Students must register for the TFM subject within the registration or extended registration deadlines set by the CEP before being able to move on to the next stages in the process. In turn, each degree may set the conditions and requirements to be fulfilled by students for registration on the TFM (where applicable, these requirements shall be stated in the TFM course guide and in the specific information section for each programme).

The maximum number of registrations to pass the TFM subject is four, plus one additional registration which shall be granted by the Centre for Postgraduate Studies management team upon approval by the master's supervisory team.

Where the viva defence of the master's thesis cannot be held in the same academic year as the initial registration year, an annual and consecutive registration may be granted for academic tutoring to undertake the viva defence. The registration for academic tutoring shall count as a second registration and, where students do not pass the TFM after the tutoring period, any subsequent re-registrations shall count as ordinary registrations.

In any event, where students undertake the TFM viva defence and are given a fail mark, they must request an ordinary re-registration and cannot request a registration merely for academic tutoring.

Each programme will publish the proposed topics or general areas available to students enrolled on the master's thesis subject. The proposed topic or area lists will include one or several eligible lecturers for tutoring.

• Students may select any of the proposed topics at any time throughout the academic year provided that the board of studies for the programme has not set out different specific criteria in the course guide for the master's thesis subject
• In order to be allocated a proposed topic, students must generally get in touch with the proposing lecturer or, where only areas are available, any lecturer qualified to provide supervision in the relevant area so as to decide on a specific topic. If the proposed topic is accepted, the corresponding lecturer will be assigned as tutor and notify the master's thesis subject coordinator. The coordinator will then update the list of available topics on the platform
• The programme's management team may also entrust the master's thesis coordinator with managing available areas and topics with students. In this instance, the procedure and contact person's details will be published on Aula digital before the enrolment period.

Businesses, institutions, professionals and students themselves may also propose thesis topics.

Theses may be undertaken at collaborating organisations that have signed an agreement with the UIB (agreement template). The thesis topic must be submitted beforehand to <convenis.postgrau@uib.cat>.

Students who undertake their theses at a collaborating organisation shall be selected in accordance with the terms for the relevant selection procedure set out in the agreement appendix, and as per available spots at each organisation.

The collaborating organisation will appoint a programme coordinator for the entire duration of the stay. The coordinator shall ensure students receive a suitable welcome and training, as well as appropriate management over their academic activities.

In turn, the UIB will appoint a tutor to ensure the academic quality of the thesis.

Ownership of any intellectual or industrial property rights arising from the thesis shall be governed as per the relevant current regulations. Where applicable, what is set out in the agreements signed with public or private institutions which have provided funding or contributed to the implementation of these agreements shall also apply.

Registering for the TFM represents a learning contract between students and the tutor(s).

Once the TFM proposal is assigned to students, they shall formalise the registration of their master's thesis project within the deadlines set for each degree programme (please see the specific information section for the programme) via the following application: https://postgrau.uib.es/tfm which enables students to monitor their request.

Please bear in mind that the registration application should:

• State the provisional project title (without the use of capital letters except where necessary)
• State the tutor(s) name and surname(s), as well as their correct e-mail address (this should be checked carefully as this is the communication method where tutors shall accept tutoring of the TFM to finalise registration of the project)
• Include an attached thesis script in PDF format not surpassing 100MB.

TFM submission is deemed to be a thesis assessment request made by students.

The TFM may be submitted within the deadlines set for each programme (please see the specific information section for each programme) as long as the students' registration application has been accepted and they have paid the registration and admin fees.

Submission comprises a two-step process. Firstly, students must submit an assessment request over the following application: https://postgrau.uib.es/tfm, where they will be able to monitor the entire process. 

You need to take the following into account when filling in the form:

• The thesis report must be attached in PDF format as per the regulations set for each programme (and not surpass 100MB in size)
• The thesis cover must follow the format for the
        Master's Thesis Cover [en]
        Portada del TFM [ca]
        Portada del TFM [es]
• Where the thesis contains appendices in other formats (audio, video, etc.) that cannot be included in the PDF report, these shall also be attached to the electronic request form
• Students must also fill in the TFM distribution licence to state whether they accept their work being available as open access or not in the institutional repository for public consultation.

The second necessary step to complete TFM submission comprises depositing the thesis in PDF format (in exactly the same manner as mentioned in the previous point) in the task section that the TFM supervisor has enabled for this purpose in the programme's TFM subject area on Aula Digital. The thesis shall be checked through plagiarism detection tools and a report produced and made available to each tutor and panel member when accepting the TFM submission, as well as in the assessment process by the panel. 

The TFM presentation and defence must be a public event where students make an oral presentation before a minimum three-person panel comprising the chair, secretary and one further member. Once the presentation is finished, the panel will open a Q&A session on aspects linked to the thesis.

The TFM viva defence shall be run within the deadlines set for each programme (please see the specific information section for each programme). In order to undertake the TFM viva, students must have passed all other necessary credits to be awarded the degree. Notwithstanding the above, students may defend their TFM with a maximum of one subject still to be passed, where this is allowed by the specific regulations for the TFM on the programme published on the respective website (please see the specific information section for the programme).

The programme may designate one or several TFM panels. Where the programme designates a specific panel for each TFM, this must be done within a maximum deadline of ten working days from the official submission date of the thesis. Once the designation is notified, the chair of the panel (or head of the TFM or programme management) shall convene the other members, tutor(s) and student to present and defend the thesis within ten working days at most.

In exceptional circumstances where the TFM contains information that could be deemed confidential, the presentation and viva procedure may be modified as per what is set out in article 10 of the Regulations for writing and assessing master's theses at the University of the Balearic Islands. In order for the TFM specifications subject to data or results protection processes to apply, students or tutors must make a reasoned request addressed to the CEP at the time of submission.

Each programme shall establish its TFM assessment criteria, which shall be made public every academic year and be taken into account by the panel when grading the TFM (please see the specific information section for each programme). Once the TFM presentation and viva are finalised, the panel shall deliberate on students' attainment level and then award a mark for the thesis, which shall be included in students' academic records.

Web resources from the UIB library: Definition, regulations and other topics related to plagiarism and how to avoid it.

Integridad académica y plagio (Academic integrity, plagiarism and how to include the ideas of others into our work): Author: González Teruel, Aurora - Date: 2019 - (Educational Innovation, University of Valencia) Video on YouTube

Information about accessing Turnitin reports: UIB Turnitin Webinar.

Unlocking the Power of Generative AI Models and Systems such as GPT-4 and ChatGPT for Higher Education: PDF

Since the first step to check for plagiarism comes from those tutoring theses, tutors are recommended to review the 'Resources on Academic Plagiarism and Turnitin' section on this website.

Guide for master's thesis tutors [ca]