Assessment

Students are regularly assessed in every subject during their candidature. Students are assessed throughout semester, completing tests, seminars, workshops, fieldwork study, essays, literature reviews, internships, etc., and by a final exam at the end of each semester. The syllabus of each course will specify which tests students must sit and how they will contribute to the final assessment.

All tests will be designed to facilitate the assessment of acquired competencies, privileging tests that allow for critical thinking rather than learning by rote. Whenever possible, the tests will be designed in the form of problems the students will be required to solve.

Students must attend at least 90% of all classes in each subject to be eligible to take the exam. An absence rate of over 10% or a noted incapacity to sit an exam, for an approved, valid reason, will be taken into due consideration in the awarding of final marks.

Student assessment is within a Grading System based on a point scale of a maximum 100 marks, 50 being the minimum passing mark, and translated into a “letter grade” a "grade point" and a "value" as specified below:
Standardized grading rules will be applied to all subjects. A “C” grade is the exam passing mark. Students who fail any exam will be allowed one re-examination for each subject, taken one week after the “F” grade is announced. Those who fail more than 2 exams in any semester or fail in any re- examination will be disqualified from continuing the Masters program.

Plagiarism or copying from other students will attract an “F” grade. Serious or repeated offences will lead to a candidate’s dismissal from the program.

 

Thesis Grading

Eligibility

To be eligible for the Master of Science in Biodiversity Conservation, applicants must be under the age of 45 and fulfill one of the following:

(1) Currently hold a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in any science field;

OR

(2) Currently hold a bachelor degree in any field and have a minimum of 2 years relevant work experience in the natural science field. (Certification of employment required).

Completion of the Masters in Biodiversity Conservation
After the collection of 42 credits with satisfactory results within the first 2 semesters, students will be
required to submit a thesis to complete the Masters in Biodiversity Conservation program.

Theses consist of research on an original scientific topic, on which students work for approximately one year. Students may conduct the research for their theses independently or may be affiliated with one of the many organizations currently conducting research in their field in Cambodia.