SIW5901 The Master's Thesis Course description

Language of instruction: Norwegian

This course focuses on legislation and health policy guidelines related to public health, empowerment and health-promoting work. Key areas include empowerment as a concept, process and result, as well as learning and coping. Students will work on concepts, theory and models related to public health work and public health science. Collaboration, interprofessional cooperation, and user participation and decision-making support will be highlighted and critically assessed.

The student must have been admitted to the Master’s Programme in Health Sciences.

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 or health research

Skills

The student can

• conduct a review of the state of scientific knowledge related to a research question in social and health policy
• conduct a limited, independent research project under supervision
• choose a methodology that is relevant for a specific health and social 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 social welfare or health 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 and health policy
• evaluate issues related to the academic, professional and research ethics

The course will use varied, student-active work methods. Work and teaching methods include lectures, group work and self-study.

The following must have been approved in order for the student to take the examination:

• Minimum 50% attendance at scheduled lessons.

The exam consists of two parts: the Master thesis itself and an oral examination. The Master thesis must receive a passing grade before the student can sit for the oral examination. The oral examination begins with the student presenting their Master thesis in lecture format (30 minutes, 45 minutes if co-authored with another student). Following this, the student will participate in an individual, oral discussion and assessment (of approx. 45 minutes).

The student can choose to receive the grade on the written master's thesis before the oral presentation of the thesis (the lecture) commences.

The oral presentation (the lecture) and the subsequent individual, oral discussion and assessment can change the grade that is given for the Master thesis. After the oral examination, the final grade is set. The final grade is entered into the diploma.;

When two students co-author a Master thesis, both will receive the same grade for the written thesis. Each individual student will, however, individually present their part of the thesis in lecture form and subsequently participate in an individual, oral discussion and assessment. The presentation and oral discussion and assessment will be evaluated as the individual student’s contribution and will be used for possible adjustment of the final grade.

A student can deliver a new or revised Master thesis one time if the Master thesis does not receive a passing grade. The student in this case will receive an offer of three-hours further supervision before delivery of the new thesis. Students receiving a passing grade on their Master thesis do not have the right to have their thesis re-evaluated within the same study program.

The student must sign a publication agreement before delivery of the Master thesis for the thesis to be published and made publicly available. Given the student signature and approval, all passing and non-restricted Master theses will be published in ODA, the University’s digital archive.

None

Grade scale A-F.

All answers are assessed by one examiner.

An external examiner is used regularly, at a minimum of every third completion of the course. When selecting answers for external evaluation, a minimum of 10 percent of the answers shall be included, with no fewer than 5 answers. The external examiner’s assessment of the selected answers shall benefit all students.

10 ECTS credits overlaps with MAPO4100 Public Health, Empowerment and Health Promotion, 10 ECTS credits.