Master's Thesis at SUM

Supervision of masters thesis

As a general rule, the scope of the advisory relationship should encompass 10 – 15 meetings, beginning with the initial meeting in the student’s second semester and ending with preparing for the thesis defense. Experience shows that meetings between advisor and student are more effective when both agree beforehand on the subject of the meeting and the issues/questions to be discussed. In the final writing phase, the subject will usually be drafts of sections of the thesis, which should be submitted to the advisor in advance of meetings.

Ethical implications in research

If your fieldwork materials are subject to a concession (i.e., contain personally identifiable data or sensitive information), you must also supply a copy of your agreement with the Norwegian Social Sciences Data Services (SIKT).

If you, through interviews, questionnaires, observations, or other means, are gathering, registering, processing, or storing information about individuals (i.e. personal data), then your project is likely to be subject to Notification to Norwegian Social Science Data Services (SIKT). This means that you are obligated to fill out a notification form (meldeskjema) and submit it to the Data Protection Official for Research. Even if the final report contains no personal data, the project may still be subject to notification if you process personal data while working on the project. Submit as soon as possible, and prior to your fieldwork.

More info about SIKT and the notification form here

If your research handles sensitive information, you may need to follow special regulations. The Faculty of Humanities has a useful E-learning course about data protection 2.0 in Canvas. The course takes 2-3 hours, and we recommend that you take it if your research handles sensitive information or personal data! If you believe your research may have ethical implications, ask your advisor to help you understand the regulations and to fill out the necessary forms for restricting the Master's thesis. Restriction of the master's thesis usually means blocking access to both the digital and printed versions of the thesis.

Fieldwork and financial support

All students should fill in a declaration of personal information for students doing fieldwork abroad. This is due to security precautions so that UiO will be able to assist you in case of emergency.

Declaration regarding fieldwork abroad (CES)

SUM offers up to 3500 NOK in travel support for master fieldwork or participation in conferences directly relevant to your thesis topic, which will be reimbursed to your bank account after the completion of the trip. In order to be reimbursed, you will have to fill out and hand in an expense claim form (see example) together with original receipts for all the expenses you want to be covered.

If you include "electronic" receipts (for instance an email receipt for your plane ticket), these have to be accompanied by a screenshot of your bank statement, showing that the amount in question has been charged to your account (unless the last four digits of your payment card are included in the receipt, in that case, the bank statement is not necessary). The screenshot will have to show both your name and the amount in question.

Also, please note that UiO can only reimburse you for expenses you have paid for yourself, and the reimbursement can be made to your bank account only. If you do not have a Norwegian bank account, you will also have to fill out your bank account information in the "Payments Abroad" form.

Hand in the form(s) and the receipts (fastened on A4 paper if the receipt is not in that format) in Terje's mailbox in the printer room on the 2nd floor.

Norwegian students may also apply for financial support from Lånekassen. You apply online through "Mine sider", but should attach the "D-skjema" which is available on Lånekassens website

IT Services

Save, save, save! Always save and take backups of your files and recordings. We recommend downloading Office 365 and saving your files or backups on OneDrive.

NVivo is a software that allows you to code text, sound, images, and video. NVivo can also be used for transcribing.

EndNote is a reference tool most students find useful. The Library organizes courses, there are online tutorials and an EndNote Facebook Group.

Writing the thesis

These are the guidelines for the layout of the master’s thesis at SUM: 

  • Number of pages: 90 -130 (front matter, appendix, and bibliography not included)
  • Line spacing: 1.5
  • Font size: 12 points
  • Margin: approx. 2.5 cm
  • Page numbering: bottom centre (top centre if many footnotes)
    You should use Roman numerals for the pages preceding your introduction (I, II, III, IV, etc), and ordinary page numbers (1, 2, 3) for the main bulk of your thesis. 
  • Font style: Times New Roman

SUM suggests you use this template for your front page and copyright page.  
Make sure that you have followed the guidelines above, as well as from Search and Write.  
The guidelines from the service Search & Write describe the formal requirements for a master's thesis, what elements are to be included, tips on how to work with styles and headlines, etc. When writing large documents, it is helpful to use styles. Styles help with the layout of the document and form the basis for the automatic generation of a table of contents.

If you want to see how previous SUM-students have formatted their thesis, the research archive DUO is the place to go.

