MASTER OF ARTS - M.A. - DEGREE COURSE [ S.L.327.175 1
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 327.175
MASTER OF ARTS - M.A. - DEGREE COURSE 
REGULATIONS
3rd September, 1999
LEGAL NOTICE 152 of 1999, as amended by Legal Notice 302 of 2002.
Citation and 
interpretation.
1. (1) The title of these regulations is the Master of Arts -
M.A. - Degree Course Regulations.
(2) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:
"the Board" means the Board of the Faculty of Arts;
"the course" means the course of studies leading to the Degree of
Master of Arts - M.A.;
"the Degree" means the Degree of Master of Arts - M.A.; and
"the Faculty" means the Faculty of Arts.
Applicability.
Amended by:
L.N. 302 of 2002.
2. These regulations shall apply to courses starting in October
2002 or later.
Eligibility for the 
Degree.
3. To be eligible for the award of the Degree, students must:
( a ) be registered as regular students in terms of the
Admission Regulations of the University and satisfy
the Admission Requirements laid down in regulation
4;
( b ) complete the appropriate course of studies, obtain all
the required credits, be approved in the dissertation
and satisfy any other requirements prescribed in these
regulations; and
( c ) satisfy any other requirements prescribed in any other
relevant statutes, regulations and bye-laws of the
University.
Admission 
requirements.
4. Subject to the conditions laid down in regulation 5, the
course shall be open to applicants in possession of one of the
following qualifications:
( a ) the degree of Bachelor of Arts (Honours) - B.A.
(Hons) - with First Class Honours or Second Class
Honours in a relevant area of study; or
( b ) the degree of Bachelor of Arts - B.A. - with at least
Grade B in the same principal area of study as that
chosen for the course or in an area of study deemed by
the Board relevant to that chosen for the course; or
( c ) a degree from the University of Malta or another
university which the Board considers as comparable to
any of the degrees indicated in paragraphs ( a ) and ( b )
of this regulation.
Preparatory course.
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( c ) shall be required, in addition to satisfying any other special
conditions laid down by the Board, to follow a preparatory course
which extends over one year of full-time study or its equivalent in
part-time study and to pass a qualifying examination at the standard
of at least Second Class Honours. The qualifying examination shall
normally be similar to all or part of the synoptic examination for
the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) course in the area of study
concerned.
(2) During the preparatory course students shall be required to
register for a number of study-units for which a total of not less
than twenty and not more than twenty-five credits are assigned. At
the discretion of the department concerned, the required number of
credits may include a dissertation to which seven credits shall be
assigned.
(3) At the end of the preparatory course, students shall be
required to sit for a synoptic examination which shall consist of
two three-hour papers.
(4) The final result shall take into account the students’
performance in the study-units and in the synoptic examination
according to the following weighting:
Study-units 50%
Synoptic examination 50%.
(5) The final result of all students shall be published in a list in
alphabetical order showing the names of students who passed or
failed.
Registration for the 
course.
Substituted by:
L.N. 302 of 2002.
6. (1) Applicants wishing to register for the course or for the
preparatory course shall apply on the prescribed form and within
the time specified by the Office of the Registrar. Applications for
the course shall include the following:
( a ) the proposed title of the dissertation;
( b ) a detailed research proposal, normally of
approximately 500 words;
( c ) a statement on whether the studies will be undertaken
on a full-time or a part-time basis, and, in the latter
case, the number of hours that will be dedicated to this
research work; and
( d ) the name of a member of staff of the University who
has agreed to act as supervisor after the applicant has
consulted the head of department.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of regulation 4, the
application shall only be accepted if the Board, on the
recommendation of the head of department or the division co-
ordinator, after consultation with the members of the department or
the Board of Studies, is satisfied that the topic of research is
acceptable, and that the student is in a position to pursue
postgraduate studies for the proposed line of study and research.
Course structure. 7. (1) The course shall be offered in areas of study where the
Faculty can provide expert guidance and supervision. The Board
MASTER OF ARTS - M.A. - DEGREE COURSE [ S.L.327.175 3
shall indicate which areas of study may be taken by research only
and which by research and taught study-units before the
commencement of each course. It shall also indicate the areas of
study offered in the full-time and part-time courses.
(2) The course shall consist of components to which not less
than 30 credits shall be assigned. The components shall be:
( a ) research and the writing of a dissertation to which 28
credits are assigned, and study-units to which 2 credits
are assigned; or
( b ) a number of taught study-units to which not less than
16 credits are assigned, and research and the writing of
a dissertation to which not less than 14 credits are
assigned.
Course duration.
twelve months and not more than eighteen months of full-time
study or its equivalent in part-time study.
(2) The Board may allow students to extend their studies by
not more than six months.
(3) All students, whether full-time or part-time, shall be
required to register at the beginning of each academic year.
Catalogue of 
study-units.
9. The Board shall draw up a programme of studies for the
course and shall publish a catalogue of study-units. The catalogue
shall indicate the code, title, description and type of each study-
unit, the credits assigned to each study-unit, which study-units are
compulsory, concurrent or prerequisites for other study-units, and
the methods of teaching and assessment. The Board shall publish
the catalogue for the course prior to its commencement, following
the approval of Senate.
Progress and 
assessment.
10. (1) Study-units shall be assessed through coursework and
examinations held at the end of the semester in which they were
held.
