MASTER OF ARTS - M.A. - OFFERED BY THE CENTRE FOR 
COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY DEGREE COURSE [ S.L.327.223 1
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 327.223
MASTER OF ARTS - M.A. - OFFERED BY THE 
CENTRE FOR COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY 
DEGREE COURSE REGULATIONS
11th October, 2002
LEGAL NOTICE 307 of 2002, as amended by Legal Notice 177 of 2003.
Citation and 
interpretation.
1. (1) The title of these regulations is the Master of Arts -
M.A. - offered by the Centre for Communication Technology
Degree Course Regulations.
(2) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires -
"the Board" means the Board of the Centre for Communication
Technology;
"the Centre" means the Centre for Communication Technology;
"the course" means the course leading to the Degree of Master of
Arts - M.A. - offered by the Centre for Communication
Technology; and
"the Degree" means the Degree of Master of Arts - M.A. -
offered by the Centre for Communication Technology.
Applicability.
Amended by:
L.N. 177 of 2003.
2. These regulations shall be applicable for courses starting in
October 2003 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 the
number of credits as indicated in regulation 9, 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.
Amended by:
L.N. 177 of 2003.
4. Subject to the conditions laid down in regulation 6, the
course shall be open to applicants in possession of one of the
following qualifications:
( a ) a Bachelor (Honours) degree with at least Second
Class Honours in an area of study deemed by the
Board relevant to that chosen for the course; or
( b ) a Bachelor of Arts degree with at least grade B in the
principal area of study, which shall be 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
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MASTER OF ARTS - M.A. - OFFERED BY THE CENTRE FOR 
COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY DEGREE COURSE
university which the Board considers comparable to
the degrees indicated in paragraphs ( a ) and ( b );
( d ) a degree or a relevant professional qualification
recognised for the purpose by the Board together with
a minimum of five years’ experience in the area of
study applied for and described in a portfolio that
applicants are required to submit with their
application; or
( e ) a diploma in a relevant area obtained prior to 2003 and
a minimum of eight years’ experience in the area of
study applied for and described in a portfolio that
applicants are required to submit with their
application.
Areas of study. 5. The Board shall offer the course in areas of study which
fall under the competence of the Centre. It shall announce the areas
of study and the mode of study in which they are offered before the
beginning of each course, after approval by Senate. The areas of
study offered depend on the availability of resources and the
number of students. Applicants shall be required to indicate their
choice at the time of application.
Other conditions.
Amended by:
L.N. 177 of 2003.
6. (1) Applicants eligible for registration under paragraph ( a )
or its equivalent under paragraph ( c ) of regulation 4 may be
required to satisfy any other conditions laid down by the Board
after taking into consideration the relation of their previous studies
to the proposed area of study in the course and after examining the
applicants’ portfolio of experience.
(2) Applicants eligible for registration under regulation 4( d )
and ( e ) shall be required to satisfy any other conditions laid down
by the Board (including following the preparatory course under
subregulation (3)), after taking into consideration the relation of
their previous studies to the proposed area of study in the course
and after examining the applicants’ portfolio of experience.
(3) In addition to satisfying any other special conditions laid
down by the Board, applicants eligible for registration under
paragraph ( b ) or its equivalent under paragraph ( c ) of regulation 4
shall be required to follow a preparatory course. The preparatory
course extends over one year of full-time studies, at the end of
which students shall be required to pass a qualifying examination at
the standard of at least Second Class Honours. This examination
shall normally be similar to all or part of the final examination of
the Bachelor of Communications (Honours) course.
Preparatory course. 7. (1) During the preparatory course, students shall be
required to register for study-units to which not less than twenty
and not more than thirty credits are assigned.
(2) At the end of the preparatory course, students shall be
required to sit for a final examination, which shall consist of two
three-hour papers.
(3) The result shall take into account the students’
performance in the study-units and in the final examination,
MASTER OF ARTS - M.A. - OFFERED BY THE CENTRE FOR 
COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY DEGREE COURSE [ S.L.327.223 3
according to the following weighting:
Study-units 40%
Final Examination 60%.
(4) The result shall be published in a list in alphabetical order
showing the names of students who passed at the standard of at
least Bachelor of Communications (Honours) Second Class.
Registration for the 
course.
8. 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.
Course structure.
study:
( a ) taught mode of study, consisting of study-units, to
which twenty-six credits are assigned and a  practicum
to which four credits are assigned; or
( b ) taught and research mode of study, consisting of
study-units, to which sixteen credits arc assigned, a
practicum  to which four credits arc assigned, and a
dissertation or project work, to which ten credits are
assigned,
as approved by the Board.
Course duration.
time study or their 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.
11. The Board shall draw up a programme of studies for the
course. The catalogue shall indicate the code, title, description and
type of each study-unit, the credits assigned to each study-unit,
which study-units arc compulsory, concurrent or pre-requisites for
other study-units and the methods of teaching and assessment. The
catalogue shall be approved by Senate, on the recommendation of
the Board, and shall be published before the beginning of each
course.
Progress and 
assessment.
12. (1) Study-units shall be assessed 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. A failure shall be
indicated with an "F". Incomplete work due to justifiable reasons
(illness, approved absence, etc.) shall be indicated with an "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 shall
normally have the same mode of assessment as the corresponding
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MASTER OF ARTS - M.A. - OFFERED BY THE CENTRE FOR 
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first assessment. A supplementary assessment shall be held in a
scheduled examination session (normally in September). 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) 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.
Practicum . 13. A  practicum  is a work experience designed to complement
and enhance a student’s academic study with actual workplace
practice. Assessment will be undertaken by a member of the
academic staff after consultation with the assigned workplace
supervisor. Assessment criteria will cover both practical relevance
and academic rigour.
Dissertation. 14. (1) Students registering for a course where a dissertation
is required, 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. 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 Centre as regards language
and literary presentation.
(3) The dissertation shall he between 15,000 and þ0,000 words
in length.
(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 regularly, as required by their
supervisor. 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) The dissertation shall include a declaration signed by the
students that it is their own original work.
(7) Students shall be required to take a  viva voce  examination
MASTER OF ARTS - M.A. - OFFERED BY THE CENTRE FOR 
COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY DEGREE COURSE [ S.L.327.223 5
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.
Unsatisfactory 
dissertation.
15. Students whose dissertation is found unsatisfactory may be
allowed by the Board, on the recommendation of the Board of
Examiners, to re-submit it in a revised form, within a period of up
to six months from the day on which it is referred back to them.
Examination of 
dissertation.
16. 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.
Specifications of 
dissertation.
17. Dissertations shall meet the following specifications:
( a ) Paper size: International Standard Size A4 (29.7 cm x
21 cm);
( 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 ) Format: 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 one in the library of the
Centre; 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. For example, "A
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MASTER OF ARTS - M.A. - OFFERED BY THE CENTRE FOR 
COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY DEGREE COURSE
dissertation presented in the Centre for
Communication Technology in the University of Malta
for the degree of Master of Arts (name of subject),
followed by month and year of submission.
Final result. 18. (1) The final result will take into consideration all
components of the course which shall be weighted according to the
number of credits and levels assigned to each. The weighting shall
be indicated in the catalogue published before the commencement
of each course.
(2) 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.
