SPOVIT Philosophy of Science Course description

The master’s degree programme in entrepreneurship is a two-year extension of a three-year bachelor's degree programme. The programme is an interdisciplinary full-time programme of study taught in English and Norwegian, where the student acquires the knowledge, skills and general competence required for entrepreneurial activities at both a practical and a theoretical level. After completing the programme, students are awarded a master’s degree in entrepreneurship and qualify for admission to relevant PhD programmes.

The master's programme is designed as a Value Creation Programme where students learn through creating new value for others. This value can be financial, cultural or social, and is anchored in a broad definition of entrepreneurship that includes intrapreneurship (creating value internally in companies or the public sector) and social entrepreneurship (focusing on creating social value in NGOs/non-profits, organisations and ventures) as well as traditional entrepreneurial activities (starting a commercial venture). Therefore the pedagogical approach of this programme differs from traditional master's level programmes in its strong emphasis on insight into entrepreneurial processes achieved through practical experience.

Students completing this programme will acquire entrepreneurial competence that will enable them to start their own ventures as well as finding employment as change agents within private and/or public enterprises or NGOs. Entrepreneurial competence enables students to act upon opportunities and ideas to create value for others. Entrepreneurial skills enable students to act and adapt when exposed to situations with a high degree of uncertainty. Entrepreneurial abilities such as creativity, leadership, communication, critical thinking and flexibility are often termed 21st century competencies, and these competencies have been identified as crucial to succeed in future work life.

The programme aims to attract highly motivated and capable students who seek a combination of practical and theoretical entrepreneurship education at master's level. The target group for the programme is students with a capacity to hard work and a desire to create something new and of value for others. Under the close supervision and guidance of faculty and other professionals, the students are challenged theoretically, practically, and personally.

Students should be eager to question the way challenges in society are currently solved. This may include how digitalisation can make the public and private sectors more efficient, how we can reach the UN sustainable development goals or how society should best tackle an aging population. It is important that enrolled students actively seek to challenge themselves and be willing to step outside their comfort zone, create new solutions, and be able to tackle a high degree of uncertainty. Students are not required to have an idea or entrepreneurial experience in advance. However, qualities such as initiative, solution orientation, eagerness to learn and motivation to work hard are emphasised.

The following learning outcomes are associated with the successful completion of this course:

Knowledge

The candidate

• has a broad and up-to-date overview of the central questions and issues within the philosophy of science as it relates to the social sciences
• can analyse philosophical questions and issues within their own research, and the research of others

Skills

The candidate

• can participate in philosophical discussions about the foundations of their own field and different scientific disciplines
• can apply philosophical reflection in their own research projects.
• can critically evaluate scientific research through analysis of concepts, models, and methods.

This course is taught using lectures and discussion. Different approaches to the academic content of the course are discussed through concrete examples, which can include the students’ own research projects.

Active participation in class is a prerequisite to develop good understanding of the course content. Student attendance of at least 80 % is therefore mandatory to be eligible for examination. The course leader can exempt students from this requirement only under special and individual circumstances. In these cases, extensive reading of the course literature can compensate for the lack of attendance.

Mandatory assignments are evaluated as a pass or fail.

Assessment-/exam format

Participants will receive 5 ECTS for successful completion of the course. This includes the attendance requirement as well as passing the essay examination. The essay can draw upon the student’s own thesis, but this is not required. The essay must lay out and discuss a precise question within the field of philosophy of science. The essay is to be approximately 10 pages long, formatted with font size 12pt, double-spaced, and must be handed in before the submission deadline.

The essay will be examined by the course leader and is assessed as a pass or fail. If the essay is not passed, students are given another chance to edit their submission on a later agreed upon deadline.

The essay examination is based on the descriptions of the course’s learning outcomes.

It is not possible to request an extension of the submission deadline. Exceptions from this are only made in cases of documented sick leave. The deadline for submission will then be postponed based on the documented period of sick leave.

Support materials for assessment/examination

All

Right to appeal

Students may appeal their grade and formal errors in accordance with the Act relating to universities and university colleges and Regulations relating to studies and examinations at OsloMet – Oslo Metropolitan University.

This master's degree programme gives students an understanding of global entrepreneurship and innovation-driven ecosystems and markets. The programme seeks an international orientation along several dimensions. The programme uses international lecturers and guest speakers, and all compulsory reading consist of international articles and books.

Students can choose to write their master´s thesis abroad in conjunction with one of the exchange programmes offered to all master students at OsloMet, or be connected to one of OsloMet’s partnering universities around the world.

Students can also join current ongoing research projects (for example within the European Project Semester (EPS) or other within internationally financed research projects or in collboration with Centre for Welfare and Labour Research).

Students can also apply to the Norwegian School of Entrepreneurship (Gründerskolen) summer school managed by the University of Oslo. Students can travel to Boston, Toronto or San Francisco.