(2) Credits shall be assigned according to the following grades
in descending order of merit: A, B, C, and D. Failure shall be
indicated by F. Incomplete work due to justifiable reasons (illness,
approved absence, etc.) shall be indicated by I. In all other cases
the results of uncompleted study-units shall be indicated as F. The
grades awarded shall take into account the students’ performance in
one or more of the following elements, as deemed appropriate by
the Board: coursework, fieldwork, research, and practical, written
and/or oral assessments.
(3) Students who fail in any study-unit shall be allowed a
supplementary assessment. Such a supplementary assessment
should normally have the same mode of assessment as the
corresponding first assessment. A supplementary assessment of a
study-unit shall be held at the next scheduled examination session
(May or September) as the case may be. In the case of assignments,
the supplementary assessment shall be made by arrangement with
the lecturer concerned. In the supplementary assessment, the
maximum grade that may be awarded shall be grade D.
4 [ S.L.327.175 MASTER OF ARTS - M.A. - DEGREE COURSE
(4) If unsuccessful in the supplementary assessment, students
may not continue the course, except in special circumstances and
with the permission of Senate.
(5) Students shall not be allowed to be re-assessed for a study-
unit if they have already been awarded credit/s for it.
Dissertation. 11. (1) Students registering for the taught course shall submit
the title and a research proposal for the dissertation for the approval
of the Board within four months of their registration for the course.
Students registering for the course by research shall submit the title
and a research proposal on registration. In both cases, the research
proposal should be as detailed as possible to enable the Board to
properly assess its suitability.
(2) Dissertations shall be either a record of original work or an
ordered and critical expression of existing data with regard to a
particular subject, and must satisfy the Department concerned as
regards language and literary presentation.
(3) The Board shall establish the length of the dissertation in
each area of study in proportion to the number of credits assigned
to it.
(4) No dissertation shall be accepted which is identical in
substance to a dissertation already submitted for a degree in the
University of Malta or any other university. However, students
shall not be precluded from incorporating such previous
dissertation work as may be necessary to the presentation and fuller
understanding of their exposition, provided that the nature and
extent of such incorporation are clearly indicated in the dissertation
itself.
(5) The Board shall appoint a supervisor for each student.
Students shall be required to report to their supervisors at least
once every two months and, in addition, as often as the supervisors
deem necessary. Supervisors may refer to the Board students whose
work they consider unsatisfactory and shall refer for the approval
of the Board any substantial modification in the title or content of
the dissertation. No dissertation may be submitted to the Board of
Examiners without a certificate, signed by the supervisor,
confirming the work’s originality and conformity with these
regulations.
(6) Students shall be required to take a  viva voce  examination
on their dissertation and on the general field of knowledge within
which it falls. The external examiner need not be present for the
viva voce  examination.
Re-submission of 
dissertation.
12. Students whose dissertation is found unsatisfactory may be
allowed by the Board, on the recommendation of the Board of
Examiners, to resubmit it in a revised form within a period of not
less than six and not more than eighteen months from the day on
which it is referred back to them.
Format and 
presentation.
13. (1) Dissertations shall meet the following specifications:
( a ) Paper size: International Standard Size A4 (29.7 cm x
21 cm);
MASTER OF ARTS - M.A. - DEGREE COURSE [ S.L.327.175 5
( b ) Typing: Double spacing for the main text. Single
spacing for footnotes. Single spacing may also be used
for long quotations in the main text. Left-hand margin
of 3.5 cm. Top and right-hand margin of 1.5 cm. A top
margin of 5 cm to be left on the first page of every
division, i.e. chapters, bibliography, etc. Footnote/s
should appear at the bottom of the relevant page or
after every chapter;
( c ) Pagination: The main text, including the introduction
(if any), the bibliography and any appendices of the
dissertation shall have Arabic numerals; the title page,
dedication (if any), preface, acknowledgements, table
of contents, etc. preceding the main text, shall have
Roman numerals;
( d ) Binding: Three unbound copies of the dissertation
shall be submitted. After a successful defence, two
copies of the dissertation as approved by the Board of
Examiners, shall be sewn and bound as follows:
in cloth (preferably black) with stiff boards and good
quality end papers; with lettering (preferably in gold)
on the front and spine showing:
(i) the name of the student;
(ii) the title or short title of the dissertation;
(iii) the degree for which the dissertation is
submitted; and 
(iv) the year of submission.
Maps, diagrams, graphs, printed material, etc. should
be bound with the dissertation, but if this is not
possible they should be presented separately in special
folders or volumes and numbered.
( e ) One bound copy of the dissertation shall be deposited
in the University Library and the second bound copy
shall be deposited in the Department concerned; and
( f ) Layout of title page: Title of dissertation and subtitle
(if any) followed by the name of the student, the
subject, and the date of submission, e.g. "A
dissertation presented to the Faculty of Arts in the
University of Malta for the degree of Master of Arts in
(name of subject e.g. History)", followed by month
and year of submission.
(2) The dissertation shall include a declaration signed by the
students that the work is their own original work.
Boards of 
Examiners.
14. Each dissertation shall be examined by a Board of
Examiners composed of at least three members, one of whom shall
normally be an external examiner from another university. The
Board of Examiners for any written papers may be other than those
for the dissertation itself.
Final result.
research shall take into account the merits of their dissertation.
6 [ S.L.327.175 MASTER OF ARTS - M.A. - DEGREE COURSE
(2) The final result of students following the course by taught
study-units and research shall take into account all components of
the course which shall be weighted according to the number of
credits assigned to each component.
(3) The names of students who qualify for the award of the
Degree shall be published in a list in alphabetical order classified
as follows:
Passed with Distinction
Passed.
