Valid for the academic year 2025/26

The master's handbook in Childhood studies gives you the information you need during your master's study. Read this carefully so that you will be better prepared for what is expected of you and what you can expect from us at MPhil in Childhood studies and the Department of Education and Lifelong Learning. You will find most of the necessary practical information here, but don't hesitate to contact the student advisor and/or program coordinator if you have questions.

Introduction programme

Orientation Week (international students only)

During week 33 there will be several events arranged by the Unit for International Relations and the university. You will find information on the webpage Orientation Week. We also refer to this page: New international student checklist where you will find an "arrival checklist" and other useful information.

Welcome meeting

During week 33 and 34 the student organisation Paideia are organizing student activities for all new master students at the department. You will be divided into groups with a buddy group that you follow through the first weeks as a student at the department. 

Welcome meeting is held at Dragvoll. See study start page in the main menu for information on times and dates.

Introductory days in Childhood studies (all new students)

At semester start (usually week 34) all new students in the Childhood studies programme are invited for a meeting together with the staff on Dragvoll campus. You will be introduced to the department and the master's programme in Childhood Studies, as well as meet the student advisor and our learning assistants. You will also be given an exercise that will be followed up by student presentations in an introductory seminar held the following week.

Recommended courses and meetings (international students only)

During the first semester, the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences (SU) arranges the following courses for international students:

• Computer course. See the study programme page for times and dates.
• Library course. See the study programme page for times and dates.
• Course in academic writing. See the study programme page for times and dates.

More information will be given during the Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences’ information meeting for international master’s students. You will receive an email with information about time and place for the meeting.

General information

Expectations to you as a student: It is compulsory to attend all lectures and seminars in the programme (80% attendance requirement). For each course, there will be several deadlines posted on Blackboard. We expect you to keep the deadlines. Should you be unable to submit a paper on time, please contact the course coordinator. We expect you to read the literature that is listed for a lecture before the lecture. Before the exam, you should have read through all the literature on the reading list.

You are not allowed to use the department logo in student papers, letters etc. The only exception is your master's thesis.

Important information

Semester fee and registration

The deadlines for semester registration are as follows:

• 1st September/1st February: Deadline for paying the semester fee.
• 1st September/1st February: Deadline for class and exam registration and for confirming your individual education plan on Studentweb.
• Deadlines for cancellation of registration for examination is published in Studentweb.
• We would advise you to do the semester registrations as soon as possible to get your student ID card, computer access and access to course information on Blackboard (see below).

You can get assistance with your individual education plan by contacting your student advisor.

Student ID card and Student ID app

As an NTNU student, you must have an ID card with your name and photo. The card serves as your student ID and key card that allows access to NTNU buildings, and serves as your library card and printer access card. To get student discounts on buses, trains and other services, you need both the student ID card and the student ID app. 

Information on how to get your student ID card. 

Information on how to download the student ID app.

To get your student ID card, please bring your passport (or other ID) and semester card and show up at 'Byggsikring', building 6, level 3, Dragvoll campus. They will take a picture of you and produce the student ID card right away. It could be wise to show up early in the morning to avoid the queue. The student ID card will give you access to Dragvoll buildings, computer rooms, reading rooms, library etc. Together with your semester card, the student ID card will give you a discount on buses and trains, as well as a discount on membership at the Sports Centre, events at the Student's Society Samfundet and many other activities.

Computer access and e-mail

As an NTNU student, you will get your a user account and an e-mail address as well as access to Studentweb, NTNU's intranet 'Innsida' and Blackboard (more information below). You will also get free access to computers and the Internet on campus. Register online here. If you have questions please contact:

Orakeltjenesten Tel: +47 73 59 18 10
Office: Building 8, level 5 (the library at Dragvoll)
Opening hours: 08:00–16:30

Norwegian students register here.

Note that important information from the university will be sent to your student e-mail address only, not to your private e-mail address. It is therefore important that you check your student e-mail regularly.

