Luiss Project Network - Magistrale

Project Work

Starting in 2021-2022, Master’s students from the Department of Political Science participating in Double Degree programs may fulfill the 8 credit Other Credits requirements with an individual or group project work. This option is open only to students who are unable to find an internship after actively searching and applying.

Project work follows the university’s philosophy of learning by doing, and gives students the chance to apply their theoretic knowledge in a concrete context. While working on project work, students are followed by an external professional supervisor who will also evaluate the output at the end of the project. 

“Project Work” means a concrete project, carried out individually or in a group, through which students actively and concretely experience the didactic contents learned in their degree course, under the supervision of an "external" professional supervisor. The project outputs are subsequently subject to analysis, comparison and discussion between the students and the supervisor. The design, implementation and successful completion of the Project Work is followed by the assignment to students of 8 CFU.

It is emphasized that participation in a Project Work is configured as an alternative and residual activity compared to carrying out a curricular internship. Students must first actively seek internship opportunities and, only if the research is unsuccessful, can they apply to participate in a Project Work.

The Department delegate for the Project work is prof. Forlenza.

How can I begin project work?

Project can be done individually or in a team of 3 to 5 participants.

Project work may be performed in two different ways:

Students propose their own project work ideas to develop with a supervisor of their choosing who is willing to follow their work. The project work must be in line with the student’s degree course and have an appropriate workload for the credits assigned.

Students proposing their own project works must use the official template. Proposals received by the Department committee at projectwork@luiss.it will be sent to the Rector’s Office for approval. 

All proposals must contain the following sections, filled out in detail:

  1. General objectives of the project work
  2. Project work topic
  3. Contents and activities
  4. Expected output
  5. Complete project (timing, division of work, required resources)  

Upon completion of the project work, each student or team must prepare an individual document (maximum 10 pages) and a group presentation (maximum 10 slides). In place of slides, students may also make a video (maximum 5 minutes) in which they outline:

  1. General objectives of the project work
  2. Context of the project work (sector, field)
  3. Details on what was accomplished in the project
  4. Analysis, instruments and methods used during the project
  5. Changes made to the original proposal
  6. Results obtained and goals reached 

When can I work on the project and for how many hours?

After being assigned, the project work can be performed during the second year of the master’s program, according to deadlines laid out in the proposal.

All stages of the project work should add up to 200 hours of work, and include at least two meetings with the supervisor.

Interested students must send their proposals within 15 days after the publication of a track.

How do I receive credits? 

Credits are awarded based on the following criteria, evaluated on a scale of 1 to 5.

Structure of the document:

  • Organization
  • Graphic appeal
  • Use of graphics, tables and diagrams
  • Objective/theme clear and visible

Final document:

  • A clear explanation
  • Clear conclusion
  • Research of data and use of references:
  • Exhaustive and high-quality sources
  • Multiple sources

Content:

  • Respect of the project objectives
  • Logical content flow within the document

Video presentation:

  • Clarity
  • Control of voice
  • Enthusiasm
  • Understanding

Projects will be evaluated by three judges. Averages of scores will be weighed as follows:

  1. Department committee member (60)
  2. The supervisor (30) who also certifies the 200 hours of work
  3. Team self-evaluation (10)

For individual projects, the supervisor’s evaluation will weigh 40 percent.

The final grade will be based on the average of the points assigned. To receive credit, the project work must receive at least 3 out of 5 points.

See Proposal document / Documento di Macro Progettazione: