Course - Master's Thesis (MACS & MSIT) - MACS490
Master's Thesis (MACS & MSIT)
Assessments and mandatory activities may be changed until September 20th.
About
About the course
Course content
This course is the final course of the student's Master studies (both for MACS and MSIT programmes; specifically the directions "Programming and Security Engineering" and "Visual Informatics"), involving the execution of a Master thesis under the supervision of academic staff.
The student must pick a specific problem of relevance to the master's program (usually, but not necessarily, building on a research plan developed as part the Research Project Planning course). The topic must represent a challenge within the specific area and must require that the student adheres to practices that are common within the area. The topic must be preapproved by the supervisor. By default, the master thesis project is individual work. For collaborative theses, please get in touch with the course coordinator to explore options.
Learning outcome
After successfully completing the Master's Thesis, the student should have the following knowledge, skills and general competences:
Knowledge
- Possess specialised insight into a research and development area and relevant research and development work
- Possess knowledge of theories and methods being used in the area of specialisation
Skills
- Are capable of defining a significant and complex research and development (R&D) problem relevant to the master program, clearly and independently, but with guidance from a supervisor
- Are capable of analyzing existing literature, theories, methods, and interpretations
- Are capable of critical thinking
- Are capable of planning and conducting necessary studies or experiments, organizing and analyzing data acquired, drawing defensible conclusions, and making recommendations based on these
- Are capable of documenting the results achieved in a research and development project, mastering the terminology of the field
General Competence
- Are capable of acquiring new knowledge
- Are capable of communicating results of their research to a scientific audience
- Are able to reflect on their research and research area with respect to relationship to and impact on sustainability
Learning methods and activities
- Project work
- Seminar(s)
- Tutoring
Compulsory requirements:
- Master thesis agreement, signed by the student and the supervisor
- The student must continuously be able to present project status to the supervisor and demonstrate that the project can be completed according to the current project plan or, alternatively, adjust the plan accordingly to ensure a successful outcome.
Other:
- Seminars at campus Gjøvik, attendance is strongly recommended (but generally also available online)
- The oral exam/presentation of the thesis takes place physically in Gjøvik. Specific requirements are provided via Canvas throughout the semester.
- Consult the Canvas course room for further details
Further on evaluation
Re-sit: After failure, a student may submit a new or a revised thesis once. If the student chooses to submit a revised version of the thesis, this must be submitted in the semester following the failure.
Forms of assessment:
- Thesis
- Oral examination (adjusting the grade of the thesis)
The project report is given a temporary grade. Individual oral examination/presentation may adjust the grade up or down to the final grade, according to performance.
- Students must pass both parts to pass the course.
- The oral examination takes place in Gjøvik. Physical attendance by the candidate is generally required.
As part of the thesis, students should be able to reflect on how the master thesis can relate to UN sustainable goals. The use of potential AI assistance (with respect to purpose and nature of the support) has to be explicitly declared as part of the submission.
Specific conditions
Admission to a programme of study is required:
Informatics (MSIT)
Required previous knowledge
Students need to be signed up for the MACS or MSIT programmes. Students signed up to other degrees or exchange students cannot take the thesis.
All other courses in the study program (corresponding to 90 credits or more) must be passed before the work on the master thesis can be started.
Specific course prerequisite is the Research Project Planning course MACS4000 (or equivalent / to be decided by the Course responsible).
Subject areas
- Computer Science