Blackboard

Blackboard is the electronic learning system for students at NTNU. The teachers post lecture slides, course schedules, curriculum lists, seminar schedules, information about assignments, and other important information. It is also used for digital lectures in Backboard Collaborate. 

When you have registered for classes and exams on Studentweb, your courses will appear on Blackboard. You can log on to Blackboard via 'Innsida' by using your username and password. You can also find a link for Blackboard via 'Bookmarks'.

Study carrel

You may apply for a permanent study carrel (your own desk) in one of the reading rooms at Dragvoll campus. The application deadline is 25 August for the autumn semester and 25 January for the spring semester.

Apply for study carrel 

If you have already been given a desk for last semester, you must still apply to keep your desk. Students who apply after the deadline will get the lowest priority. If you do not need a desk every day, you may apply to use a desk part-time, which means sharing with another student.

Information in Norwegian about how to get started

Norwegian/Nordic students may find this webpage useful. 

MPCHILD programme information

Outline of the programme with elective courses

The master's programme in Childhood Studies involves two years of full-time studies. The workload for a full-time student for one academic year is 60 credits. See the description of the study programme structure.

On the same page, you will also find an updated list of the elective courses.

Study plan

For more information about programme- and elective courses please visit the programme structure webside in the main menu.

Reading, course plans and timetables

The reading lists, course plans and timetables will be posted on Blackboard. You can also find reading lists and information about courses, schedule and exam dates on NTNU's web pages.

A large part of the literature on the reading lists is available electronically via Oria as e-books or e-journals at NTNU University Library. You will also find links to curriculum readings on Blackboard. You can make printouts of articles.

A few of the books you will need to buy or borrow from the library. You can buy books for the courses at Akademika book shop, Dragvoll. There will be an overview of how to access literature for each course on Blackboard.

Experts in Teamwork

Experts in Teamwork (EiT) is a compulsory course for all master's students at NTNU. This is a course in which students apply their academic competence in interdisciplinary project work to learn teamwork skills to prepare them for working life.

Teaching in EiT takes place in units called 'villages'. As a Childhood Studies student, you must choose an 'intensive village', with teaching every weekday for three weeks in January each year. Make sure that you choose a village that will be taught in English. Register your five village priorities on Studentweb from 1 October–1 November. See more information about Experts in Teamwork.

MPCHILD Master Project

Learning objective and time frame

The learning objective for the master's thesis in Childhood Studies is to provide students with training in carrying out a scientific study related to children and childhood.

Usually, the thesis includes an empirical study. You must complete the data collection by the middle of the 3rd semester, usually by September. If necessary, you may use the summer between the 2nd and 3rd semester for data collection.

The thesis accounts for 50 credits. It is expected to be completed within four semesters from your admission to the programme. Supervision will usually not be given beyond this time.

Choosing a topic for the thesis

During the 2nd semester, we will arrange 4 Master's Thesis Seminars. Attendance is obligatory. Here, you will develop a project description for your master's thesis project. Detailed guidelines and deadlines will be published by your lecturers. During the second semester, you will be allocated a supervisor.

The project description must be approved before you are allowed to do fieldwork.

Forms

Before your start writing your thesis, you fill in the forms on the study structure page. See section Writing and submitting your thesis.

Fieldwork expenses

Guidelines for covering students’ expenses for the master’s thesis at IPL.
You apply for one of these two options:

1.
Printing and posting questionnaires

On application, the Department of Education and Lifelong Learning will cover necessary expenses for printing and posting questionnaires etc. in connection with the master’s thesis with up to 1500 NOK. To get the support, send an email to your supervisor and ask him/her to confirm that your expenses are connected to your master's thesis, and then your forward the email from your supervisor to the head of office Wenche S. King within one week after the deadline of your master's thesis. In the email, you write your name (as in your passport), private email address and date of birth and ask for access to BetalMeg. When you have access, you ask for a refund via BetalMeg.

