ACIT5900 Master's Thesis Course description

Lectures and practical semester exercises. The students work both individually and in groups. The groups normally comprise 3-4 students. The student will supplement the lectures and lab with their own reading.

Individual assigments

Practical training

Practical semester exercise.

The following coursework must be approved before the student can attend the exam:

• Semester exercise in a group of 3-4 students, resulting in a report between 7500 and 15000 words. The total working load will be approx. 60 hours per student.

Individual written exam, 3 hours.

The exam grade can be appealed.

New/postponed exam

In case the number of students in the course is less than five, the exam will be automatically turned into an oral exam. In case of failed exam or legal absence, the student may apply for a new or postponed exam. New or postponed exams are offered within a reasonable time span following the regular exam. The student is responsible for registering for a new/postponed exam within the time limits set by OsloMet. The Regulations for new or postponed examinations are available in Regulations relating to studies and examinations at OsloMet.

In the event of a postponed examination in this course, the exam may be held as an oral exam. Oral exams cannot be appealed.

The academic writing workshops will cover topics such as

• Variations in academic style
• Audience, purpose and style
• The writing process
• Disciplinary identity
• Academic language
• Vocabulary, grammar, sentence, paragraph and text
• Coherence and cohesion
• Directness and formality
• Avoiding common errors: e.g. digression, lack of thesis statement, misunderstanding one’s audience
• Analysing, discussing and responding to academic texts
• Article structures, including IMRAD

A handheld calculator that cannot be used for wireless communication or to perform symbolic calculations. If the calculator’s internal memory can store data, the memory must be deleted before the exam. Random checks may be carried out.

Grade scale A-F

The thesis project consists of the following:

• A written Master thesis (Length: 15,000-30000 words, using one of the available document templates)
• Individual oral presentation (30 minutes)
• Submission of an artefact (either physical or digital) as part of the thesis is optional. Any artefact that has been developed by the student as part of the research project must be approved by the supervisor, the Master Thesis Coordinator must be informed, and the artefact must be made available in such a way to be inspected by the examiners. In the case of a physical artefact, video and images may be used to document its properties, eliminating the need for a physical inspection.

The master's thesis is assessed on the basis of the following criteria:

• the originality and/or relevance of the issues or research questions to the field of study
• clarity in the development of issues or research questions being addressed
• documentation and use of relevant theory and research, as well as systematic use of sources
• clarity in the relationship between issues/research questions being addressed, the method choices/methodologies employed and the resulting discussions/conclusions
• ability to collect, systematize, interpret/deconstruct and present knowledge in a clear way
• reflection on ethical issues in the research process
• written presentation (clear table of contents, accurate literature references, bibliography and appendices).

Theses are written in Norwegian or English. The oral exam can be taken in Norwegian or English, regardless of which language the thesis was written in.

The written thesis must be awarded a grade of A-E (preliminary grade) in order for a student to take the oral exam. The final grade is set after the oral exam. The grade can be adjusted up or down by one grade based on the oral exam. All exams must be passed in order to pass the course.

Students can appeal against the grade set for the written part of the exam. If the grade is changed after an appeal against the grade, and the oral exam has already been held, the oral exam must be retaken.

New/postponed exam

In case of failed exam or legal absence, the student may apply for a new or postponed exam. New or postponed exams are offered within a reasonable time span following the regular exam. The student is responsible for applying for a new/postponed exam within the time limits set by OsloMet. The Regulations for new or postponed examinations are available in Regulations relating to studies and examinations at OsloMet.

Professor Peyman Mirtaheri

Topics covered in this course:

• Introduction to sensors and actuators
• Electrochemical sensors and actuators
• Optical sensors and actuators
• Multivariate calibration using optical and electrical spectra
• Evaluation of sensors and actuators for medical and health care applications

Two external examiners will be used for the assessment.

Master thesis coordinator: assistant professor Nikola Holm

Writing workshop coordinator: professor Pavel Zemliansky