Master thesis project for exchange students

Only exchange students at the Master level are eligible for this course.

It is not available to any other category of students as a singular or elective course.

Students need to find a project and supervisor at AMB before applying for this course as exchange students.

The master thesis is an independent scientific work, under the guidance by one or several supervisors. The thesis is written within one of the following disciplines:

• Arctic animal physiology
• Freshwater ecology
• Arctic marine ecology
• Molecular environmental biology
• Northern populations and ecosystem
• Arctic marine ecotoxicology
• Ecology and sustainability

All students will write a project description in consultations with their supervisor. The project description, has to be approved by the Department.

Deadline for handing in the description is September 1st/February 1st (1st semester of the project).

Knowledge:

Students will have advanced knowledge in biology and in one of the following disciplines offered:

• Arctic animal physiology
• Freshwater ecology
• Arctic marine ecology
• Molecular environmental biology
• Northern populations and ecosystem
• Arctic marine ecotoxicology
• Ecology and sustainability

Skills:

• Define, plan and conduct an independent research project under our guidance. That implies to:
  • Formulate relevant research questions and hypotheses,
  • Identify and use relevant approaches to answer research questions and test hypotheses,
  • Collect, visualize and analyze data,
  • Interpret and discuss data considering current advances in the research area and study designs.
• Apply theories, concepts and methods pursuant to the scientific and ethical standards in the field.
• Evaluate critically your own and others’ academic work.
• Acquire technical and methodological competence in your field of specialization.

General competence:

• Communicate biological knowledge and concepts in an instructive manner to the scientific community, policy makers and the general public.
• Work in accordance with scientific principles and have understanding and respect for transparency, accuracy, accountability.

Individual guidance and supervision according to agreement and of two semesters duration. Maximum workload for the supervisor is 80 hours, you will receive supervision within these limits. The general work effort in a master`s project is 1500-1800 hours (including field and lab work).

The Master`s thesis must be written in English.

Language of instruction and examination

This course is available for inbound exchange students. Admission requires a Bachelor`s degree (180 ECTS) or equivalent qualification, with a major in biology of minimum 80 ECTS.

Do you have questions about this module? Please check the following website to contact the course coordinator for exchange students at the faculty:

Courses coordinators at the faculties for exchange students | UiT

More info about the assignment

The exam is comprised of a submission of the master's thesis within a given deadline, a public presentation of the scientific work and an oral exam. The deadline for submission is 15 May in the spring semester and 15 November in the autumn semester.

After the master's thesis is submitted and approved, there will be an oral master's examination. This examination consists of a public presentation of 30 minutes where the student provides an overview of the project. Examination Commission consists of at least one external examiner and an internal examiner. Sensors should be present at the public presentation. Then follows an oral examination (1 hour) with the examination commission. Oral presentations and examinations are open to the public according to "Act relating to universities and university colleges" § 3-9(3).

The master's thesis must be submitted in PDF format, the submission is done electronically in Munin and WiseFlow.

Re-sit examination

Re-submission of the thesis:

Only if a master's thesis project is graded "F" (fail), may the thesis be resubmitted in revised form. A new deadline for submission will be given. The deadline for resubmitting the thesis is normally 3 months from the point in time when the candidate was informed about the exam result. If the thesis receives a grade of "F" a second time, the student can apply to the Programme Board for a new master's thesis project.