2. Travel expenses

On application, the department will cover necessary and documented travel expenses in connection with data collection for your master’s thesis with up to 1500 NOK for fieldwork in Norway, and up to 4000 NOK for fieldwork abroad. You must choose the cheapest fare. You will not get a refund for subsistence expenses. To get the support, you ask your supervisor for an email stating that there is a connection between the destination and the topic of your thesis. You forward your supervisor's email to the head of office Wenche S. King within one week after the deadline of your master’s thesis. In the email, you write your name (as in your passport), private email address and date of birth and ask for access to BetalMeg. When you have access, you ask for a refund via BetalMeg.

The department reserves the right to reject applications if the financial situation of the department changes. 

This does not apply for students having received NORPART/NORSTIP/UTFORSK scholarships.

If you have questions please send an email to the department.

Approved by the Head of Department in January 2023.

Further information about funding

It is possible to apply to different organizations for funding of you fieldwork expenses. It could be wise to contact NGO's that work in the area you plan to do your fieldwork. Here is an overview of NGO's in Norway.

Fieldwork practicalities

In order to record interviews you need the dictaphone app Nettskjema. 

If you are doing fieldwork outside Norway, you can get a letter of introduction from the department. The letter will be signed by the study programme coordinator. If you need such a letter, please send your project title, fieldwork period and name of place/country by email to the department.

We have made a checklist for you to go through before you leave for fieldwork, regarding the information that must be provided for the fieldwork participants. Please read this thoroughly, and ask your supervisor if you have questions. The checklist is posted on the Student Information webpage. Here you will also find information about the field card. You fill out the card and hand it in at the department.

Supervision

A supervisor will be appointed for you in the second semester. Supervision will be given during 2nd, 3rd and 4th semester. The total number of supervision hours is 50, including the supervisor's preparations. 

The supervisor’s tasks are to discuss with you and give advice about:

• defining a research topic and research questions
• how to find relevant literature
• methodological choices
• empirical findings and how to analyze and interpret these findings 
• the structure of the thesis
• ethical questions related to the project

Both you and your supervisor are responsible for setting up a plan for the thesis progress, and to keep in touch with each other during the writing period. However, you have the main responsibility for the content and the progress of your thesis work. Therefore, do not wait for the supervisor to contact you. Make appointments with your supervisor and always send her/him a text in advance of the meeting.

You and your supervisor may agree that you write a short summary after each meeting. This summary may include topics discussed, decisions made for future work, literature to read and preparations for the next meeting.

Master's Thesis Seminar

In semester three and four we arrange digital Master's Thesis writing seminars, led by a staff member. The seminars are compulsory. There are six seminar meetings, three in each semester of the second year.

The seminar has two purposes:

1. To be a 'support group' and a meeting point for the students during the writing period
2. To allow the students to discuss academic and practical issues related to the writing of the master's thesis

You will be asked to submit short texts from your own work that will serve as a basis for group discussion.

MPCHILD Master Thesis

Thesis structure and format

A master's thesis usually contains the following chapters: Introduction, background/context, theoretical framework, methodology, analysis (1–3 chapters), discussion and conclusion/summary.

Before the first chapter starts, you should include a title page, preface/acknowledgements, abstract (max. 1 page), contents, and list of acronyms. After the final chapter, you continue with a reference list and appendices (interview guides, concent forms, Sikt ethical approval, etc).

You may find it useful to take a look at some of the master's theses already published in NTNU Open, in order to get some ideas about different ways of structuring your thesis. Some theses are also available in the Childhood studies library.

The thesis must be 55–85 pages, Verdana 10, 1.15 Word margins. 85 pages are the maximum amount of pages. The pages before chapter 1 and the reference list are not included in the defined number of pages.

The first page of chapter 1 should correspond to page no 1. This means that the table of content and other texts/figures before chapter 1 have no page numbers, and you can, for instance, use Roman numerals for this.

References

It is important to refer correctly to literature that you use in your master's thesis (see also paragraph about plagiarism). There are some small variations in the different ways of referring (APA style, Harvard style etc.) - you should choose a reference style and be consistent. More information on reference styles can be found here: Academic writing - Using and citing sources - NTNU.

