Information for the student – Cognitive Science and Language

In accordance with the aforementioned document, the general framework of the Tutorial Action Plan consists in the accompaniment, guidance and counselling of students throughout their stay and learning process in the master’s, with the main purpose of helping them to make well-reasoned decisions regarding their education, to provide them with career guidance, to improve their academic performance and, in short, to fully attain their personal development.

The aims of this TAP refer to the initial stage of the programme (enrolment), to its development (problems that might arise during the course and learning activities), and to its final stage (master’s thesis, job placement, internships).

Each student will have a tutor. The tutors are the members of the master’s coordination committee and are assigned upon admission, before enrolment.

During the initial stage, the TAP tutor’s functions include:

• Orienting students by helping them to plan their curriculum on the basis of the recommended pathway for their branch.
• Authorizing the enrolment of the different courses in the UB’s enrolment management application.
• Providing students with relevant information and with the resources needed to access the sources of information. This informative function is done in collaboration with the Philosophy CRAI.
• Conducting an academic monitoring of the students, carrying out formative interventions when needed, collaborating in the optimization of the student’s learning models. At a more specific level, improving the learning processes of students with difficulties and orienting students that excel.
• Referring the student to the Student Support Service if necessary.
• Collecting the information provided by the students.
• Participating in exchange and training activities related to tutorial action.

The TAP’s coordinator’s functions include:

• Ensuring the correct functioning of the TAP.
• Being responsible for the processes of evaluation and updating of the TAP. 
• Coordinating and supervising the tutors.
• Assessing and providing resources and strategies.

In accordance with the functions of the tutors and coordinator as listed in the previous section, the activities that will be carried out include:

• Assignment of tutors to all new students upon admission. With the master’s degree offering 40 places, and the number of members of the Master’s Coordination Committee being 9, each tutor will be assigned 4 or 5 students each academic year. The number might be higher in case that one or more students of the previous year haven’t finished the master’s. The tutors will be assigned in accordance with the branch (or speciality) chosen by the student in the admission process.
• Establishment of the date and time for the mandatory tutoring session that must take place immediately after admission to the master’s and before enrolment; the function of this tutoring session is to determine which courses the student will enrol in.
• Detailed orientation of students regarding the content, development possibilities and significance of the current study plan: subjects, courses (mandatory and optional), requirements and recommendations for each course.
• Assessment of students in the configuration of their curricular itinerary, paying attention to each student’s specificities: provenance (previous studies), intellectual interests, career interests (academic or professional), compatibility with work schedules, special learning needs.
• Orientation of newly accepted students regarding the number of credits that they must enrol, depending on the modality in which they study, according to article 5.1 of the “Normativa de Permanència de la UB” and the effects of studying the master’s degree in part-time modality (e.g. not being able to request collaboration grants).
• Contribution to the diffusion of information and of the resources that grant access to the sources of information available in the Faculty of Philosophy, providing support as needed to the actions undertaken in this direction by the CRAI Library of Philosophy, Geography and History.
• Guidance, information, and advice on internships.
• Collaboration in the institutional activities directed at welcoming students by means of the activities organized by our master’s (e.g. Welcome Meeting, guided visit to Faculties, etc.).
• Information regarding the Final Master’s Thesis (TFM). This session is carried out by the coordinator of the TFM course and is aimed at explaining the procedures, regulations and organization of the Final Master’s Thesis.
• Organization of a workshop on the PhD programme (enrolment and grants) and the master’s career opportunities.

This TAP is coordinated by the master’s coordinator. The TAP will be in force for 4 years unless it is overridden or modified by the master’s coordination committee. The TAP will be revised annually, taking the students and tutors’ comments into consideration.

The tutors are all the members of the master’s coordination Committee. Upon formalization of the enrolment, the assignation of students to tutors by branch will be done in a random and equitable manner.

Students may request a change of tutor by addressing a reasoned letter to the TAP’s coordinator, and a tutor may modify the assignment of a student under authorisation of the coordinator.

The coordinator of the TAP will elaborate, in collaboration with the tutors, a calendar of activities for the academic year that includes the dates and the goals of the reunions of each tutor with their group of students.

The coordinator of the TAP will call a joint meeting of tutors and new students at the start of the academic year (coinciding with the Welcome Meeting or the master’s Annual Conference); he/she may also call additional meetings of tutors throughout the year.

In relation to the initial stage of the studies, and especially during the first year, the Study Council (Consell d’Estudis) will do a monitoring of, at least, the dedication of the tutor to the students and the usage of tutoring by the assigned students, as well as the opinion of students, tutors and the coordinator regarding the functioning of the TAP.

Information about access to the master’s and academic performance may be collected with a view to the evaluation.

Each academic year, the master’s coordination committee will evaluate all the information received, thereby identifying its strengths and weaknesses. It will then elaborate corresponding proposals for improvement, and will present a report on this evaluation.

In accordance with the “Pla de Dedicació Acadèmica del Professorat de la Universitat de Barcelona”. With regards to the recognition of professors’ dedication for the exercise of academic management positions and tasks (“reconeixement de dedicació per  l’exercici de tasques acadèmiques i de gestió”), tutoring professors affiliated to the University of Barcelona may include a recognition of dedication for the exercise of academic management positions and tasks of 25 hours per year.