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Master’s Degree Final Project: Characteristics and Evaluation

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The Master’s degree final project can take the form of:

  • an original, experimental research project or,
  • a systematic literature review,

related to the Master’s degree. The TFM is required by each student and is worth 15 credits (ECTS).

 

TFM SUPERVISOR ASSIGNMENT

Each student must select one of the topics from the list of research topics and supervisors. They must contact one of the supervisors assigned to the chosen topic and inquire after the possibility of tutorship. Students may also choose a topic or supervisor (PhD) that is not on the list.

Students can have up to 3 PhD supervisors for varying academic reasons or for multidisciplinary topics. At least one supervisor must be a professor in the Department of Physiology.

The TFM may also be conducted at an institution, entity or business outside of the Universitat de València, in which case the student should have an additional external co-supervisor. The external supervisor must collaborate with the academic supervisor from the Department of Physiology to define the contents of the TFM and its development.

All supervisors must sign a written agreement to advise and guide the students in their projects (Supervisor Agreement).

Supervisors who have not previously overseen a TFM in Physiology must fill in the following form and attach a copy of their PhD certificate: TFM Supervisor Form and Required Documents

 

FORMAT

  • The project must be written in Spanish, Valencian or English. The presentation or PowerPoint must be in Spanish or Valencian.
  • The project, from the Introduction to the Conclusion, must not exceed 30 pages.
  • Page dimensions: 17cm x 24cm
  • Line spacing: 1.5
  • Font and size: Times New Roman or similar; 12pt
  • On the cover page:
    • Universitat de València and university coat of arms
    • Departament de Fisiologia
    • Trabajo de fin de máster.
    • Máster en Fisiología.
    • Project title
    • Student’s full name
    • Name of the supervisor(s)
    • Date of submission
  • The project must include the Certificate of Coordination, signed by the official coordinators of the Master.

 

SECTIONS TO BE INCLUDED

FOR ORIGINAL, EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH PROJECTS:

  • Cover page
  • Coordination certificate
  • Acknowledgements
  • Abstract: A brief summary of the project, including a concise delineation of the primary objectives, methodology, primary results and conclusions.
  • List of abbreviations and acronyms, figures and/or table, if necessary.
  • Index
  • Introduction: It must be original and customised for each student.
  • Hypothesis and objectives: They should be as specific as possible.
  • Material and methods: If the experiment involves research using animals or humans, approval from the Ethics Committee must be obtained. This section will detail the material and the method(s) used. If the methods are not original, the original authors must be cited and a brief description should be included. This section must also include the statistical method used. It must also state that a favourable review of the project has been received, which is to be attached as an annex.
  • Results: In order to determine the method’s viability, the results must be presented as clearly as possible, using tables and or/graphs and including the corresponding error handling procedure. The results must correspond to the objectives.
  • Discussion: The results obtained are to be discussed and interpreted. They must also be compared with those reported by other authors, commenting on any differences. The limitations of the study must also be mentioned, as well as possible ways to improve the methods or further the lines of research.
  • Conclusions: This section should be concise, specific and correspond to the established objectives.
  • Bibliography and references: Only references that were consulted and used in the project should be listed. The corresponding citations should be included throughout.
  • Appendices and annexes: If necessary.

FOR SYSTEMATIC LITERARY REVIEWS:

  • Cover page
  • Coordination certificate
  • Acknowledgements
  • Abstract: A brief summary of the project, including a concise delineation of the primary objectives, methodology, primary results and conclusions.
  • List of abbreviations and acronyms, figures and/or table, if necessary.
  • Index
  • Introduction: This section should state the topic and justify the need and interest for the review.
  • Hypothesis (if applicable) and objectives: The Research question should be specific and concrete, not general (PICO: Participants, Interventions, Comparisons and Results)
  • Material and methods: The project should comply with the criteria listed in the guide for writing systematic literature reviews, including: criteria for inclusion and exclusion, research strategy (publication period, source information, key words), bias, and variables.
  • Results: This section should include a flowchart of the information found, as well as a table containing the final articles and all important data including the analysed aspects of each. Use sub-sections as necessary and include the specific input provided by the review, a qualitative synthesis and possible limitations of the study.
  • Discussion: The results obtained are to be discussed and interpreted, commenting on the main findings and differences between the various studies, including any possible limitations of the study.
  • Conclusions: The conclusions should directly respond to the research question.
  • Bibliography and references: Only references that were consulted and used in the project should be listed. The corresponding citations should be included throughout.
  • Appendices and annexes: If necessary.

Projects must follow the Regulations for the development of Master’s degree final projects of the Universitat de València.

 

EVALUATION

WRITTEN PROJECT EVALUATION: The project will be assessedby the following attributes: the topic and scientific argument; the correct and complete description of contents; the presentation and discussion of the obtained results and their validity; the statistical analysis, if applicable; the academic rigor; the structure and presentation of the written project and its use of adequate academic language.
Assessment: 7 out of 10 points.

ORAL PRESENATION EVALUATION: The student must give a 10-minute, oral presentation of their research project. Following the presentation, the evaluation panel will ask the student questions. The presentation and question segment will be conducted in Spanish. The presentation portion will be assessed on: the clarity of the presentation; adequate distribution of time dedicated to the presentation of the topic and explanation of the results and conclusion; the correct use of language; the visual presentation component; the scientific knowledge on the topic; the precision of responses to the questions asked by the panel.
Assessment: 3 out of 10 points.

To pass, the student must achieve a combined assessment score of at least 5 out of 10.