placement of 150 hours the written element will be 7,500 words. For shorter placements the written component will be more extensive (eg 12,500 words for a placement of 50 hours minimum).
With the dissertation, students will demonstrate learning outcomes (1)-(7).
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. AFACM0014).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
