Lecture
In accordance with the Regulation on Educational-Qualification Levels (tiered education), approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on 20 January 1998 (No. 65), a master's degree is the educational-qualification level of a specialist who, on the basis of a bachelor's or specialist qualification, has acquired in-depth special skills and knowledge of an innovative nature, has a certain amount of experience in applying them and in reproducing new knowledge to solve problematic professional tasks in a particular branch of the national economy.
The educational-professional programme for training a master's degree ensures the simultaneous attainment of complete higher education in the specialty and a master's qualification, on the basis of the corresponding educational-professional programme for training a bachelor's degree. The standard period of study is determined by the programme but may not exceed one year. Only for certain specialties, by agreement with the Ministry of Education and Science, Youth and Sport, may a period of one and a half years be established.
A master's qualification may also be acquired on the basis of the corresponding educational-professional programme for training a specialist. In this case, the standard period of study is determined by an individual programme, taking into account the academic difference between the educational-professional programmes for a specialist and for a master, but may not exceed one year.
The above-mentioned educational-professional programme for training a master's degree includes in-depth fundamental, humanities, socio-economic, psychological, special and scientific-practical training.
A higher education institution implements educational-professional programmes for training masters in specialties of accreditation level 4.
Persons who have successfully passed the state attestation receive documents of the established form confirming the attainment of complete higher education in the specialty and a master's qualification.
A master's thesis is a final qualification work of scientific content that has internal unity and reflects the course and results of the development of the chosen topic.
The primary task of the author of a master's thesis is to demonstrate the level of his or her scientific qualification and the ability to conduct independent scientific inquiry and solve specific scientific tasks. A master's thesis is presented in a form that allows one to judge how fully and how well-grounded are the propositions, conclusions and recommendations it contains, and their novelty and significance. The totality of the results obtained in the work must demonstrate that its author possesses initial skills in scientific work in the chosen field of professional activity.
The purpose of a master's thesis:
systematisation and deepening of theoretical and practical knowledge, and formation of skills in using this knowledge when solving specific scientific, scientific-technical and professional tasks;
development of skills in independent research work and mastery of the methodology of theoretical, experimental and scientific-practical research;
acquisition of experience in analysing the results of research obtained, and in formulating conclusions and propositions;
acquisition of skills in writing and formatting a scientific work and gaining experience of its public defence.
A master's thesis possesses all the characteristics inherent in dissertation works, regardless of the academic degree its authors are seeking. A master's thesis, like a dissertation, possesses the following basic characteristics:
1. A master's thesis, within the system of science, performs a qualification function, i.e. it is prepared for the purpose of public defence in order to obtain the master's qualification. The main task of its author is to demonstrate the level of his or her scientific qualification and, above all, the ability to conduct independent scientific inquiry and solve specific scientific tasks.
2. In a master's thesis, the information obtained is recorded in the form of textual and illustrative material, in which the researcher arranges the accumulated scientific facts at his or her own discretion and demonstrates their scientific value or practical significance.
3. A master's thesis actively reflects both general scientific and special methods of scientific cognition, the legitimacy of whose use is comprehensively substantiated in each case of their application.
4. The content of a master's thesis is characterised by the originality and uniqueness of the information presented. The basis of the content is fundamentally new material, including a description of new factors, phenomena and regularities, or a generalisation of previously known propositions from other scientific standpoints or in an entirely different aspect.
5. The content, in its most systematised form, records both the initial premises of the scientific research and its entire course and the results obtained. A master's thesis does not merely describe scientific facts but provides a comprehensive analysis of them, discussing the available alternatives and the principles for choosing one of them.
6. A master's thesis has a specific form of presentation, characterised by a high degree of abstraction, as well as by the active use of mathematical apparatus, means of logical thinking, computer techniques and mathematical statistics.
7. The presentation of the material in a master's thesis is characterised by well-reasoned judgments and precision of the data presented, and its author includes in the text the entire symbolic apparatus at his or her disposal (tables, formulas, symbols, diagrams, charts, graphs and the like), i.e. everything that constitutes the “language of science”, which is understandable only to a specialist.
It is not customary in a master's thesis to give a sole personal assessment of the material presented. The norms of scientific communication strictly regulate the manner of presenting scientific information, requiring the avoidance of expressing one's own opinion in a pure form. It has now become an unwritten rule for the author of a work to speak in the plural, using the pronoun “we” instead of “I”, which allows him or her to present his or her opinion as the opinion of a particular group of people, a scientific school, or a scientific field. This is entirely justified, since modern science is characterised by such trends as integration, collective creativity and a comprehensive approach to solving problems.
Given that master's-level training is, in essence, the first step toward research and academic-teaching activity and subsequent preparation of a candidate's dissertation, a master's thesis still cannot be considered a scientific work in the full sense of the word, since a master's degree is not a scholarly degree but an academic one, reflecting above all the educational level of a higher-school graduate and demonstrating that its holder possesses the skills and abilities inherent in a novice researcher.
Unlike dissertations for the academic degree of candidate or doctor of sciences, which represent serious research works, a master's thesis, although it is an independent piece of scientific research, must nevertheless be classified as an educational-research work, based on the modelling of already known solutions. Carrying out such a work should not so much solve scientific problems as serve as evidence that its author has learned to conduct independent scientific inquiry, to see professional problems, and to know the most general methods and techniques for solving them.
Compared with candidate's and doctoral dissertations, a master's thesis has substantial differences in the very procedure of its preparation for defence (no extended abstract, official opponents, or large number of documents submitted to the specialised council are required).
A candidate for the master's degree is limited to submitting to the State Examination Commission only the master's thesis itself, a review from his or her research supervisor, a certificate confirming completion of the individual plan under the master's professional educational programme, and a reviewer's report.
These are the main differences between a master's thesis and a candidate's or doctoral dissertation. But although these differences are quite substantial, the general principles of their preparation are the same. Therefore, the further presentation of the material will cover the foundations of the science of science, the study of the general methodology of scientific creativity, and the procedure for formatting the results of scientific research.
Self-check questions
What is science?
What is the structure of the system of sciences?
Which institutions carry out the training of scientific and academic-teaching personnel in Ukraine?
Who carries out the attestation of scientific personnel in Ukraine?
What is postgraduate study?
What is a candidate's dissertation?
What is doctoral study?
What is a doctoral dissertation?
What is a master's thesis?
What are the main characteristics of a master's thesis?
What are the differences between a master's thesis and a candidate's dissertation?
What classification of academic specialties has been approved in Ukraine?
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