GE4-304 Master's Thesis in Climate Change Management

Contents and structure

The goal of the master thesis is to give students insight and experience in planning, executing and writing an independent planning or research project.

During the first year of the program, students will have the opportunity to discuss project ideas with the scientific staff and alternatively be presented project ideas for master theses from potential supervisors. Students will design a research question in cooperation with their supervisor, immerse themselves in relevant literature, and select methods for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data. Each student will be appointed a supervisor/supervisor team. An agreement between the supervisor and the student, that clearly defines the rights and obligations of the two parties, must be signed before work on the thesis project commences. For research projects that require fieldwork, a plan for the fieldwork must be discussed and developed together with the supervisor, and if necessary this may be conducted during the spring/summer during the first year of the program.

The thesis may be written in English or Norwegian/Scandinavian.

Learning Outcome

Knowledge:

The student has

• in depth knowledge of a specific topic and relevant theories
• advanced knowledge of relevant research methods
• knowledge about scientific methods, hypothesis testing and scientific writing

Skills:

The student is able to

• find relevant scientific literature, and evaluate it critically and use it to structure and formulate research questions and academic reasoning
• evaluate existing hypotheses, theories, methods and interpretations within a discipline, and work independently with practical and theoretical problem solving
• use modern software for processing and analyzing maps, planning, and data analysis
• formulate research questions, collect and analyse data, and disseminate research results in scientific and popular science media
• complete an independent research project, under guidance and in accordance with the established norms of scientific and research ethics

General competence:

The student can

• apply their knowledge and skills in new areas and carry out advanced work assignments
• express themselves well orally and in writing in English and Norwegian
• convey extensive individual research and master relevant terminology
• communicate scientific research questions, conduct analyses of data, evaluate results and conclusions within relevant fields

Entry requirements

Completed bachelor degree of 180 ECTS and 70 ECTS of the master program

Teaching methods

Fieldwork, literature study, writing sessions, seminars, presentations, peer discussions, and supervision.

Compulsory learning activities

1. January, 4th semester: Attend the master thesis kick-off meeting
2. January-February, 4th semester: Submission of master thesis progress plan
3. April-May, 4th semester: Individual mid-way presentation of the thesis project (e.g. poster), including a presentation of the methods, analyses and preliminary results and conclusion

Assessment

Written master's thesis, individual or in pairs.

Grading A-F, where F equals fail.

Adjusting oral exam where the written grade can be adjusted up or down one grade.

The evaluation commission will be comprised of two people, one internal and one external evaluator. The supervisor is not part of the commission.

The thesis must be submitted electronically and will be automatically checked for plagiarism. However, the master's thesis is designed so that one can continue working with own text and figures produced in ME4-300 (Scientific writing and theory of science). Reusing of this work will not be considered cheating.

If the master's thesis receives a fail grade, an improved version of the thesis can be submitted within the following two semesters.

Examination support material

All support material is permitted. For more information about Artificial intelligence (AI), please see Submission of home exams and assignments.

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