Required in stage
Optional in stage
First term
Both terms
Not organised
This year
Next year
Alternating years
External
Prerequisites
Identical coursesThesis Research Project Water Resources Engineering (B-KUL-I0S76A)
English
Second term
Cannot be taken as part of an examination contractCannot be taken as part of a credit contract
Toorman Erik (coordinator) | N. Aims
The main goal of the thesis project is to give the students an initiation in the conduction of a small-size research project. During the thesis research, students conduct an extensive review of related literature, collect data, analyze and interpret data, and summarize the objectives, methods, materials, results and discussions into a dissertation.
The aim is that students (can):
- plan and execute target oriented data collection (or model simulations if applicable) independently, and critically evaluate the results,
- demonstrate critical consideration of and reflection on theories, models or interpretations related to their thesis research,
- present their research to their peers, both in written and oral form, and
- relate their research to wider challenges faced by society and interact with other relevant science domains that are needed to develop sustainable solutions.
Students are able to choose from an extensive list of topics related to fields of expertise covered by the lecturing staff and the researchers associated to the research units supporting the master programme. Students can also choose a research topic related to problems in their home country.
Previous knowledge
Knowledge in water resources engineering obtained through successful completion of the first phase of the Master Water in Resources Engineering, and through the courses taken during the second phase.
Order of Enrolment
Mixed prerequisite:
You may only take this course if you comply with the prerequisites. Prerequisites can be strict or flexible, or can imply simultaneity. A degree level can be also be a prerequisite.
Explanation:
STRICT: You may only take this course if you have passed or applied tolerance for the courses for which this condition is set.
FLEXIBLE: You may only take this course if you have previously taken the courses for which this condition is set.
SIMULTANEOUS: You may only take this course if you also take the courses for which this condition is set (or have taken them previously).
DEGREE: You may only take this course if you have obtained this degree level.
FLEXIBLE(I0D18B) AND FLEXIBLE(I0D32B) AND FLEXIBLE(I0D15B) AND FLEXIBLE(I0A99B) AND FLEXIBLE(I0W00B) AND FLEXIBLE(I0D13B) AND FLEXIBLE(I0D17B) AND (FLEXIBLE(I0D14C) OR FLEXIBLE(I0J63A)) AND FLEXIBLE(I0V89A) AND FLEXIBLE(I0V93A) AND FLEXIBLE(I0I60A) AND SIMULTANEOUS(I0S78A)
The codes of the course units mentioned above correspond to the following course descriptions:
I0D18B : Groundwater Hydrology
I0D32B : Surface Water Hydrology
I0D15B : Aquatic Ecology (No longer offered this academic year)
I0A99B : Advanced Mathematics for Water Engineering
I0W00B : Environmental Programming
I0D13B : Stochastic Hydrology
I0D17B : Hydraulics
I0D14C : Irrigation Agronomy (No longer offered this academic year)
I0J63A : Agricultural Water Management
I0V89A : Waste Water Treatment and Resource Recovery
I0V93A : Water Quality Assessment
I0I60A : Setting Up a Research Project
I0S78A : Research Methods for Data Collection and Processing
Is included in these courses of study
Activities
20 ects. Thesis Research Project Water Resources Engineering (B-KUL-I0S76a)
EnglishFormat: Master's thesisSecond termN. Content
The Master degree thesis project is conducted under the supervision of a promoter, and normally is related to ongoing Water Resources Engineering research within the research unit the promoter/advisor is affiliated.
Course material
Instructions on how to write the dissertation are available on the following website: www.iupware.be.
Evaluation
Evaluation: Thesis Research Project Water Resources Engineering (B-KUL-I2S76a)
Explanation
Evaluation is on the basis of the dissertation (written thesis document) and its presentation and oral defense during the examination period.
Guidelines for the master thesis are given at www.iupware.be.
During the thesis defense, students present their thesis research in 20 minutes, after which jury members ask questions about the research.
All jury members will evaluate:
- Content of the thesis manuscript.
- Form of the manuscript
- Presentation and defense
The promoter(s) and supervisor(s) will also evaluate:
- Process of the thesis research
The jury members use the following criteria to grade the thesis research, the thesis manuscript and the way it is defended:
- 9/20 and less: the thesis has serious shortcomings. The candidate lacks motivation and dedication. The text is poorly written and edited.
- 10 and 11/20: weak thesis, but no serious shortcomings. The content of the thesis might be too superficial, the text contains errors and the references to literature are poor.
- 12 and 13/20: moderate thesis. The thesis is not based on a thorough literature review, methods and data analysis are not adequate or are insufficiently developed. Conclusions are weak to moderate.
- 14 and 15/20: good thesis. The research is based on clear objectives/hypotheses, the used methods are appropriate, data analysis is correct, and appropriate reference is made to literature in the different sections of the dissertation.
- 16 and 17/20: very good thesis. The dissertation contains a thorough technical/scientific analysis and/or design. The work is innovative and well written.
- 18/20 and more: excellent thesis. The thesis ranks within the top 5% of theses. The technical/scientific solutions and design prove that the student is very innovative and able to handle the analysis and design in a masterly way. The dissertation is excellently written.