Jan I. Haaland, Dean Marianne Eskeland, Office of Academic and Student Affairs Information meeting about independent work / master thesis August, 31st 2015

2 About the master thesis - Jan I. Haaland Practical matters - Marianne Eskeland Advice from the faculty on the writing process - Karen M. Olsen Specific topic: The FOCUS programme - Karen M. Olsen What can the library do for you during the writing process? - Fredrik Andersen Kavli Specific topics: - Finans Bergen – Aksel Mjøs - Centre for Service Innovation (CSI) - Tor W. Andreassen Today’s agenda

Intended learing outcomes – master thesis Independent project – master thesis - Master students shall complete an independent project where they study one or more related problems in depth. Through the independent project, the students shall - develop their analytical skills and get a deeper understanding of theoretical and/or empirical possibilities and challenges in the selected academic field; - be trained to think and work independently; - analyse and critically relate to different sources of information and use these to structure and articulate academic arguments; - show understanding, reflection and maturity in the academic field. The independent project shall comply with research-ethical standards research-ethical standards 3

Useful web pages Student Pages - Thesis: pages/thesis.aspxhttp:// pages/thesis.aspx - Give all the information you need – here are some examples: 4 PreparationsThe Writing Process Submission Application for a Thesis Supervisor Registration Guidelines for students that wish to apply for writing their master thesis alone Choosing a Topic Progress Useful Aids Sources and References Thesis Suggestions for Company Cooperation Deadlines Formal Thesis Requirements Submission and Grades Thesis cover page for Double degree students

Some points to notice The main rule is that you have to write your master thesis with one other student. - The thesis shall be in the subject area of the major(s). - If you have different majors, both majors must be covered by the thesis if in doubt, ask your supervisor or the relevant profile coordinators. - Students that need or want to work alone, must apply to the Examination Office and receive pre-approval. How and when to cite sources and references. Avoid doubt about plagiarism! - The library is here to help you – see later presentation - The web page “search and write” gives very useful advicehttp://sokogskriv.no/english/ 5

Grading of master thesis Grading is on the scale A-F; set by external examiner and supervisor together New grade descriptions as of Spring theses.aspx theses.aspx - Notice: The new (national) descriptions are introduced because the shares of top grades have been considered too high in business administration, nationally. The grades will be criteria based as before. There is no pre-defined distribution of grades that has to be achieved. But the new descriptions will (most likely) result in a less top-heavy distribution of grades. For the Spring 2015 results the shares of A and A+B have gone markedly down. Information about the changes will be given with your diploma. 6

7 Deadlines February 15th / Application for writing the master thesis aloneApplication for writing the master thesis alone September 15th March 15th / Application for supervisor October 15 th: (All should apply) pages/thesis/applicaton.aspx pages/thesis/applicaton.aspx September 1st /Register for Thesis (like signing up for February 1st:an exam) at student web as ”xxxTHE” where xxx is your major’s abbreviation, e.g. STR or BUS December 20th/Deadline for submission of thesis June 20th:

Electronic publishing Your thesis can be made available for all through electronic publishing If you do not want to publish it you do not sign the agreement when you submit your thesis Information Library – homepage: 8

9 Submission of thesis Three copies – to the Information Centre (hardcover or booklets) + Electronic submission (by midnight the same day) as PDF file:

Questions?