ITPE3900 Bachelor Thesis Course description

On completion of the master’s degree program in Transport and Urban Planning, candidates are expected to have the following learning outcome defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge:

The candidate has advanced knowledge

• of theory and tools for modelling and design across the areas of smart city transportation, logistics and urban areas
• of methods and regulations used in the design and policy of urban areas and urban mobility
• to evaluate climate and environmental effects on urban areas and mobility infrastructures and apply this knowledge in solving new urban and mobility challenges
• to analyze issues related to mobility and urbanization based on the historical and current development of the discipline and take into account new technology and society’s need for more sustainable design of mobility and urban environment

Skills:The candidate is able to

• analyze space in terms of built environment, transportation, topography and climate sensitivity based on relevant data
• use relevant computer software and information and communication technology (ICT) tools in the analysis, optimization, prediction, design and visualization of mobility and urban structures
• carry out an independent, delimited research or development project under supervision and in accordance with applicable research ethical standards
• utilize earlier research and information for own innovation and development
• work independently and in cross-disciplinary teams to solve complex, practical and theoretical problems related to city transportation, logistics and urban planning

General competence:

The candidate is able to:

• identify reliable data sources, find relevant data and ensure its quality
• analyze academic, research and professional issues and make ethically sound recommendations of smart mobility and urban solutions, including their impact on humans and the environment
• apply his/her knowledge and skills to analyze and design solutions on cross-disciplinary and complex issues
• communicate the results of independent and project work, both in writing and orally, to authorities, professionals and general public
• contribute to development and innovation within smart city transportation, logistics and urban planning

The program is a full-time program over two years that consists of a lecture-based component with a scope of 90 credits and an independent project, the master’s thesis, with a scope of 30 credits. The master’s degree program will prepare students to meet society’s need for up-todate, forward-looking expertise in sustainable and smart urban analytics and transport planning. In this master program, the students will achieve knowledge in both the fields of Transport- and Urban Planning.

The courses are organized in a systematic way. The transport courses provided in the first semester will provide students strategic and technological knowledge of the state-of-the-art transport system and the challenges it is facing. Moreover, basic research skills will also be provided to help students to handle more methodological courses in the second semester. During the second semester, the widely applied analytic and modeling method will be provided to students with the focus on human activity and needs. Their knowledge will be expanded from the transport system to the whole city. Students will have in-depth skills and concepts of urban analytics and regional science. In the second year, students will select their expertise and conduct a master thesis based on everything they learned in the first year.

Transport planning concerns the evolution of transportation networks and transport planning strategies. The study program focuses on providing the students with more detailed knowledge of the history, trends, problems, and opportunities in land use and transportation. The program incorporates substantive knowledge in transport demand and travel behavior, land use and transportation policy and planning, street design and urban space, and implications for a sustainable urban future. The study program also aims to provide updated skills on new technology in this field as well as knowledge in innovations in equitable and sustainable urban mobility.

Urban planning is analyzing and understanding the evolution and challenges of urban development, as well as urban and land use planning. The study program focuses on providing the students with solid, theoretical knowledge and applied skills in urban systems, management of urban design and human factors in sustainable cities. Climate change and increased focus on resource use and environmental impacts thereby entail a greater focus on the choice of urban design. The study program focuses on providing the students with more detailed knowledge of town-friendly planning and green policy. The study program also aims to provide updated skills on new technology in this field as well as knowledge in innovative and sustainable urban planning.

In the third semester, students have the option to choose in-depth knowledge in either smart mobility or in urban analytics. Students who choose to specialize in smart mobility will take the Urban Mobility elective, and students who choose to specialize in urban analytics will take the Space Syntax elective. The elective courses give students necessary knowledge in these areas, and experience applying the skills and methods learned in the first and second semester to specific problems in Transport and Urban planning. After completing the elective, students will then complete a master’s thesis in the fourth semester. The master’s thesis will then give the students further practice in applying their knowledge and skills to relevant issues through more comprehensive project work.

