Submission of master's thesis and examination

1. Deadline
2. Format and cover
3. Submitting the master's thesis
4. Print your thesis
5. Final examination
6. Clearance form
7. Diploma and the diploma registry

1. Deadline

The regular deadline for submitting the master thesis is:

• 15 May at 15:00 (3 p.m.)

The final deadline will be given to you when receiving the answer to your application for approval of the master¡¯s studies contract (study plan) in the 2nd semester. 

2. Format and cover

Before sending your thesis to the Graphic Centre, it must be in perfect printing condition. The thesis will be printed double-sided, so remember to add any "backsides" by inserting blank sheets of paper. Read more about how to format large documents for printing.

There are no formal requirements regarding the typography of your thesis but focus on ease of reading. Avoid overly long lines and too-small font sizes. Margins of about 2.5 centimetres and 12 pt fonts are good choices. 

When writing large documents, it can be helpful to use styles. Styles help with the layout of the document and form the basis for the automatic generation of a table of content.

You can use the MN faculty layout template, containing suitable styles for a master thesis. The cover page must include your name, the title of your thesis, and the name of the department.

The templates are available in English and Norwegian and are built in Word. LaTex is also available:

Frontpage templates from the MN-faculty

You can also use the new and updated front page templates offered by the Graphic Centre at the UiO. Department name and faculty shall be included. 

3. Submitting the master's thesis

Before you are eligible for the master's exam, the following must be done:

• Paid the semester fee for the semester you will have your final MSc exam in and be registered for the current semester
• The theoretical curriculum (incl. HSE courses) has to be completed and passed.

Your thesis must be submitted in two separate ways before the deadline:

1. Electronic submission of the master's thesis in DUO
   It is mandatory to submit the entire master's thesis in electronic form via DUO (Digital publications at UiO). All students must submit the master's thesis to the DUO open research archive. This is done through Studentweb. Read more about how to submit your master's thesis to Studentweb/DUO.
   
   In addition to the master's thesis, an electronic summary of the thesis must be submitted in half to one page. This summary will be readable by all, and it is therefore desirable that this summary is in English. There will be a link from the BIBSYS database to the summary.
   
   Restrictions
   In some cases, the student writes a thesis containing personal data or other confidential information. In those cases, one may place restrictions on the thesis.
   
   Submission in StudentWeb and submission by e-mail have the same deadline.
    
2. Submission by e-mail
   You send the final version to the Student administration within the deadline by use of FileSender - transfer large files to email: "studieinfo@geo.uio.no". 
   
   Please set a minimum of one-month expiry date. The thesis must be sent in PDF format and the filename must be the student's name and master's thesis. The subject field in the e-mail must be "student's name and FINAL version of the master's thesis".

4. Print your thesis

Please consider carefully whether you need printouts. The thesis will be available digitally after the master's examination and is also sent digitally to the assessors.

You can order prints (max. 5 copies) of the thesis by uploading them to the Graphic Centre (earlier Reprosentralen). When you upload your thesis for printing, you must include the following codes: 

1. Location code (koststed): 15400000
2. Project code (delprosjektnummer): 102424048

For each of those 5 copies, the department will pay for up to 20 colour pages per copy (5*20 = 100 colour pages in total). When uploading the thesis, please specify which page should be printed in colour, e.g: 

• "The following pages should be printed in colours: 4, 14, 34, 35, 56, 66, etc. (..)". 

Remember to specify the actual pages in accordance with the electronic PDF version, not the printed one since the first pages may start with Roman numerals or simply just no page numbers at all. 

You have to make contact the Graphic centre to arrange the pick-up/sending. 
It can be picked up in their offices in the basement of Kristian Ottosens' hus (map), entrance B. Akademika book store is on the floor above. 

If you have questions, please contact the student administration.

5. Final examination

Before you are eligible for the final examination, the theoretical curriculum (in accordance with the approved master¡¯s study plan) in your master¡¯s program must be completed, including the mandatory HSE courses.

The final examination will normally take place in mid/late June. The date for the examination should be no later than 6 weeks after the thesis submission. The final MSc examination consists of:

• An oral presentation, either physical or via Zoom, of the master thesis given by the student (you), open to the public. The presentation should last 30 minutes. 
• An oral examination where the candidate (you) defends your thesis and presentation. An external- and an internal assessor will be present, together with your supervisor(s). 

Just after the examination, the candidate will receive the final grade of the master thesis and an oral explanation of the overall grade. The deadline for appealing the grade is 3 weeks from this date. You may only appeal the grade of the written master thesis.

All final master's examinations are announced on the department website

6. Clearance form

In order to get your final Master of Science degree / MSc diploma, you will have to submit a clearance form for your master¡¯s studies program. You'll have to collect confirmation from different UiO resources, stating that you have no outstanding obligations toward the university. 

The result after the master's exam will be registered (quite) immediately after the exam so that information about appeals processing and procedures is available on Studentweb until the appeal deadline. However, the MSc degree and diploma will not be registered/available before the complete clearance form is submitted. 

Before submitting the clearance form, please read the following: what to do with your research data. 

If you are residing abroad, please remember to hand in the clearance form before leaving.

Please note that the degree after your examination will not be obtained before we get the clearance form back, complete with all signatures.

Printed clearance form:

• English (.pdf)
• Norwegian (.pdf)

7. Diploma and the diploma registry

After you have submitted the clearance form and have obtained your MSc degree, it may take up to 8 weeks before your diploma is issued, depending on the season. Around the summer is usually busier.

Physical diplomas are no longer issued. Your obtained degree will be accessible at the Diploma Registry, where you can collect your results from higher education in Norway and share them with potential employers, educational institutions, and other relevant recipients.

You need to have a Norwegian ID number registered in your student profile in the student system (FS) in order to access your result in the Diploma Registry. You can get a paper diploma if you do not have a Norwegian national identity number or D number. Your name and/or Norwegian ID number can be updated if you have changed your name or received/changed your ID number.

The Diploma Registry is free to use.

Please contact MN Student Information Centre (studieinfo@mn.uio.no) if you need assistance or have any questions about your digital diploma.