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Interdisciplinary Master Project

Interdisciplinary master project is one of the focus areas of SITRAP, Centre for Integrated and Transdisciplinary Teaching in Planning. Interdisciplinary Master Project is an offer for students who wish to complete their final master thesis (spring semester) within a learning community of students and supervisors from different degree programs, and who wish to explore a common topical theme or case related to sustainable development. Individuals work on their own thesis, with other students working on the same theme. Master theses are registered in the usual way at the relavent faculty and degree programme.

Join an interdisciplinary and social community for writing your master's thesis (Norwegian article).

"I recommend that everyone write their master's thesis through an interdisciplinary master project. In retrospect, I see that I have benefited greatly from this - both in my work on my master's thesis, and through the experiences that I have taken with me into my working life. The Oslo Fjord is a big part of my everyday work now!"

Charlotte Marie Trovaag
Rådgiver Rambøll
Tidligere student i TfMP – Oslofjorden

SITRAP is keen to find out how this community affects the student's active learning and the supervisor's commitment, and how the students achieve results. All students at NMBU can apply to participate in the Interdisciplinary master project when working on their final master's thesis.  

Students enrolled in the Interdisciplinary Master Project will participate in: 

  • Start-up and mid-term seminars. You will present and discuss each other's work. Practicing communicating your thesis to others outside your degree program is very valuable experience!
  • Joint outings and relevant academic lectures
  • Monthly lunches 

SITRAP's Interdisciplinary Master Project scheme provides students with a professional and social network that is of great benefit during the writing period.

Studenter i grupper rundt bord, konsentrert om en oppgave
Bli med i et faglig fellesskap i oppgaveperioden Photo: NMBU
  • Themes spring 2025

    SITRAP coordinates the groups of students and supervisors involved in the Interdisciplinary Master Project. In addition to providing an offer to students who want something more, the purpose of the initiative is to test the learning outcomes of students completing their master's theses in a different way. We take between 10 and 15 students/assignments under each theme, based on the students' motivation. To conclude the porject, we create a popular science report with a summary of each of the master theses.

    These are the themes for 2025:

    • Hovinbyen

      Hovinbyen is a new theme for the interdisciplinary master project for the academic year 24/25. Hovinbyen will be developed over the next 30 years, and there are many current problem areas that the students can explore in their master's theses, under this theme.  

      1. Managing non-permanance (cultural and meeting space needs)

        Hovinbyen will be developed over the next 30 years. Many generations of children will spend their entire childhood here. How can we turn temporary structures into a framework for good conditions for growing up and promoting well-being? Who takes responsibility for it? What is required?

        What is the need for meeting places? How do we find this out? Students can explore the experiences of local environment/ neighbourhood research, with a focus on social relations and networks or the use of the local environment, e.g. the use of public meeting places or organisations. Students can also explore moving patterns and moving frequency via register data, and connect to GIS. Self-reporting can also be used to look at this in the context of various social indicators.
      2. New interaction models

        Urban development in densification and transformation takes place in collaboration between the public and private sectors. Today's systems for the management of urban development are characterized by a lack of trust, conflict, documents that are sent back and forth, and long processing times. There is a need to develop new interaction models for large development projects. This has been attempted elsewhere, e.g. at Rosenholm. What does it take to succeed with alternative interaction models in Hovinbyen? Students can also work with the co-creation and participation of different groups, such as living lab.
      3. Innovation in planning, building, housing and business (housing typologies, housing rates and purchase models)

        Is there a need to think differently about the housing market? How can this be done in Hovinbyen? Transformation, re-purposing, re-use and recycling: why should the area be developed? Students can explore experiences and attitudes towards re-purposing, re-use and recycling. An important public health aspect is social justice in such change processes. Who is involved? Who has the opportunity to influence? Are there groups that become particularly vulnerable through such change processes?
      Register your interest

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      Supervisors

    • Oslo fjord 3.0

      The academic year 24/25 will be the third year with a focus on Oslo fjord - dead or alive in SITRAP's Interdisciplinary Master Project initiative, hence the title Oslo fjord 3.0. The project enables master students across NMBU's faculties and degree programs to explore various challenges for the Oslo fjord, such as those described in the government's Action Plan for the Oslo Fjord. To ensure interdisciplinarity, we want some students to limit themselves geographically. The most concrete case relates to the Oslo Fjord Outdoor Council's project on sustainable outdoor life at Skogsborg and Torvøya in Asker municipality (and possibly also at Bergsholmen in Frogn municipality). Students can focus on the fjord basin between Asker and Frogn municipalities including Håøya and surrounding islands and islets, also the land areas/rainfall areas on either side of the fjord. A concrete idea is to take a closer look at the plans to blow up Jeteen in Drøbak, and explore the potential impact of this.

      NMBU is involved in several research projects that are connected to interdisciplinary master projects, e.g. MAREA (MARine Ecosystem Accounting for integrated coastal planning in the Oslofjord. See Nytt forskningsprosjekt skal føre regnskap over Oslofjordens naturverdier | NMBU. Another relevant research project is FRIKYST. See COASTREC | Telemarksforsking . There are a number of other ongoing projects related to various NMBU faculties.

      Register your interest

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      Supervisors

    • Campus development

      Campus development is a new topic for SITRAP's Interdisciplinary Master Project initiative in the academic year 24/25. In 2025, we want to explore the possibilities for creating a more sustainable campus at NMBU. Several professional communities can participate to find good solutions together. The theme for this year is sustainable and circular food production on campus Ås - but other relevant issues for sustainable solutions for running the campus can also be explored.

      This year's theme – Sustainable food production at Campus Ås

      How can NMBU create sustainable and circular food production on Campus Ås? Join us in exploring the possibilities of utilizing our food waste to create new local and sustainable food!

      According to the UN, ⅓ of all the food we produce globally is thrown away every single year. In Norway alone, we throw away more than 450,000 tonnes of food a year. Re-using the nutrients in food waste is therefore critical to achieving the sustainability goals. At NMBU and Campus Ås, we have not yet managed to set up bins for food waste around the campus. NMBU houses over 6,200 acres of productive land. We also have significant resources and knowledge on topics such as food production, circular economy and sustainability. At the same time, we send all the food waste that we do manage to collect 112 kilometers away to Tønsberg by truck. We believe in better solutions and we want you to explore what we can achieve!

      As master students with a focus on circular food production, you will be part of an established project with academics from several faculties. The Circular Food project runs until 2027. Students will also develop projects in collaboration with the Sustainability Arenas at NMBU's Sustainability Hub.

      Register your interest

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  • Reports

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