COURSE INFORMATION Course Title: MICRO THESIS

Code	Course Type	Regular Semester	Theory	Practice	Lab	Credits	ECTS
PIR 400	E	2	3	0	0	3	7.5

Academic staff member responsible for the design of the course syllabus (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature)	NA
Main Course Lecturer (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	Dr. Avdi Smajljaj asmajljaj@epoka.edu.al , Friday 10:00-12:30 hours
Second Course Lecturer(s) (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	NA
Teaching Assistant(s) and Office Hours:	NA
Language:	English
Compulsory/Elective:	Compulsory
Study program: (the study for which this course is offered)	Professional Master in Political Science and International Relations
Classroom and Meeting Time:	D-104
Code of Ethics:	Code of Ethics of EPOKA University Regulation of EPOKA University "On Student Discipline"
Attendance Requirement:
Course Description:	-
Course Objectives:	This course aims to advance students research capabilities by guiding them to conduct research in a topic of their interest within the research areas of political science and international relations. Students are advised to choose interdisciplinary topics and produce original data as much as possible.

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE COURSE

1	research
2	finding
3	literature review
4	discussion

COURSE OUTLINE

Week	Topics
1	Discussion about the topic
2	Thesis Outline
3	Collecting the articles for Literature Review
4	Writing the Literature Review
5	Writing the Introduction and background of the topic
6	Submission of Draft 1
7	Research Design and Methodology
8	Data Collection
9	Data Analysis
10	Writing the chapter on Findings
11	Writing the Chapter on Dicussions
12	Submission of Draft 2
13	Reviewing the feedback and writing the conclusion chapter
14	Final Submission

Prerequisite(s):	N/A
Textbook(s):	Wee, B. V., & Banister, D. (2016). How to write a literature review paper?. Transport reviews, 36(2), 278-288. Murray, R. (2017). Ebook: How to write a thesis. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
Additional Literature:
Laboratory Work:	N/A
Computer Usage:	N/A
Others:	No

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

1	At the end of the course, students must have an original research completed
2	Students must have gained advanced knowledge and understanding on the topic researched.
3	Students must have gained advanced knowledge and understanding on research methods applied.
4	Students must be able to provide recommendations for policy makers related to their topic of research.

COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO... PROGRAM COMPETENCIES (Blank : no contribution, 1: least contribution ... 5: highest contribution)

No	Program Competencies	Cont.
Professional Master in Political Science and International Relations Program
1	Having and using advanced knowledge and comprehension supported by textbooks including actual knowledge in political sciences and international relations literature, materials and the other scientific resources.	4
2	Analyzing data, ideas and concepts of current political issues and international relations, determining complex events and topics, making discussions and developing new suggestions in accordance with researches.	5
3	Having knowledge and thought about actual topics and problems together with their historical, social and cultural aspects.	4
4	Introducing those who are interested in politics and international events with the topics of Political Science and IR and teaching clearly the problems and the types of solutions.	4
5	Improving skills of working together with the main social science disciplines and other disciplines which are related to Political Science and International Relations.	2
6	Improving critical thinking and skills in making research independently.	5
7	Developing solutions about the problems and conflicts which are common in national and international arena.	5
8	Improving skills for leadership and research and analyze capacity of those who is responsible with national and international ones.	4
9	Knowing any foreign language enough to communicate with colleagues and understand actual researches and articles.	5
10	Gaining IT skills to use computer and technology) in order to reach actual knowledge.	4
11	Gaining skills to follow societal, scientific and ethic values during collecting, interpreting, conducting of data related to social and political developments.	4
12	Having consciousness about human rights and environment.	5
13	Gaining the skills to follow actual developments and pursue long-life learning.	4

COURSE EVALUATION METHOD

Method	Quantity	Percentage
Term Paper	1	100
	Total Percent:	100%

ECTS (ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT WORKLOAD)

Activities	Quantity	Duration(Hours)	Total Workload(Hours)
Course Duration (Including the exam week: 16x Total course hours)			0
Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice)	37.5	5	187.5
Mid-terms			0
Assignments			0
Final examination			0
Other			0
Total Work Load:			187.5
Total Work Load/25(h):			7.5
ECTS Credit of the Course:			7.5

CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE COURSE LECTURER