To prepare your layout for printing and binding at Reprosentralen, you may want to adjust the gutter (innbindingsmarg) in Word: Choose from the top menus: Layout -> Margins -> Custom margins. Set the gutter margins to 1 cm. Where it says “Multiple pages”, choose “Mirror margins” from the drop-down menu. Where it says “Apply to”, choose “Whole document” from the drop-down menu. Click “OK”.

Submission deadline 2024 

- 16th May, 15:00. We will do our utmost to arrange for your oral exam in June, or early July.

Delay

If you are delayed in your studies and you are unable to complete and submit the master’s thesis within the deadline, you may apply for an extra semester and, if needed, a final semester. 

The deadlines are:

  • 1. June for applying for an extra and final semester in an autumn semester.
  • 1. December for applying for an extra and final semester in a spring semester.

For more information and the application form, visit this link.
NB! For international students, specific conditions may apply.

Illness

If you are unable to meet the deadline because of illness, you may apply for a postponed deadline based on valid documentation from a health practitioner. If this applies to you, please send us an additional email at studentinfo@sum.uio.no ASAP. 

Submission checklist

Check

To do

 

Make sure that you have followed the guidelines of a SUM thesis above. SUM suggests you use this template for your front page and copyright page.  

 

Check that you’re not missing any references in your list of references.

 

Update your table of contents.

 

Save the finished thesis as a PDF file (How to make a pdf. file).

 

Print out the thesis in PDF if you want to revise that everything looks fine.

 

Write a summary of the thesis (maximum 1 page), and prepare a few keywords that describe it.

The keywords will be searchable in DUO (the digital archive of UiO) when the thesis is published and will make it easier for others to find your thesis. For inspiration, check out previous master's theses from SUM.

 

Fill in the Form for submission of Master´s Thesis. Leave the field "Programme option" open. Without the form, we are not able to issue the diploma.

  Submit your thesis to the UiO's open research archive (DUO) through StudentWeb (info about submitting to DUO).

 

E-mail or submit the following to studentinfo@sum.uio.no:

  • the submission receipt you receive from DUO
  • the pdf of your thesis

 

Order prints of your master's thesis on the Graphic center's website. Choose the product 'masteroppgave', and put in the info for the cover page before you upload your thesis. You may choose between three colors: Green, red, or blue. 

Information you need for ordering the prints:

  • Duplex print (Norwegian: Tosidig)
  • Delprosjekt/ Project code: 100000005
  • Sted/Location code: 29050000 SUM (4 x - G.C.E.Helland, PB 1116, 0317 Oslo)
  • You may put Gudrun Cecilie Eikemo Helland as your contact person. 

SUM covers the cost of 5-10 copies. 4 will be sent directly to SUM, and you must pick up the remaining copies at the Graphic center. You'll be notified by them when your thesis is ready. 

 

Oral exam

When the thesis is submitted, a Commission will be appointed to examine the thesis. The student will be informed by email of the date for the exam and the members of the Commission. The Commission will consist of one in-house and one external examiner. The Commission may ask the supervisor beforehand whether they wish to provide the Commission any information on the candidate or the research, but the supervisor does not participate in the exam.

The oral exam will take place at SUM. At the agreed-upon time for the exam, the two examiners meet briefly to discuss the written thesis. The quality is assessed and the examiners agree on a provisional grade. After the committee’s initial discussion, the candidate is called in and examined. The student should be prepared to answer questions about the thesis content and preparation. The exam will normally take 45-60 minutes. The examination is conducted in English. The quality of the candidate’s performance in the exam contributes to the final grade for the thesis.

After the exam is completed, the Commission will determine a grade for the thesis, which will be given to the student at the end of the session. You will also receive a written explanation of the grade which has been awarded. You should familiarize yourself with the assessment guide for SUM4091. It is based on UiO grading system's general, qualitative descriptions of the criteria used in the assessment of examinations, but more detailed. 

You can appeal against your grade or any formal errors relating to the examination. Please see the information website on explanations and appeals.

The final Master's Diploma will be issued digitally in Studentweb and the Diploma Registry. More info here NB: For international students, the Diploma will also be sent to the address you have registered in StudentWeb, so make sure it's updated! 

Published Sep. 26, 2011 11:18 AM - Last modified Mar. 13, 2024 11:05 AM