MSL5900 Master's Thesis in Public Management Course description

The master's thesis is worth 30 credits, which constitutes a part-time workload over two semesters or full-time workload of about five months. The master's thesis is an independent scientific work. Students will choose and elucidate a topic from the subject areas covered by the programme through systematic use of social science methods. The research question may be linked to the student's own experiences.

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Knowledge

The student has

• advanced knowledge of a specialised field of public management, primarily in the public sector

• in-depth knowledge of theories relevant to the topic of the master's thesis

• in-depth insight into a topic or phenomenon from several different perspectives

• insight into academic requirements for analysis and written work

Skills

The student is capable of

• carrying out a limited research project under supervision and in accordance with applicable standards of research ethics

• using relevant methods in report work and evaluations

• writing a text with the strucure and content required of a master¿s thesis

Competence

The student is capable of

• reading research literature in a critical and reflective manner

• evaluating the use of methods in and results of studies and evaluations

• communicating knowledge and own research results orally and in writing

• applying knowledge and skills in obtaining and using relevant sources, literature and other information, masters reference and quotation techniques, and is capable of defining what constitutes plagiarism and cheating

The students are encouraged to select a topic and research question early in the course of the programme and to use the options available in connection with courses and written works to prepare for the master's thesis. The topic, research question and methodological approach to the study must be presented at a seminar dedicated to work on the master's thesis early in the first semester.

The master's thesis can be submitted individually or students can work and submit the thesis in pairs. The scope of the master's thesis is 16,000 words +/- 10%. The table of contents and reference list come in addition to this. When students work in pairs, the students must submit a written declaration on submission describing the division of work between them.

Supervision

Each student will be appointed a supervisor affiliated to the academic environment for the master's programme. The students have a right to up to eight hours of individual supervision (if relevant two students together), and must attend at least four supervision sessions and joint supervision seminars. Supervision is not normally given for more than one year after normal study progress.

The master's thesis will be assessed together with an oral presentation of the main aspects of the thesis, followed by an oral exam. The oral presentation will last 15 minutes for an individual thesis and 20 minutes for a group thesis. A grade will be awarded for the master's thesis with the possibility of adjustment on the basis of the oral presentation and oral exam.

When students work on the thesis in pairs, the written thesis will be awarded the same grade. Each student will present their part of the thesis in lecture form and then take an individual oral exam. However, the lectures and the oral exam will be considered the individual student's contribution and are used to adjust the final grade for each student as necessary.

If the student appeals against the grade, a new committee will be appointed and the master's thesis will be re-assessed. If the grade is changed, a new oral exam will be held.

Students are allowed to submit a new or revised master's thesis once if they are awarded a fail grade. A reworked version of the thesis must be submitted within the given deadline. The student has a right to one additional supervision session before the new submission. A student will not be allowed to submit a new master's thesis in the same programme if a pass grade has already been awarded.

The master's thesis must be submitted electronically. The student must sign a publication agreement in connection with submission to allow the thesis to be published and made publicly available. If the student consents to this, all non-restricted master's theses awarded a pass grade will be published in ODA, the university's digital knowledge archive.

A grade scale with grades from A to E for pass and F for fail is used.