6 ECTS credits
The consultations with the teachers about mentorship and the topic of the thesis may be started during the first semester of the master studies. Having finished with the consultations, and from the beginning of the second semester, a student may submit an application to the Academic Council of the School of Computing. The application is relevant to the choice of a mentor, the appointment of the committee for the evaluation of the thesis and the approval of the thesis title. The application is universal in nature, according to a sample available at the Student Services, and it contains a proposal for the title, a summary of the paper (up to 3000 characters) and the proposal for a mentor.
If the application is accepted, a student can start working on the final paper. This is supervised by a mentor, through consultations. The schedule of the consultations is determined by the mentor. The consultations have the following steps: (1) planning the methodology, (2) the discussion of relevant examples, (3) the criticism and correction of the outcome (in stages), (4) the preparation for the thesis defence.
The final paper should include copyright works from some of these areas: (1) computer animation, (2) multimedia design, (3) graphic media design, (4) sound design. The number of copyright works, aesthetic references, and models, procedures and solutions are suggested by the mentor. The final paper should have a printed version regardless of which field of design the copyright works belong to. The printed form, i.e. the graphic design of the final paper, in terms of composing visual and textual materials, leaf size and style, the volume (number of pages), and the type and thickness of the paper, is determined according to the specifics of the content and the suggestions given by the mentor. The title page should include the following: 1) Union University in Belgrade; 2) The School of Computing; 3) the Master’s Thesis (Master Academic Studies in Computer Design); 4) the title of the thesis with (possibly) a subtitle; 5) the name and surname of the mentor (with the academic title); 6) the name and surname of the student (as well as the index number); 7) the year of completing the paper.
The final paper should include a theoretical (written) explanation of at least 20,000 characters (typographic characters). The theoretical (written) explanation should be written in accordance with the methodology suggested by the mentor, and must include: 1) the title of the thesis with (possibly) a subtitle (which refers closer to the theme of work, models, methods and solutions); 2) the specification of aesthetic references (the theory of art, the theory in art or the theory of an artist) relevant to the topic; 3) the specification of poetic references (the explanation of models, methods and solutions); 4) the conclusion given as the discussion on the meaning of the paper (the critique of the paper outcome); 5) the list of the used literature (in alphabetical order).
Upon finishing the paper, and with the consent from the mentor, the student submits a request to the Student Services for scheduling the thesis defence, and hands in five copies. The request is standard, according to a sample available at the Student Services, and contains a tentative date for the defence. The Student Services can only schedule the thesis defence with the consent from the mentor and after the student passes all the other exams. Therefore, the final paper is the last exam, and passing it, a student completes the master academic studies in computer design.
The thesis defence is public. It is held before a committee consisting of three members. The committee consists of a mentor and two members. The defence begins with reading the student’s short biography and announcing the title of the topic the student presented in the specific field of design. The student then explains the paper and shows the copyright works, after which the committee asks questions (criticises the outcomes of the paper or initiates a discussion on the meaning of the paper), so that the student gives answers or further explanations. The student’s presentation, i.e. the explanation of the paper and the presentation of the copyright works should last up to 20 minutes. Posing questions and giving answers should last up to 20 minutes, and after that the committee withdraws and evaluates the paper, and then informs the student and the audience about the grade and provides comments. The evaluation and the announcement of the grade should last up to 5 minutes.
The committee evaluates the quality of theoretical (written) explanation of the paper, the quality of the copyright works, the quality of the graphic design and the quality of the presentation i.e. defence. The overall quality is expressed in numbers from 5 to 10, where the grade 5 means that the student has not passed. The evaluation is carried out by the agreement among the committee members, in accordance with the academic standards of The School of Computing, Union University in Belgrade.
