SN5900 The Master's Thesis Course description

The master’s thesis is an independent, analytical work with a scope of 30 ECTC credits of relevance to the subject areas in the programme. The students must choose a topic to be explored through systematic use of qualitative and/or quantitative methods. The research question can be of a theoretical or an empirical nature. The master’s thesis can be submitted as a monograph or as an article-based thesis (article manuscript and introductory chapter (kappe).

The language of instruction is English.

Students must have passed all courses in the master’s degree programme before they can submit their master’s thesis for assessment.

A student who has completed his or her qualification has the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The student has advanced knowledge of

• research designs relevant to the investigation of a particular research question
• a particular area of social or health policy of relevance to their degree
• relevant research literature on the subject matter of the master-s thesis
• theories and methodological approaches relevant for the chosen subject matter
• basic conceptual tools needed to understand an critically examine relevant social research

Skills

The student can

• conduct a review of the state of scientific knowledge related to a research question in social policy
• conduct a limited, independent research project under supervision
• choose a methodology that is relevant for a specific welfare research question
• apply research methods in a reflective manner
• critically evaluate relevant quantitative or qualitative methods used in reports, books or articles investigating a particular welfare policy problem

General Competence

The student can

• read and critically assess academic literature
• present specialised knowledge and research findings in the form of academic writing
• apply advanced skills and knowledge in the field of social welfare policy
• evaluate issues related to the academic, professional and research ethics

Admission to the Master's programme.

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

Knowledge

The student has:

• knowledge about how design culture can have an impact on developing products and cultural values
• knowledge about how design culture works as a bridge between design history and modern society
• attained knowledge of methods that involve documentation of relational matters e.g., (i) between products (things) and people, (ii) products and environment
• a good understanding of how aesthetic awareness works as a crucial factor in informed design practices
• a good understanding of how reflexivity and criticality work as crucial factors to challenge established perspectives and norms in the field

Skills

The student can:

• use aesthetic practice-based methods to enhance exploratory and analytical processes and to communicate the design process and the results
• use methods for documentation, e.g., auto-ethnographic method, to uncover and describe materialized processes and fieldwork
• interweave different forms of knowledge from practice and theory by using various forms of articulation (materialized, visual, and text)
• use methods to communicate the design process, and the results, the product(s) in a cultural context

General competence

The student has a developed understanding for:

• the relevance of knowledge of cultural values and meanings and their impact on design
• responsibility for the development of design in a culturally sustainable context

Lectures, excursion, workshop, various platforms for presentations, discussion and reflection, self-study.

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

• Project description with a defined research field, aim(s), research question, and theoretical and methodological approach (500-700 words and visualizations integrated in the text).
• Participation in an oral presentation and dialogue; (i) communication of the project, (ii) constructive feedback of the projects to fellow students.

Grade scale A - F.

All exam papers are assessed by one internal and one external examiner. The supervisor must not be an examiner. In the event of a complaint about the grade, a new committee will be appointed, and the master's thesis will be reassessed. A new oral exam will be held if the grade changes.

Grade scale A-F.