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Bachelor's thesis

The curricula leading to the award of an official bachelor's degree conclude with the completion, submission and public defence of a bachelor's thesis. The thesis is compulsory and involves the completion of a comprehensive project that synthesises the knowledge acquired during bachelor’s degree studies. Bachelor’s theses are completed individually and defended before a university examination committee.

Types

TYPE A
Theses completed, submitted and defended at the ETSEIB under the supervision of an academic staff member assigned by the School.

TYPE B
Theses completed at a company, institution or research centre and overseen by an external supervisor who holds a university degree (Spanish or foreign). In this case, an academic staff member must be assigned at the School to act as a tutor.

TYPE D
Treball de Fi de Grau fet a l'empresa sense la supervisió d'una altra universitat. Aquest estuants hauran d'estar sota el marc dels programes de pràctiques en mobilitat. La modalitat a escollir alhora de fer el registre a l'Escola es la modalitat B.


Procedure for Type A and Type B

TYPE C
Theses completed at another university with which the School has signed an agreement that provides for the completion of bachelor's theses within the framework of mobility programmes, under the supervision of a member of the foreign university’s academic staff. Theses of this type are submitted and defended at the host university.


Procedure for Type C

PROCEDURE FOR TYPE A AND TYPE B BACHELOR'S THESES

The completion of bachelor's theses is regulated by legislation in force and by the academic regulations of the UPC and the ETSEIB. Each academic year, the School publishes a bachelor's thesis calendar with the deadlines for each step in the procedure.

Theses must follow the template that the School makes available to students.

For further information, see the related documents section and the next procedure.

Topic

Students must find a topic for their bachelor's thesis. Broadly speaking, there are two ways to do this:

  • Review the bachelor's thesis topics proposed by the School, which can ve found on the ETSEIB's bachelor's/master's thesis intranet. Choose one and talk to a member of the ETSEIB's academic staff to agree this point before starting to work on your thesis.
  • Propose a topic of your own and contact the ETSEIB professor who will act as your thesis supervisor. If your bachelor's thesis i to be completed at a company, you will need to agree the topic with a member of the School's academic staff who will act as a tutor. 

 

Registration

  • Once the topic has been agreed with the professor involved, students must register their thesis via the e-secretaria. Students may register their thesis when they have 90 credits remaining to complete their degree (including credits that can be compensated and eighth semester credits). Registration is required to enrol for the bachelor's thesis.
  • Thesis registration must be approved by the student’s supervisor or the tutor via the e-secretaria. Up until the point when the thesis registration is approved by the thesis supervisor or tutor, the student may make changes via the e-Secretaria. Once the registration has been approved, the thesis supervisor or tutor must inform the Student Information and Support Service (SIAE) of any changes.

 

Enrolment

  • Students may enrol for the bachelor’s thesis when they have a maximum of 60 ECTS credits remaining to complete their bachelor's degree (including credits for the thesis and for subjects that can be compensated).
  • When a student’s thesis has been registered and the thesis supervisor or tutor has approved the registration, they can enrol for the thesis in a generic group. In this case, students may enrol for their thesis during the ordinary enrolment period in each semester (or, at the latest, during the period for changes indicated in the procedure calendar) by submitting an application via the e-secretaria support service.

Extended enrolment

  • Pursuant to the Academic Regulations for Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees at the UPC in effect, when a bachelor’s thesis is not deposited in the semester in which the student enrolled for it, the student may choose whether to request extended enrolment for the following semester or complete the ordinary enrolment procedure in the following semester or a subsequent onet.
  • Extended enrolment must be requested via the Demana support service. For extended enrolment, students are only required to pay the fee for administrative services. Theses must be deposited by the deadline specified in the extended enrolment calendar (see calendar).

Students who intend to undertake a master's degree in the following semester are recommended to deposit and defend their bachelor's thesis in the semester in which they enrolled for it.

If the thesis topic changes, extended enrolment may not be requested

 

Partial assessment

  • At the midpoint of the semester (if a thesis is submitted for the ordinary session), the thesis supervisor or tutor must give an assessment of the work the student has done up to that point (in relation to the objectives set) on the bachelor's/marter's thesis intranet.
  • Alternatively, if a thesis is submitted for the extension session, at the end of the semester, the thesis supervisor or tutor must give an assessment of the student’s work on the bachelor's/master's thesis intranet.
  • The period for partial assessment is indicated on the bachelor's thesis calendar.

