Postgraduate Course: Advanced Sustainable Design Dissertation (ARCH11043)

Course Outline
School	Edinburgh College of Art	College	College of Humanities and Social Science
Credit level (Normal year taken)	SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate)
Course type	Dissertation	Availability	Not available to visiting students
SCQF Credits	60	ECTS Credits	30
Summary	The principal intention of the Dissertation is to provide you with an opportunity to investigate an architectural topic to a greater extent, in written form, than has been possible so far in your Masters Programme. A dissertation is more than just a description of gathered research material. The best dissertations use this newly acquired knowledge of a topic as the basis for a critical understanding and the synthesis of a personal interpretation. The Dissertation also involves the skills of working within the realm of academic research methodology, the gathering of information and the development of ideas in a mature and independent manner, and presenting them in a well-written, properly annotated format. You can choose a dissertation topic within the overall field covered by this masters degree. You can base your research area on curriculum from the programme or from your own professional and academic contexts.
Course description	Not entered

Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites		Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations		Other requirements	None

Course Delivery Information

Academic year 2015/16, Not available to visiting students (SS1)		Quota: None
Course Start	Block 5 (Sem 2) and beyond
Timetable	Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info)	Total Hours: 600 ( Seminar/Tutorial Hours 6, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 12, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 582 )
Assessment (Further Info)	Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment)	As the project is mainly research-based, we look for a substantial text in the region of 13 000 to 15 000 words. If your research involves work in design and visual representation then the text can be more concise, but at no point should the length of any text be less than 9000 words. The dissertation submission addresses all the learning outcomes of the course.
Feedback	You will receive formative feedback at the following points: ż Preparation of the research question ż Submission of dissertation plan In addition, you can expect no less than four meeting and feedback sessions with your tutor.
No Exam Information

Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to: Display the ability to independently define and critically appraise the ideas and work of others in the context of sustainable theory, strategies and the built environment. Demonstrate an ability to define rigorous aims and objectives and deploy them in the formation of critical and reflective research activity. Show skill in the production of a substantial text that is well structured, written, referenced and illustrated.