DEFINITION OF THE ACADEMIC PATH AND SPECIFIC COURSEWORK

The University of First Enrolment is defined during the selection procedure by the Scientific Committee taking into account the students’ background and preferences.

According to the programme structure, all students will have UMinho as their University of Second Enrolment in order to attend the Common Branch Modules (CBM).

 

From the 4 CBM modules offered, students should enrol in 3 of them. “Constitutive Modelling and Computational Rheology” is a compulsory module and the scope of freedom for the choice of the remaining 2 CBM modules might be conditioned to the study programme followed at the University of First Enrolment.

 

During the first year, the Consortium will ask the students about their preferred Host Universities to carry out the ATMs and R&TD thesis/dissertation. The students will identify 2/3 options related to their research interests and justify briefly the reasons behind their choices. The Consortium will decide on the exact University of Third Enrolment.

 

From the ATM modules offered, students should enrol in 3 of them.

 

TEACHING METHODOLOGIES

The master's degree programme has the duration of 2 years/120 ECTS credits, comprising the attendance of courses and the presentation of an original dissertation.

 

During the 1st year the students will follow the EURHEO programme offered by each Partner University. Local calendar and teaching methodologies apply. Students should be enrolled in at least 60 ECTS credits.

 

The CBM should ideally start in the first week of September although the exact calendar and teaching distribution shall be defined/validated annually, during the Scientific Committee meeting. Students enrol in 3 out of 4 modules, of which 1 is compulsory, totalling 15 ECTS credits.

 

ATM modules will run between December until the end of April (including evaluation) and students perform them on a part-time basis together with the thesis through distance learning. The e-learning platform of UMinho will be used for this purpose.

 

In the CBM a 90% compulsory attendance rate is required. The absenteeism might imply as penalty the automatic failure in the unit where the student is considered as absentee and consequently, the failure in the Master's degree. Additionally, for students receiving either an Erasmus Mundus Scholarship or a Consortium Scholarship, the absenteeism implies the termination of any of the Scholarships and the suspension of Erasmus Mundus Insurance Scheme. Exceptional cases, namely related to illness, injury or visa problems are treated on an individual basis.

 

ASSESSMENT/EVALUATION

In the 1st year, local calendar of examinations and assessment methodologies apply. Reseats (failures and marks upgrade) must be handled according to the rules of the local university as long as the final results are available until the end of July.

48 ECTS credits is the minimum requirement for students to be allowed to continue to the second year of studies. Students are allowed to perform the missing ECTS credits during their stay at the University of Third Enrolment, under the following conditions:

  • If it is a compulsory course unit and the host university also offers it, students should take it there;

  • If it is a compulsory course unit not offered at the University of Third Enrolment, a distance evaluation method should be arranged;

  • If it is an optional course unit, the student can propose to replace it by another.

Students not completing the minimum 48 ECTS credits in the first year of studies will have their contract terminated by the consortium and, if applicable, the Erasmus Mundus Insurance Scheme suspended. Exceptional cases are treated on an individual basis.

 

The coordinator of each CBM module will determine the assessment methodologies to be applied. There will be one single examination period in the last week of November.

 

The coordinator of each ATM module will determine the assessment methodologies to be applied. Examinations must be due until the end of April.

A General Re-sit Examination Period will be set in the first 2 weeks of May for CBMs, ATMs and 1st year course units left behind. It shall be deemed as not passed after expiration of this period.

 

Complaints concerning exams classifications and/or individual group student work grades will be addressed and discussed with the corresponding lecturer. Students not satisfied with lecture’s explanation must address and deliver the complaints to the local coordinator within 5 working days from the acknowledgment of the grades. The time limit given for the review and decision on each complaint is 5 working days. If the complaint is not solved by the local coordinator, the student can address the situation to the Consortium Coordinator. The decision on each appeal will be communicated to the student by the Local Coordinator. Unfounded and/or delayed complaints and appeals will be promptly rejected.

 

Students will not be allowed to submit the Thesis until they have successfully passed a total of 90 ECTS credits beforehand. Exceptional cases are treated on an individual basis.

 

Apart from the respective national grading scales, the ECTS grading system will be used by all institutions within the consortium, in order to facilitate the understanding and comparison of grades given according to different national systems and national and institutional grading cultures.

 

The thesis is defended at the University of Third Enrolment according to the local rules. The Juri should be composed of at least 3 members validated by the consortium, abiding by the local rules to the maximum extent possible. One member from the University of First Enrolment will provide a written report on the students activities in the first year. The result of the defense will be automatically recognized by the Universities of First and Second Enrolment.

 

The thesis must be written in English. A summary of the dissertation should be provided in the national language of the University of Third Enrolment, in case national regulations require it. Students will receive help for the necessary translations by their supervisor.

 

Students should make clear reference in the thesis that it was part of the Erasmus Mundus Programme and should also mention their complete mobility path.