The study program focuses on teaching students how to use advanced computer programs and simulation tools to solve complex problems relating to sustainable urban and transportation problems, so the development of digital skills is an important integrated part of all the courses. This also helps make the program cross-disciplinary, including elements of computer science, analytic disciplines (like modeling, simulation), artificial intelligence, machine learning etc., because that is what the industry needs today

The study program also aims to qualify candidates with the competence to participate in research work in the field. The two courses Research Methods and Research Ethics (5 ECTS) and Advanced Research Methods (5 ECTS) underpins the master’s thesis and provides an introduction to qualitative and quantitative research methods, ethics, and academic writing and dissemination of results

The master’s thesis is an independent, supervised research or development project in the core areas and represents further specialisation in either transport or urban planning.

The structure of the programe:

The master’s degree program consists of eight compulsory courses, two elective courses in addition to a master’s thesis. The course portfolio is composed so that the compulsory courses ensure academic and professional breadth, at the same time as the students are given an opportunity for in-depth study and specialisation through elective courses and the master’s thesis.

The choice of elective courses for the third semester (Transport and Urban Planning) is made at the end of the second semester. The whole fourth semester is dedicated to the master’s thesis. It is natural that the master’s thesis builds on the project work that forms part of the specialization topic in the third semester. The topic of the thesis can either be linked to a client’s issue or to relevant research projects in the department.

In order for students to be able to present the master’s thesis, all courses from the first year of the study program must be passed.

Students are encouraged to contact relevant enterprises in the region for the purpose of gaining practical training and experience in the fields through a summer job or similar, and to establish cooperation on project assignments.

The work and teaching methods in the program includes group work, cross disciplinary projects, lectures, exercise sessions including digital labs, presentations, field work and discussions. The students will be involved in peer feedback which will be part of the learning process. The scheduled study activities shall be motivating and inspiring for the students and induce nonorganized academic work. The work methods are intended to stimulate cooperation, individual activity, reflection and fresh thinking. Contact with business and industry through external lecturers and projects in addition to ordinary tuition is intended to give the students a relevant and motivational approach throughout the study program.

To work as an expert researcher in urban or mobility design and planning requires a high level of expertise in the use of advanced computer programs and simulation tools (ICT tools) for problem-solving. Computer exercises and tasks that require the use of advanced ICT tools are therefore one of the main work methods used in the study program.

Research and teaching are also integrated throughout the study program. The teaching is to be constantly updated to encompass new knowledge, and research articles are part of the syllabus. Furthermore, the students will participate in research-related discussions and be included in ongoing research and development through projects that are part of the study program.

Project-based learning relating to urban and mobility design and planning tasks is used to give the students practice in work on complex issues. The study program will prepare the students for work methods used in the industry, through group work and project assignments in cooperation with partner companies in the industry. The projects are intended to develop the students’ ability to formulate and analyze research questions using scientific methods. Projects are normally carried out in groups, and the students will also thereby develop their ability to listen to others, exchange knowledge and discuss solutions in cooperation with others. Project work shall culminate in reports written on the basis of a template for scholarly articles/reports.

The master's thesis shall take the form of independent, supervised research or development work in one of the key subject areas of the study program.

The master's thesis must follow at least one scientific approach, and the result must contain elements of new knowledge or new methods. Each student or group of students will be assigned an internal supervisor who will ensure that the project complies with research ethics principles and help students to formulate the research question and ensure quality in the collection and analysis of data. The master's thesis shall be a written report based on research principles and methods.

Prosjektveiledning. Prosjektarbeid i grupper. Gruppestørrelsen er normalt 3 til 4 studenter. Studentene skal utføre et prosjekt tilsvarende emnets omfang fortrinnsvis hos en ekstern oppdragsgiver. Utfyllende informasjon samt frister for de ulike fasene i prosjektarbeidet vil framgå av emnets webside og av undervisningsplanen som kunngjøres ved semesterstart.

Ingen.

