MAPSD5900 Master's Thesis in Mental Health Care Course description

The master's thesis is an independent and systematic piece of scientific work. The master's thesis should have a clinical and/or organisational focus on mental health, mental disorders and mental health care. The student(s) can be affiliated with internal and external research environments and development projects in the field of mental health.

Passed course MAPSD4300/MAPSD4310 (where the project description is prepared). All the exams in the compulsory and elective courses must be passed in order for a student to submit his/her master's thesis for assessment.

After completing the course, the student is expected to have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and competence:

Knowledge

The student has

• advanced knowledge of mental health, mental disorders and mental health care
• in-depth knowledge about theories of science and research methods of relevance to the completion of the master's thesis

Skills

The student is capable of

• carrying out a limited research or development project under supervision in accordance with applicable research ethics standards
• using relevant methods in research and development work

Competence

The student

• has competence in research and development work and can assess the methods used and results from scientific investigations and evaluations
• is capable of taking an analytical and critical approach to the research process and knowledge development
• is capable of reflecting on the ethical aspects of the research process and knowledge development

Seminars will be held where the students submit drafts of the master's thesis text, which will be reviewed and discussed at the seminar. 

Ten hours of individual supervision is available for the master's thesis.

The master's thesis shall be submitted as a monograph or as an article script. Up to two students can co-write a joint master's thesis. A note must accompany the submission of the thesis, stating the parts of the thesis that each student has had main responsibility for.

Individual assignments in monograph form are expected to have a scope of 50 pages (+/- 20%). Monograph theses written by two students are expected to have a scope of around 70 pages.

Individual theses in article form shall comprise one scientific article. The student(s) must also write an explanatory text, in which they shall present and discuss thematic and methodological aspects of the master's thesis that are not adequately covered in the articles. Theses in article form written by two students shall consist of two scientific articles that are thematically linked, and an explanatory text. In the explanatory text, the student(s) shall present and discuss thematic and methodological aspects of the master's thesis that are not adequately covered in the articles. The article and the explanatory text shall together constitute a maximum of 50 pages for individual theses and a maximum of 70 pages when two students write articles together.

The following must have been completed and approved in order for a student to be permitted to submit the master's thesis:

Supervision

• Five hours of supervision, three of which must be given by the main supervisor
• The supervisor's overview of the supervision the student has received in connection with his/her work on the master's thesis serves as documentation of completed supervision.

Written master's thesis with adjusting oral exam

• individual or in groups of two students, and an individual oral exam based on the master’s thesis (approx. one hour)
• only students who have passed the written master's thesis are permitted to take the oral exam
• the thesis must be written in accordance with the applicable guidelines for the master’s thesis in Mental Health Care

All aids are permitted, as long as the rules for source referencing are complied with.

The master's thesis is given a preliminary letter grades from A to F. Both students will be awarded the same grade for a group assignment.

The grade for the written thesis is announced at least 48 hours before the oral exam is held. A preliminary grade can be adjusted up or down by up to two grades when the final grade is set, on the basis of the examiners' evaluation of the student's performance at the oral exam.

The grade for the written thesis can be appealed. There is an individual right to appeal a grade, i.e. an appeal concerning a grade only has consequences for the candidate who submits the appeal. If the grade changes as a result of a new assessment, the student must also take another oral exam. The grade after the oral exam cannot be appealed. Students who are given the grade F after the oral exam can submit a new or reworked version of the master's thesis for new assessment once.

The master's thesis is assessed by a commission consisting of one internal examiner and at least one external examiner. The supervisor cannot be an internal examiner.