ACIT5930 Master's Thesis, Phase 3 Course description

The master's thesis is a specialized individual research project. Phase 3 (MT-3) is dedicated to final analysis and/or prototype development and writing the Master's thesis. Prototypes and/or other products that are developed as part of the project can also be part of the final thesis.;

In addition, there will be a series of workshops on the academic writing and effective communication of the thesis project, building on the workshops in Phase 1 and 2. Students will develop an awareness of the conventions of academic writing and the writing process and use a range of analytical tools and methods to develop their writing and writing practices as part of writing their thesis.

Master's Thesis - MT1 (Phase 1) and Master's Thesis - MT2 (Phase 2) must be passed before starting on MT3 (Phase 3).

All courses must be passed before the written Master's thesis can be assessed and the oral presentation conducted.;

A student who has completed this course should have the following learning outcomes, defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

On successful completion of this course the student:

• has specialized knowledge on the specific areas of their Master thesis
• has a deep understanding of scientific writing as a process of both constructing and communicating meaning.
• is familiar with the structures and conventions of methods and results chapters.

Skills

On successful completion of this course the student:

• can clearly define and limit problem areas
• can connect his/her own project to relevant research literature
• can plan and carry out limited research or development projects
• can identify types and scopes of results which are required to ensure the claims and conclusions are scientifically valid
• can reflect on the decisions made and their consequences for the project
• can effectively draft, revise and develop the written communication of their research

General competence

On successful completion of this course the student:

• can apply knowledge and skills in new areas and carry out advanced projects
• can analyse and deal critically with developed products or collected data
• can carry out comprehensive independent study
• can contribute to the innovation of their field
• can apply effective writing strategies to diverse academic writing situations, including the writing of academic research articles.

All support materials are allowed for both assessments.

Successful completion of MT-1 (Phase 1) and MT-2 (Phase 2) forms the basis for MT-3. The work is carried out under the guidance of the supervisor appointed at the start of MT-1.

In addition to the project work, there will be a series of working during which students will be provided with a range of analytical tools and methods to help develop their writing skills. Students will also receive formative feedback on draft versions of their texts from the course instructor and their peers, with a focus on the final master's thesis and draft research article.;

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

1. A draft text of the masters thesis or draft research paper;
2. A peer review of another students draft text of the masters thesis
3. A Process Memo (reflection on the feedback received);

The final assessment will be based on the following four deliveries:

• A written Master thesis (Length: 20,000-30,000 words, using one of the available document templates).
• A draft research paper (Length: 3,000-6,000 words)
• Individual oral presentation (30 minutes).
• Any physical or digital artefact that has been developed by the student as part of the research project. The mode of submission must be approved by the supervisor beforehand 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 the properties of it, 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.

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.

After completing this course, the student should have the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge

On successful completion of this course the student understands:

• the basic concepts of ethical hacking and the basics of cyber security concepts
• how crucial information gathering is to any successful ethical hacking
• how to find, compile and execute public exploits
• privilege escalation and how it is used

Skills

On successful completion of this course the student has:

• the ability to understand and defend against the common system-based vulnerabilities common exploited
• the ability to understand and defend against common web-based vulnerabilities
• the ability to perform ethical hacking against systems students are authorized to test
• experience how to set up labs and environments at home to continue learning
• the ability to perform security research and apply it towards challenges they are working on

General Competence

On successful completion of this course the student can:

• understand the basics of ethical hacking and take advanced courses
• utilize the knowledge they learned in this course to be better defenders in their personal lives or in their professional careers
• further advance in the security field of ethical hacking and work on certification or career opportunities

This course will take an instruction followed by lab-based approach. The labs are designed so that the student will be able to reset their environment and be able to attempt the labs as many times as they would like. The course participants will work independently in unique virtual environments set up just for them.

The course uses blended teaching: Four weeks in class with one lecture and lab environment introduced every day and eight weeks online.

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

Students need to individually complete 3 quiz and 4 lab assignments. Student scores will be tracked through the course with the quizzes and lab proficiency scores to see if they need additional instruction.

Final examination.

1. An individual oral presentation, which counts for 40% of the final degree
2. An individual final 3 000 - 5 000 word report, which counts for 60% of the final degree.

Each exam must be assessed to E or better for the course as a whole to be given a final grade.

The oral presentation cannot be appealed.