THT390 Preparations for the master's thesis

Credits (ECTS):5

Course responsible:Vegard Nilsen

Campus / Online:Taught campus Ås

Teaching language:Norsk, engelsk

Course frequency:Annually

Nominal workload:

The nominal work load for a 5-credit course is 125 hours, distributed approximately as follows:

  • Seminars/lectures (28 hours) with associated independent study (14 hours)
  • Individual supervision (10 hours)
  • Independent work with the project assignment and presentation (73 hours)

Teaching and exam period:This course starts in the autumn parallel. This course has teaching/assessment in the autumn parallel.

About this course

The purpose of this course is to provide a practical introduction to the planning and implementation of a small research project, such as a master's thesis. Through independent work under supervision, the students will carry out a preliminary project related to their own planned topic for the master's thesis. The course is mainly aimed at students in water and environmental engineering, but it is also open to other students.

Topics covered in the course are:

  • The purpose of the master's thesis
  • Development of a good problem statement and good research questions
  • Planning the use of relevant methods
  • Literature search, reading research papers, reference management, citation practices and plagiarism
  • Managing one's own research data
  • Structuring research reports/master's theses
  • Language, writing tools and writing tips
  • Regulations and guidelines for master's thesis work, including privacy rules
  • Professional and research ethics
  • Use of artificial intelligence in research and writing
  • Time budgeting, supervision routines, managing problems and unforeseen events
  • Presentation technique

Learning outcome

Knowledge:

  • The student has knowledge about essential aspects of planning, carrying out and reporting research, including regulations and guidelines
  • Through literature search and reading research literature, the student has acquired in-depth knowledge on a chosen, narrower topic

Skills:

  • The student can conduct a literature search and navigate through the professional and research literature
  • The student can identify and formulate meaningful research questions and choose relevant methods to answer the research questions
  • The student masters the most important functions of selected writing tools and reference management tools, and can follow good citation practices
  • The student can manage research data in accordance with regulations and guidelines
  • The student can structure a technical or research report in an appropriate way and has training in using language that suits the genre
  • The student can use artificial intelligence in an academic context in an appropriate way, and reflect on ethical aspects of this
  • The student can present academic content and research plans in oral form

General competence:

  • The student has gained experience with reflecting on professional and research ethics within their own subject area
  • The student has gained experience in structuring a technical or research report
  • The student has gained experience with oral presentation of academic or technical content
  • Learning activities
    • Seminars with discussions around specific examples and challenges
    • Lectures
    • Individual supervision and feedback on the project assignment
  • Teaching support
    • In addition to the plenary teaching sessions, each student is offered individual supervision and feedback, preferably with the person who will be the student's supervisor during the work with the master's thesis.
    • The NMBU writing center offers guidance in academic writing for students
  • Prerequisites
    Completed four years of a five-year master's program or one year of a two-year master's program, preferably in water and environmental engineering.
  • Recommended prerequisites
    It is recommended, but not necessary, that the student has chosen a topic for the master's thesis and that this topic forms the starting point for the work with the project report in this course.
  • Assessment method
    Oral presentation and discussion of the project assignment.

  • Examiner scheme
    The external and internal examiner evaluate the oral presentation and discussion.
  • Mandatory activity
    • Mandatory attendance at a selection of seminars/lectures
    • Mandatory submission of a project report that needs appproval. As part of the work process, there will be mandatory submissions of preliminary versions of the project report.
  • Notes
    • Plenary teaching in this course will be given primarily in Norwegian, while individual supervision can be conducted in English if necessary.
    • The course is aimed mainly at students in the study program in water and environmental engineering, but may also be relevant to other study programs if relevant expertise is available for individual supervision.
  • Teaching hours
    Two hours per week are allocated for seminar teaching and/or lectures.
  • Reduction of credits
    Full (5) credit reduction against MTH300 - E-learning Course: Planning and Scientific Writing of a Master's Thesis in Natural Sciences.
  • Admission requirements
    REALFAG (special requirements in science)