DAT300 Master's thesis

Contents and structure

The master's thesis deals with an open problem in software engineering. The master's thesis will provide the student with solid competences and skills in software engineering and knowledge of and application of scientific working methods, as well as training in independent work with extensive and demanding academic assignments. Through the master's thesis, the candidate will acquire competence in a subject area of software engineering and write a monograph on a selected topic or problem. The master's thesis can also be written as a collection of separate articles or reports, based on the work during the master's education period, together with an introductory overview. The master's thesis has a practical component in the form of the development of (parts of) a software system.

Learning Outcome

A candidate who has completed this course will have the following learning outcomes, defined in the form of knowledge, skills and general competence: 

Knowledge 

The candidate 

• has specialized knowledge of research and development in the specific areas of the master's thesis  
• has knowledge of scientific methods within software engineering, including definition of research questions, literature studies, evaluation methods, expected results, and artifact building 

 

Skills

The candidate: 

• can clearly define and limit problem areas 
• can relate his/her work to relevant research literature within software engineering 
• can plan and carry out limited research or development projects 
• can identify the types and extent of results that are necessary to ensure that the claims and conclusions are scientifically valid 
• can reflect on and evaluate the decisions made and their consequences for the project 

 

General competence

The candidate: 

• can apply knowledge and skills in new areas and carry out advanced software engineering projects 
• can analyze and reflect critically on products or collected data 
• can work independently in a scientific project 
• can contribute to innovation in software engineering
• can convey own work both orally and in writing 

Entry requirements

General admission to the master program in software engineering.

Teaching methods

Independent work in the form of a research project which is carried out under the supervision of an academic supervisor and documented in a written master’s thesis. The supervisor(s) shall provide advice on the formulation and demarcation of the subjects and problem approaches for the thesis, literature, academic content, tasks and progress plan. The supervisor(s) discuss drafts of the thesis with the candidate. This shall normally take place in meetings, but other arrangements can be agreed upon. The supervision takes place on demand and shall be evenly distributed over the master's education period.

Compulsory learning activities

The candidate is obliged to attend compulsory master's seminars. More information about the seminars will be given at the start of the master's program.

The candidate must hand in a project description to his/her supervisor and thereafter to the program committee within a given deadline. The project description must contain:

• title,
• background and bibliography,
• research questions,
• research- and working method,
• evaluation plan, and
• expected result

The project description is prepared in several iterations.

Assessment

The master’s thesis will be assessed in accordance with §15 of Supplementary regulations for degree programs at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, UiB (https://wiki.uib.no/matnat/images/e/e3/Regulations_degree_programmes_MatNat_2019.pdf)

Grading scale

A-F, F is not passed