  

Deposit and approval

  • Students must deposit their bachelor’s thesis in digital format via the bachelor's/master's thesis intranet. Digital deposit facilitates user management and the management of thesis-related documents in electronic format, ensuring their proper archiving, safekeeping and permanent conservationt. 
  • Students must deposit their thesis in digital format via the bachelor's/master's thesis intranet by the deadline indicated on the bachelor's thesis calendar. Theses will not be accepted after the deadline. After a thesis has been deposited, it must be reviewed and approved by the supervisor or tutor.
  • Bachelor's theses must be published in open access in the UPC Academic Works repository (subject to prior authorisation by the author), provided that publishing the thesis does not breach a duty of confidentiality or infringe any industrial property rights in the work.
  • In the case of theses that are not published in open access in the UPC Academic Works repository, steps must be taken to ensure that they can be consulted for research or study purposes while respecting protected parts and confidentiality periods.
  • To authorise (or not authorise) publication of their bachelor's thesis, students must complete the authorisation form available on the bachelor's/master's intranet before digitally depositing their thesis. 

  • The student's academic tutor must complete a confidentiality document for their thesis. This document can also be found on the bachelor's/master's intranet.

  • Theses that are not deposited by the deadlines indicated on the calendar may be deposited for the extension sessionprovided that the student applies for extended enrolment during the period indicated on the bachelor's or master's thesis calendar. Otherwise, the student will be given a mark of Absent for their thesis.

 

Examination committees

  • The examination committees responsible for conducting thesis defences in each session and awarding marks (and any substitutes required) will be appointed by the office of the ETSEIB assistant director responsible for bachelor's theses.
  • Once a bachelor's thesis has been approved, a notice of appointment will be sent to the student and all of the examiners via the bachelor's/marter's intranet. The chair of the examination committee, who is responsible for organising the thesis defence, must notify the other members of the date, time and place proposed for the defence. If these arrangements are not acceptable to all of the members, the chair may make another proposal. Once the date, time and place for the defence have been set, the chair will communicate these details directly to the student.
  • The examination committee will be composed of the thesis supervisor or tutor and two members of the School's academic staff. One of these two members will be affiliated to the thesis supervisor’s (or tutor’s) department. This member will act as the chair of the examination committee. The other will be an individual who is not affiliated to the department.
  • In addition to the examiners, two substitutes will be appointed. One will be affiliated to the thesis supervisor’s (or tutor’s) department; the other will be from another department.
  • Whenever possible, the examination committee will remain unchanged regardless of the session in which the thesis is defended

 

Thesis defence

  • Bachelor’s theses are assessed in a public session in which the student gives an oral presentation and defends their thesis. Sessions are conducted by an examination committee. A thesis defence has two stages:
    • Presentation. The student presents a summary of their bachelor's thesis. This stage lasts around 25 minutes (the time is determined by the chair and communicated in advance).

    • Defense. The student defends their thesis by responding to questions from the examiners.
  • If a bachelor’s thesis makes reference to matters that are subject to confidentiality restrictions and/or affect intellectual or industrial property, the examination committee may establish mechanisms to maintain confidentiality and protect the IP. Such mechanisms may affect the public defence of a thesis and will include the signing of a confidentiality agreement by the examiners. The confidentiality agreement is available to examiners via the final thesis intranet. The document must be completed, signed and submitted to the SIAE together with the official bachelor's thesis assessment results.
  • If a bachelor's thesis is intended to demonstrate the generic foreign language competency , the thesis and defence must be in that language. (This point only applies to students admitted to their bachelor's degree before the 2014/15 academic year).
  • Bachelor’s theses completed during a period of mobility will be defended at the host university in accordance with the rules that apply to thesis supervision and presentation at the host institution (see the section on type C bachelor's theses).
  • The School will provide students with any audiovisual equipment it has available. Students are responsible for requesting equipment, checking that it is in good working order, and ensuring its proper use. Requests to use audiovisual equipment are handled by the reception service
  • Under no circumstances may a student present and orally defend their bachelor’s thesis by remote means (videoconference, Skype, etc.).

  

Mark

  • Once the presentation and defence of the thesis has been completed, the examination committee will deliberate in closed session and then publicly announce the mark awarded.
  • Each member of the examination committee will assess the thesis and the presentation and defence, based on the criteria specified in the Bachelor’s Thesis Assessment Guidelines.
  • The decision on the mark to be awarded may be taken unanimously or by a simple majority vote.
  • Bachelor's thesis marks:
    • If the mark is Pass, it will be included in the official examination results that the chair sends to the SIAE.
    • If the mark is Fail, the chair will indicate this on the official examination results, which will be sent to the SIAE together with any written comments that the chair deems appropriate.
      In this case, the student will have to complete the ordinary enrolment process in the next semester or a subsequent one. For ordinary enrolment, students must pay all fees, including the surcharge for retaking the thesis, as stipulated in the decree on fees.
    • Students who do not attend their bachelor's thesis defence will be given a mark of Absent (Catalan acronym: NP). In this case, pursuant to the Academic Regulations for Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees at the UPC in effect, the student may choose whether to request extended enrolment for the following semester or complete the ordinary enrolment procedure in the following semester or a subsequent one.

