MSc in Theoretical Psychoanalytic Studies

Dissertation

Past Titles
Subject & Supervisor
Length & Format
Word Count Penalties
Submitting
Marking Proceedures

Please note that starting in Term 2 group meetings are held to discuss dissertations. In addition, please do not hesitate to ask for an individual meeting with the Programme Tutor if you are concerned about what you should be doing.

Past Titles

A collection of dissertations of previous MSc students is held in the General office (539) and is available for student reference. This may help current students to orientate themselves to the level and style of work required, and to the kind of topics which others have tackled. Unfortunately, from the point of view of learning what is expected, we cannot give you the marks given to other students' dissertations, as these are confidential. However, if the students concerned give their permission, we will indicate whether the dissertation received a distinction or not (no dissertations submitted so far have failed).

Click here for a list of past titles

Subject & Supervisor

Each student is required to submit a dissertation at the end of their final year which is worth 60 credits. The dissertation is supervised, normally by a psychoanalyst (although it could be by someone in a related field, perhaps with Peter Fonagy , Mary Target or Ruth McCall as a co-supervisor from the Unit). Please note that the majority of supervisors are away from London during August and may not return for the new term before the submission deadline. It is vital to discuss this with your supervisor and plan your work (and any holiday of your own) accordingly. The idea would be for the student to agree with the supervisor, before the end of the summer term, a plan of reading, scope of the work, and main question(s) to be addressed, but the supervisor is not expected to help the student to any great extent with the actual writing of the dissertation, which is the responsibility of the student and may continue through August.

Length & Format

The dissertation should be between 8,000 and 11,000 words to include everything except an appendix ( e.g. data on which the argument is based, such as a published case history, or reproductions of works of art which are used as the basis of theoretical argument in the main body of the text). The examiners will not include this in reaching your mark, it is extra material for their reference only, and will not be allowed to be a way for some students to extend the word limit.

It is important to ensure that the dissertation contains some form of literature review . Some dissertations are, by their nature, a form of extended literature review in which the author compares and contrasts a range of theoretical approaches. Others will need to contain less formal consideration of the work of established theorists; however it is important that students produce at some point in their dissertation a brief summary of the relevant work of other psychoanalytic authors, if only to demonstrate that they are appropriately familiar with the relevant work in the field. Please seek further clarification from Ruth McCall if you are uncertain what a literature review should entail.

It is difficult to give hard and fast guidelines about dissertations; some of the best may break some usual 'rules', but the following guidance may help. Make sure the subject is clearly within the area of psychoanalytic theory, but it does not necessarily have to have been covered within the MSc programme. The idea is to engage with the complexity of a subject, including the limitations of your treatment of it, not to offer glib new formulations in the hope of seeming to be offering originality. Choose a topic which is not too broad, otherwise you probably will not be able to go into enough depth to show the sophistication you are capable of. Similarly, a subject which has already been extensively worked over in the literature may not be a good choice unless you have some original ideas which you can present well in relation to this literature. Try to carry through a coherent argument of your own, as well as showing familiarity with and understanding of the existing literature. We will have some group meetings to discuss progress on dissertations; do not hesitate also to ask for an individual meeting if you are concerned about what you should be doing, the contact with your supervisor, or any other aspect of this important part of the degree programme.

Word count penalties

Below 8,000 - a deduction of 5% off your mark
Above 11,000 - a deduction of 5% off your mark

To include everything except an appendix

Submitting

Your dissertation must be submitted by 12.30pm on the day of the deadline. Failure to submit work on time will quite possibly lead to a fail. Under exceptional circumstances, an extension to the date by which work must be handed in can be negotiated. This should be requested in advance , and will normally be given in the case of serious illness (with medical certificate) or major life-events, etc. (but NOT because of predictable pressure of work or minor ailments). All extensions must be requested from Ruth McCall or Mary Target (or, should they be absent, then the Chair of the Board of Examiners, Professor Peter Fonagy). Students may negotiate an extension of up to one week. Any proposals for a longer extension should be made in writing to the Chair of the Board of Examiners, and will require evidence of truly exceptional circumstances.

You should submit four bound paper copies and an emailed copy of your dissertation to the MSc Programme Administrator.

A word count must be stated at the time that the dissertation is submitted, together with a statement that the dissertation is the work of the candidate alone (except, of course, where the work of others is properly cited). The format should be as for the coursework essays. The title page of the dissertation should state the student's Examination ID code, the title of the work, the name of the degree, the Module number (PSYCGT98) and the year of submission. It does not need to be cloth bound, but should be in a form which makes it both easy to read and durable, e.g. spiral binding between plastic covers.

Marking Proceedures

Two people independently mark the dissertations. The first marker and second markers are both internal examiners, either Mary Target , Ruth McCall or Peter Fonagy. The dissertation supervisor is asked to give comments on the work as the one who knows the area most thoroughly and also as someone who can comment on how much help the student received (those who have worked more independently will get somewhat higher marks). The External Examiner will read a selection of dissertations and give recommendations about the marks at the Exam Board.

For information, the guidance given to markers is as follows:

As a general rule: a student can bring any relevant material, regardless of whether it has been specifically taught in the degree programme syllabus. It is important however that the overall subject and content of the dissertation is within the area of psychoanalytic theory. A more complex or difficult topic should be marked somewhat more leniently than a straightforward one, though obviously if the student has been over-ambitious and got out of his or her depth the work will not get a very high mark. If there is an appendix, do not include this in reaching your mark, it is extra material for reference only (e.g. data on which the argument is based, such as a published case history, reproductions of works of art which are used as the basis of theoretical argument in the main body of the text), and must not be allowed to be a way for some students to extend the word limit.

Distinction (70% or above)

Work which shows a particularly high level of awareness and understanding of psychoanalytic theory. It shows convincing evidence of capacity to present an argument and a good appraisal of the relevant literature. The work is on the whole presented clearly, succinctly, and coherently, and there is a well-developed and at least partly original line of argument.

2:1 (60-69%)

The work is quite well-organised and presented. It shows a capacity to evaluate issues critically, and addresses a question intelligently, with good knowledge of the literature. However, it is not worthy of a distinction mark. This may be for many reasons, for instance because there is too little development of a line of argument, or there is very little evidence of originality, or the expression and presentation are careless in spite of other impressive aspects. However, the dissertation is generally a good and solid piece of work by a student who appears adequately to understand what he or she is writing about.

2:2 (50-59%)

The work addresses the issue chosen, but in a limited way. The material presented may show reasonable familiarity with the issues and general knowledge base, but it has significant flaws. For example, the student may lack knowledge or show misunderstanding of some clearly relevant theory, or fail to appreciate some important aspects of theoretical approaches, he or she may have good knowledge but show problems in presenting a coherent review or developing any line of argument. The reader may have the impression that the student has summarised an area without any real feeling for the important issues.

Fail (below 50%)

The student's work is too heavily flawed to pass. There may be clear plagiarism, an argument which cannot be followed, a review of the literature which is very inadequate, a very brief dissertation (less than 5,000 words) which does little justice to its subject.

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This page last modified 7 November, 2009 by Sophie Bennett