The Term Paper stage is one of the requirements for completing the MBA courses offered by USP/Esalq. The Term Paper is individually developed, and all graduate students must complete this activity by submitting and presenting their Term Paper before an examining board. It provides students with the opportunity to demonstrate the theoretical knowledge acquired throughout the course and the ability to apply it to solve a practical problem. For this, students have the support of the Advisoring Team, which is responsible for monitoring the deadlines for the Term Paper submission, research fields, advisor, presentation, questions, complaints, or suggestions related to the Term Paper.
The Term Paper aims to express the following professional skills of the author:
- Identification of a real and practical problem: The student must recognize a real challenge, which can be related to the student’s professional activity;
- Choice and use of appropriate analytical tools: It is essential to select the appropriate methodology to analyze the chosen problem;
- Analysis and discussion of the results: Students must interpret and discuss the results obtained from applying the methodology;
- Drawing valuable conclusions: Conclusions must have technical or scientific relevance, contributing to the decision-making process regarding the topic of the Term Paper;
- Ability to extract “new knowledge”: Identification of decision-makers to solve the problem proposed in the Term Paper;
- Soft skills development: Improve writing skills by requiring a clear and concise term paper. It also improves presentation and oratory skills, since students must present their Term Papers before an examining board. These experiences are essential for developing the ability to convey information and communicate effectively and persuasively; and
- Time Management: Ability to organize tasks and meet the deadlines set by the Advisoring Team.
The Term Paper must be developed in stages and in parallel to the classes, respecting the deadlines set by the Coordination.
- First stage: It consists of watching the Videos on the Term Paper elaboration;
Second stage: It corresponds to the Choice of the Term Paper Field of Study (area of the Term Paper topic);
Third stage: It corresponds to the Advisor Designation;
Fourth stage: Submission of the Research Project;
Fifth stage: Submission of the Preliminary Results;
Sixth stage: Term Paper submission and Term Paper Presentation Scheduling;
Seventh stage: Submission of the Term Paper Presentation (slides);
Eighth stage: Term Paper Presentation;
Ninth stage: It corresponds to the submission of the Revised Version of the Term Paper when requested.
For each stage there will be a deadline for completion, and watching the Term Paper videos is mandatory for students before starting the second stage of the Term Paper elaboration. In addition, the Term Paper videos involve an assessment activity which grade is equivalent to a test [T] of a class taught in the course, and it is added to the grade average [GA]. The advisor designation is done by the Advisoring Team, based on Students’ Choice of the Term Paper Field of Study.
In the videos stage, students begin their Term Paper journey, acquiring specific knowledge. In the second module of the course, the Standards for the Term Paper Elaboration, the respective templates for each stage, and the Term Paper Planner are made available, so that students have access to detailed information.
We know that this process can raise questions, which is why we recommend that you thoroughly read the “Service Agreement”, the “Regulation”, and the “Student Guide”. These documents are available in your Student Area. In your Dashboard, find the gray box “Documents and Attachments”, click on “Course Documents”, and select the name of the course. Next, choose whether you want to view or download the files.
In these documents you will have access to all the USP requirements, as well as the contact details of the Advisoring team responsible for your MBA.