Master's Dissertation

Rules for submission and evaluation of the master's thesis (2023-2024)

The MA Thesis/Dissertation is a required part of the GEMMA Programme in order to get the MA degree. It should build on the knowledge and skills acquired throughout the programme, and show that the student is capable of original, independent research. It takes the form of a research dissertation or thesis, written individually, from a feminist/gender perspective, on a relevant subject chosen by the student and agreed
with the supervisor.

In order to have access to all the information regarding the MA Thesis/Dissertation you can check this document containing the rules for submission and evaluation of the master's thesis (pdf). Although you can find some guiedelines below in this webpage, we highly recommend students to read the document previously mentioned.

pencil, books, papers

MA Thesis/Dissertation Guidelines

Length

The length of the MA Thesis/Dissertation should be 20.000-30.000 words (for UNIBO 30.000- 40.000 words; for UU, at least 30.000 words)).

Subject

The topic should be agreed between the the main supervisor and the student and it should meet the following requirements:

Be relevant to Women’s and Gender Studies
Show an original insight into the chosen topic
Be clearly formulated, within an appropriate theoretical framework
Lead to relevant conclusions based on the chosen theoretical framework

Languages

The thesis/dissertation can be written in Spanish, Italian or English. The institution awarding the credits for the Master´s Thesis will decide upon the language in which the thesis should be written. Students may be required to prepare a translation of a summary (Index, Introduction, chapters and Conclusions) into the language of the partner institution prior to final submission. This will be communicated to individual students by their support supervisor.

Structure of the contents

Title / cover page
GEMMA Consortium Page
Abstract(s)
Acknowledgements (optional)
Table of contents
Introduction
Theoretical / Methodological / Literature review chapter
Core of the thesis (results / discussion), divided into relevant chapters and sub-sections.
Conclusions
References /Bibliography
Annex/es (optional, not included in the word count)

This is a tentative structure of the contents, the actual structure of the thesis/dissertation should be agreed between the main supervisor and the student.

Cover

Of the contents previously listed, the cover should contain the following information:

Title of the thesis/dissertation.
Name of the researcher.
Names of both (main and support) supervisors.
Name of the institution and department where the thesis/dissertation is to be submitted.
Year of submission.
Institutional logos where applicable: both partner universities, Erasmus Mundus and GEMMA (the student should check the corresponding local regulations regarding the institutional logos).

GEMMA Consortium Page

With respect to GEMMA Consortium Page, it should be inserted immediately after the title/cover page and should contain:

Contents as cover page
Approval signed by the main supervisor
Logos of all GEMMA partner universities

Abstract

Following the structure of the contents, the abstract should be written in two languages: that of the home and mobility institutions. The length of the abstract should be longer than 300 words.

Referencing

References should follow the rules of the institution awarding the credits (the institution of the main supervisor), as indicated by the supervisor and official guidelines.

Registration

Students need to register their thesis/dissertation with the Consortium by sending an email to both their home and mobility coordinators and GEMMA administrator (gemma@ugr.es) with a word document attachment. The document should be 1-2 pages including:

The dissertation/thesis title
Student name
Name of home and partner institutions (specifying where the thesis will be submitted)
The main and support supervisor’s names (always after having received the approval of both supervisors and of both Coordinators)
300 word abstract (written in the language in which the thesis will be submitted)
Expected date of her/his Master Thesis defence (when there are several Calls)

Supervision

The student will have to choose a main supervisor at the institution awarding the credits, with assistance of the local GEMMA coordination if necessary, taking into account the topic, staff expertise and availability, and student’s preferences in the final supervisor assignment. The other partner institution involved (home/mobility), via its local GEMMA coordination, will also help to choose a support supervisor.

Responsibilities of the Supervisors and of the Student

The Main Supervisor: The main responsibility for the supervision falls to the Main supervisor, who follows the rules for Masters dissertations/thesis at her/his/their institution. Supervisory communication with the student includes one preliminary planning (before the thesis is registered), and a minimum of two further supervisory meetings before the final submission of the thesis/dissertation.
Support Supervisor: The support supervisor will approve of the research plan, as emailed to them by the student, usually at the beginning of the fourth semester (before the thesis is registered), and final draft before the submission of the thesis. Local coordinators may act as liaison between main and support supervisors if needed.
The Student:
- It is the responsibility of the student to ensure they maintain regular and appropriate contact with their supervisors (main and support supervisors) to report on progress. Students should also be able to facilitate email communication between main and support supervisors as necessary. The student must send their final draft to the support supervisor 30 days prior to the date of evaluation of the final thesis (see the table in Appendix 1 for all submission dates) and should ensure they have proof of receipt of their final draft and also proof of receipt from both main and support supervisors of their final submitted thesis/dissertation.
- Students who don’t keep both their supervisors duly informed about the progress of their work or fail to send them their final drafts well in advance for them to properly read and assess them will not be allowed to submit their theses and may have to re-register for the new academic year and pay new tuition fees.

Submission and Assessment / Local rules and regulations

You can find information about the submission, assesment, local rules and regulation of the the MA Thesis/Dissertation in the following document containing the rules for submission and evaluation of the master's thesis (pdf). We highly recommend to read these and the rest of guidelines in this official document.

Open-access institutional Master's Theses repositories at the GEMMA universities

University of Granada

DIGIBUG: Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Granada

Complete list of Master's Thesis (pdf) presented at the University of Granada.

Successful Examples of our Graduates' Theses

Granada-Utrecht: “Ni Moras ni Cristianas: Género y Poder en la Fiesta de Moros y Cristianos de Alcoi” (2010), by Verónica Gisbert i Gracia Thesis (pdf)
Granada-Hull: “The Chinese Myth of the White Snake: A Feminist Cultural Analysis of the Interrelationship between the (Textual/Gendered) Body and the Narrative Trasnformation” (2009), by Xiang Zairong Thesis (pdf)
Granada-CEU: “How to have a Perfect Figure like Gwyneth. Critical Discourse Analysis of the Fitness Section Polki.pl Online Women's Portal” (2011), by Ewa Bozena Zajac Thesis (pdf)
Granada-Lodz: “La desobediencia sexual en el arte postpornográfico. Lucha política feminista contra la heteronormatividad patriarcal” (2012), by Helena Flores Navarro Thesis (pdf)
Granada-Bologna: “Intervenciones feministas en el cine documental. Conocimientos situados y (auto)representaciones de género en películas de Alina Marazzi y Maricarmen de Lara” (2013), by Orianna Aketzalli Calderón Thesis (pdf)