Restrictions

Students are not allowed to post pictures and videos of their informants on web pages, for example Facebook. This violates the ethical guidelines for research with children.

Chapter deadlines and milestones

As a help in structuring your master's thesis work, the department has defined some milestones, in terms of chapter deadlines.

Autumn semester:
1st week October: Draft of introduction (including background/context)
4th week November: Methodology chapter

Spring semester:
2nd week January: Theory/Analysis chapters
1st week March: Theory/Analysis chapters
4th week March: Conclusion and the first draft of the complete thesis
15 May: Submission of thesis

The chapter deadlines may be modified in consultation with your supervisor if he/she recommends a different plan for the progress. Please send the chapters to your supervisor. Conclusion and the first draft of the whole thesis should be finished by 30 March, so that you will have time to make the last adjustments before you submit. The technical/practical work is usually more time consuming than many students expect (reference list, format etc.), so make sure that you include this in your plan. In order to have the final oral examination within the spring semester, the deadline for submitting the thesis is on the 15 May at 15:00. You can hand in your thesis before this date. You hand in your thesis in Inspera.

Final oral examination

The assessment is based on

1. Master's thesis and
2. Oral examination

Two examiners will assess your thesis; one external examiner (not employed at NTNU) and one internal examiner. Their evaluation shall correspond to the Guidelines for grading master's theses, which is posted on the Student Information webpage under 'Master´s Handbook and related documents'. The examination date will be decided by the administration at the department. We will send you the time and place for the oral examination. In the spring semester, oral examinations will be arranged before the Graduation Ceremony (see below), unless unexpected circumstances make this impossible. For digital examination, see this page guidelines for digital oral exams.

The examiners will have a committee meeting before the oral examination to discuss the thesis, decide which questions to be asked by whom during the examination, and propose a grade. You as a student will not be informed about the proposed grade. The examiners will not be given information about your examination results on other courses in your MPhil degree. During the oral examination, the examiners will ask you questions about the thesis content and the literature you have used, and you must be prepared to defend your work. Usually, the external examiner leads the discussion. After the oral examination, you will leave the room, and the examiners will decide upon the final grade, which is an adjustment of the grade proposed in the committee meeting (or the same grade). The external examiner has the final word. The examiners will inform you about the final grade immediately after their meeting. If you would like an explanation of your grade you must ask for it before you leave the examination room. If the examiners are not able to agree upon a grade, a new committee will be established. 

Examinations

When the exam is given in another language than your mother tongue, you are allowed to use a dictionary (translating between mother tongue and English). You do not have to apply for this. The dictionary will be inspected by the invigilator before the start of the examination.

On this webpage, you will find information related to exams at NTNU. 

Plagiarism

Plagiarism means that a submitted text does not credit the source or provide a correct reference to where the text is taken from. It is also plagiarism if a cited text is not clearly identified by quotation marks or similar. This applies to texts downloaded from the Internet or texts taken from textbooks, other books, thesis or papers. It is also plagiarism if a student submits a paper that another student has previously delivered. Plagiarism is considered as cheating. Cheating can lead to the annulment of the exam or degree, and to the student being expelled from NTNU for one year. Here, you can read more about the consequences of plagiarism. NTNU has acquired a system for identifying plagiarism. This system is designed to identify plagiarism in term papers/assignments and other texts submitted by students. This means that supervisors and teachers can apply this system on texts either if they suspect plagiarism or as random tests.

Other practicalities

Help with finalizing the thesis document

This page provides information on what you as a student must do before your submit your thesis. If you need technical support before submission, you contact Orakel support services.
Tel.: +47 73 59 15 00
Office: the library at Dragvoll, building 8, level 5
Opening hours: 08:00–16:00

Printing the thesis

You can, at your own cost, make prints of your thesis. You can order prints from the printing office on campus NTNU Grafisk senter. Email. Tel.: +47 73 59 66 53.

Graduation Ceremony

After you and your classmates have completed your final oral examination, the department will arrange a graduation ceremony. Date and time will be announced in the spring semester.

Diploma

You will receive a digital Master's Diploma.