MABY5900 Master's Thesis Emneplan

The master's thesis shall take the form of independent, supervised research or development work in one of the key subject areas of the programme, and shall constitute further specialisation in one of the five study directions of the master's program. The thesis can be related to relevant issues in the construction industry or to ongoing research projects at the department.

The master's thesis must take a 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.

The master's thesis builds on all the courses taught in the previous semesters. Students must have passed all their first-year exams before they are entitled to supervision on the work on their master's thesis.

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

Knowledge:

The student:

· has advanced knowledge of relevant degradation mechanisms for steel and concrete and consequences for the service life and load-bearing capacity of structures.

· has in-depth knowledge of strategies, methods and calculation models used to achieve the prescribed service life (working life) of reinforced concrete structures.

· has in-depth knowledge of the structural consequences of reinforcement corrosion on the load-bearing capacity of concrete structures.

· is capable of assessing various measures to extend the service life and of using various calculation methods and models to estimate the remaining service life and capacity of existing concrete structures.

Skills:

The student is capable of:

· designing structures that fullfill the Eurocode requirements for durability and service life.

· carrying out service life predictions for concrete structures in marine environments.

· assessing the condition of and estimating the remaining service life and capacity of a relevant concrete structure.

· proposing measures to extend the service life of and repair methods for a relevant concrete structure

· carrying out capacity control of a damaged concrete structure or component.

General competence:

The student is capable of:

· acquiring new knowledge in the field and communicating it orally and in writing.

· understanding and analysing scientific publications on the topic of durability and service life of concrete structures.

· applying theories in practice based on scientifically justified choices of relevant solutions.

The master's thesis is an independent piece of work carried out by a student or a group of students (up to two students each) under supervision. Group work is encouraged if the master's thesis is related to a large-scale industrial or research project. The thesis shall take the form of a written report prepared in a scholarly format, and an oral presentation of the thesis. The report must describe the research question and the work carried out, and explain the result.

If the thesis is written in cooperation with an external partner, the student(s) shall be assigned an external supervisor in addition to their internal supervisor.

The theses will be presented and discussed at seminars with fellow students and supervisors.

New exam spring 2020:

The project assignement (A and B) will be individual, i.e. (not in group of 2-3)

The oral exam is cancelled and the individual project assignment will be the only assessment (exam).

The exam can be appealed.

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Type of assessment:

1) Individual oral exam, weighted 60 %

2) Project report, prepared by groups of 2-3 students, approx. 20-30 pages, including a presentation - weighted 40 %.

All assessment parts must be awarded a pass grade (E or better) in order for the student to pass the course. Students must be awarded an E or better on their project report to be allowed to take the oral exam. Individual questions about the project report will be also be asked in connection with the presentation of the report. In the event of a resit or rescheduled exam, oral examination may be used instead. If oral exams are used for resit and rescheduled exams, the result cannot be appealed.

Assessment part : 1) and 2) cannot be appealed.

The master's thesis consists of a written report of ca. 100 pages, and an oral presentation at a plenary session. The thesis should be written in English. The master thesis is written individually or together with a fellow student. The oral presentation of the thesis and questioning by the examiner can take place in English or Norwegian by agreement. Prototypes and/or other products that the student has developed can be included as part of the thesis.

Students must be awarded an E or better on their thesis to be permitted to give the presentation. The master's thesis and the presentation will be assessed as a whole, but if there is doubt about the grading of the thesis, the grade can be adjusted up or down by one grade on the basis of the presentation and pertaining 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.

A grade scale with grades from A to E for pass (with A being the highest grade and E being the lowest pass grade) and F for fail is used in connection with the final assessment.

1) and 2): Two internal examiners.

External examiners are used regularly.

Two examiners, of whom at least one shall be external.

Dimitrios Kraniotis