Provisions governing assessment and grading are laid down in the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges and the Regulations relating to Studies and Examinations at OsloMet. Please refer to https://student.oslomet.no./

The forms of assessment used shall promote learning and document that the students’ competence is adequate in relation to the applicable learning outcome. Assessment methods vary between courses. They include written reports (individual and group reports), oral presentations, portfolio assessments and oral examinations. There will be no written school exam on this master program as the pedagogical approach is to have assessments similar to evaluation methods used when working in a company. The forms of assessment and grade scale are described in more detail in the individual course descriptions. In connection with the final assessment in the course, a grade scale with grades from A to E for pass (A being the highest) and F for fail is used.

A portfolio assessment provides an overall assessment awarding one grade for the whole portfolio. Each student's work will be assessed together as a portfolio with one individual grade at the end of the semester, but all parts that make up the portfolio must be assessed as 'pass' in order for the student to pass the course. The overall assessment can be appealed. Students may only appeal against the determination of the examination grade awarded for the whole portfolio. Any information on weighting of grades must be considered as supplementary information in connection with the final grade.

The tuition takes place in English, and assignments will also be in English. Students may, by agreement with the person responsible for the course, submit assignments in Norwegian. The assignment given in the elective course (specialization course) in the third semester and the master's thesis should be in English.

If the examination in a course consists of more than one part, all parts of the examination must be passed in order to pass the course.

Normally each course has one or two internal examiners to assess students' work. On a regularly basis one or some of the courses will be chosen to include an external examiner, thus the students' work will be assessed by one external and one internal examiner.

Oral exams shall be assessed by two examiners, as this form of assessment cannot be appealed.

The master’s thesis will be assessed by an external and an internal examiner. In addition to submitting a written report, students must also give an oral presentation of the thesis to the external examiner and supervisor(s). The examiners will set the grade for the master’s thesis after the oral presentation and questioning. Students can appeal against the grade awarded for the written thesis in accordance with Section 5-3 of the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges. If the grade is changed as a result of re-assessment, the student must take the oral exam again. The oral exam grade cannot be appealed

The master’s degree program is profession-oriented, which means that students are to a significant extent assessed on the basis of their ability to solve problems, and on whether their presentations of solutions meet technical, academic and ethical requirements. Project assignments with reports and presentations are therefore one of the dominant assessment forms used in the study program. Guildeline for master's theses at the Faculty can be found here: Retningslinjer for masteroppgaver ved Fakultet for teknologi, kunst og design - Student - minside (oslomet.no)

Students have the right to demand an explanation for and to appeal against a grade awarded and/or formal errors in connection with exams in accordance with Section 5-3 of the Act relating to Universities and University Colleges.

After completing the program, students will be awarded a diploma showing all their final grades (final assessments) in the courses that form the basis for the degree. The title of the master’s thesis will also be included on the diploma.

Quality assurance

The purpose of OsloMet's quality assurance system is to strengthen students' learning outcomes and development by raising the quality at all levels. Cooperation with the students, and their participation in the quality assurance work, is decisive to the overall learning outcome. Among the overall goals for the quality assurance system is to ensure:

• that the educational activities, including practical training and the learning and study environment, maintain a high level of quality
• that the study programs are relevant for the professional fields
• that the quality development continues to improve

For the students, this entails, among other things, student evaluations in the form of:

course evaluations

annual student surveys for all of OsloMet

More information about the quality assurance system is available here: https://student.oslomet.no/en/acts-regulation#etablering-studium-evaluering-kvalitetssystem

Program supervisor scheme

The program supervisor scheme is part of the quality assurance of each individual study program. A program supervisor is not an examiner, but someone who supervises the quality of the study program. All study program at OsloMet shall be subject to supervision by a program supervisor, but there are different ways of practicing the scheme. Reference is made to the Guidelines for Appointment and Use of Examiners at OsloMet: https://student.oslomet.no/en/retningslinjer-sensorer

Gradert skala A-F.

To sensorer (én intern og én ekstern)

Emnet er ekvivalent (overlapper 20 studiepoeng) med: HO912A.

Ved praktisering av 3-gangers regelen for oppmelding til eksamen teller forsøk brukt i ekvivalente emner.