      Thesis submission and defence deadlines for each thesis type are indicated in the bachelor’s thesis calendar.

      If the topic of a bachelor’s thesis changes, extended enrolment may not be requested.
  • It is important to bear in mind the provisions of the Academic Regulations for Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees at the UPC with respect to distinctions:
    • In the case of bachelor's theses, the examiners may propose that a distinction be awarded. In the case of an external placement, the tutor will make the proposal. Based on these proposals, the School will make the final decision on how distinctions are awarded, without exceeding 5% of the number of enrolled students, and based on objective criteria in all cases.
    • If the number of distinctions awarded to students with ordinary enrolment reaches the 5% limit, no distinctions may be awarded to students who opted for extended enrolment for their bachelor’s thesis or completed their thesis on an external placement.
  • The academic records of students are closed approximately one week after the date on which they present and defend their bachelor's thesis. If the bachelor’s thesis credits were the last ones a student needed to pass, at that point they may request a degree certificate and other documents certifying that they have successfully completed their degree.

 

PROCEDURE FOR TYPE C BACHELOR'S THESES

 

Topic

  • Students who have been granted SICUE mobility places that envisage the completion of a bachelor's thesis must find a tutor at the host university before undertaking their period of mobility and agree the topic of their bachelor's thesis with that professor in accordance with the procedure and requirements that apply at the host institution

 

Enrolment

  • Given the characteristics and the calendar for periods of mobility, and the requirement that students register their bachelor's thesis before completing the ordinary enrolment process, the ETSEIB International Relations Office will register bachelor's theses provisionally as “pending".
  • Once their thesis is registered, students must complete the ordinary enrolment process via the e-secretaria on the date and at the time scheduled. Where applicable, they must also enrol for the block of credits that will be recognised for their period of mobility

 

Registration

  • Once the title of the bachelor's thesis is final (two months after the start of the period of mobility at the latest), the student may add it to their thesis registration in the e-secretaria by completing the “Thesis title” and “Description” sections. Students must also provide the full name of their tutor or thesis supervisor at the host university in the “Comments” section. In the “Examiners” section, students should select the Department of Management and add Professor Lucas van Wunnik, the assistant director of Internationalisation, as the thesis supervisor. (Prof Van Wunnik acts as the supervisor for theses of this type.) 

 

Defence and assessment

  • Bachelor’s theses completed during a period of mobility are defended at the host university in accordance with its requirements and regulations on thesis defence and assessment.
  • Students who do not defend their bachelor’s thesis at the host university at the end of the semester in which they enrolled for it at the School will be deemed to have opted for extended enrolment. In this case, the International Relations and Admissions Office will complete the extended enrolment

 

Deposit

  • Once a bachelor's thesis has been defended and assessed at the host university, the student must deposit a copy via the School's bachelor's/master's intranet application.
    Bachelor's theses must be published in open access in the
     UPC Academic Works repository, subject to prior authorisation by the author, provided that publishing the thesis does not breach a duty of confidentiality or infringe any industrial property rights arising from the research.
  • In the case of theses that are not published in open access in the UPC Academic Works  repository, steps must be taken to ensure that they can be consulted for research or study purposes while respecting protected parts and confidentiality periods.
  • To authorise publication of their thesis and/or specify any confidentiality requirements that apply, students must complete the authorisation form available on the School’s bachelor's/master's intranet before digitally depositing their thesis. 

 

Mark

  • Once a student has deposited their bachelor’s thesis via the bachelor's/master's thesis intranetthe host university has sent the International Relations and Admissions Office their official academic transcript with the mark for the thesis, and the student has submitted all documentation related to the period of mobility, the student's thesis supervisor at the ETSEIB will initiate the bachelor's thesis review, approval and assessment procedure. The resulting mark will be indicated on the student’s official examination results for the bachelor's thesis.
  • Students may view the status of documentation for their period of mobility at the e-secretaria "Mobility"-"Period of mobility"-"Documentation".
  • Students who receive a mark of Fail on their bachelor’s thesis must complete the ordinary enrolment process in the following semester or a subsequent one. In this case, they must enrol for both the bachelor’s thesis credits and credits for the extension, taking into account the study load for their bachelor’s thesis at the foreign university. For ordinary enrolment, students must pay all fees, including the surcharge for retaking the thesis, as stipulated in the decree on fees