Research Project

Overview

The MLA program combines coursework and a research project, and students are required to complete a total of 44 credit hours, including 3 credits for LA694: Approach to Graduation Project and 5 credits for LA698: Research Project. These two courses culminate in a landscape architecture design project based on research. The MLA program utilizes a three-level supervision system that is directly and indirectly connected to the research project.

Level 1: Academic Supervision

The Landscape Architecture Department assigns a faculty member as an academic supervisor to one or more graduate students in the MLA program. The role of the academic supervisor in the research project is limited but important. The academic advisor provides a wide range of services to their students, which ultimately can impact the students' academic performance in all courses, including the research project.

Examples of academic advisor duties related to the research project include:

1-  Providing academic guidance.

2- Assisting students with time management.

3- Supporting students during examination periods.

4 -Planning and organizing the supervision process.

Level 2: Program Coordinator (Monitoring and Supervision)

The Landscape Architecture Department assigns an academic faculty member as a coordinator responsible for the graduate program. The program coordinator serves as the primary point of contact for graduate students at the program level. They have a duty to ensure that departmental and faculty rules are administered in a fair and equitable manner. Additionally, the graduate coordinator monitors the academic progress of graduate students and provides advice regarding any changes to a student's status or program. The graduate coordinator usually serves on the graduate research project committee, which is responsible for reviewing and assessing students' research proposals and final research projects.

Level 3: Research Project Course instructor(s)

The research project course instructor serves as the main supervisor for students' research projects. In LA694: Approach to Graduation Project, students are required to produce a research proposal by the end of the semester, which must be approved by the department committee. Upon successful completion of the research proposal, students are enrolled in LA698: Research Project, where they apply their research work to their final graduation project. The course instructor manages this course as a design studio, where each student works on their project individually under the instructor's supervision. The final outcome of this course is a design project based on research. 

Regulation and Procedures for Scientific Supervision of Research Project

The procedure for scientific supervision of the research project in the MLA program consists of two main parts.

Part 1 (Research Proposal):

•   Students enroll in LA694: Approach to Graduation Project.
•     Students develop a research proposal under the supervision of the course instructor.
•     Students present their research proposal to the graduate committee, which includes the course instructor, program coordinator, and a faculty member.
•     Students receive their grade (Pass, Pass with Revision, Fail).

Part 2 (Graduation Research Project):

         1- The Master's student who pass LA694 is required to register for the Research Project course LA 698 at the beginning of the fourth semester, provided that they have successfully                          completed 40% of the total coursework.

   2- Before starting to write the research project proposal, the student must submit a request to their assigned supervisor for approval of the project title, using Form No. 1(Approval of the title of a research project for a master’s degree) provided for this purpose (Attachment 1). The supervisor must sign the form and submit it to the Head of the Department, who will then assign a faculty member from the department to examine the proposed title and provide their opinion on whether to approve or reject the project title, along with reasons, using the same Form No. 1.

       3- After the approval of the research title, the student submits their research project proposal to the Department within a maximum of two pages, where they present the research topic, its significance, the proposed plan for conducting the research project, and the necessary time frame for its execution, with the research period not exceeding two semesters.

   4- Two students may collaborate on a research project, with each student being assigned a specific part of the project. This is done with the aim of encouraging and training students to work as a research team.

   5- Each Research Project course can have a registration of 3-5 students, supervised by the course instructor who is a faculty member in their respective specialization. The number of projects generated by the department should not exceed three projects in one semester, and it is permissible to register fewer projects if there is an insufficient number of participating students.

   6- The project size should not exceed 100 pages as a maximum limit, and the student should follow the King Abdulaziz University's guidelines for writing scientific papers.

  7- Upon completion of the research project, the student submits their project to the Research Project course instructor (supervisor) for evaluation

  8- Using Form No. 2 (Report of review and examination of a research project for a degree), the research project is approved for final evaluation by the College's Vice Dean for Graduate Studies and Scientific Research (or Vice Deaness), the Head/Chair of the Department, and the Research Project course instructor (supervisor).

  9- Once the project is approved for final evaluation, the Research Project course instructor (supervisor) evaluates the project using Form No. 3 (Research project evaluation form for the master’s degree) specifically designed for this purpose. Then, they submit the evaluation form along with the research project to the Head of the Department or Department Chair, who will assign a qualified faculty member from the department to review and evaluate the research project using Form No. 3.

  10- The student's grade in the research project is the sum of the grades given by both the Research Project course instructor (project supervisor) and the project evaluator, as indicated in the evaluation form.

Form 1: Approval of the title of a research project for a master’s degree

Form 2: Report of review and examination of a research project for a degree

Form 3: Research project evaluation form for the master’s degree