MENA3020 – Undergraduate Research II
Course content
How to become a researcher or work with chemistry or physics in working life? A project assignment at bachelor level is a safe and exciting step into a world where not all questions have been answered.
The course consists of a research project in physics or chemistry, with a focus on material science.? It includes literature studies, compiling information and data, and presenting research-based findings in a project report. You will also be involved in practical laboratory work and/or theoretical calculations within a specific subject.
Learning outcome
After completing this course, you:
- have basic skills in searching for and familiarizing yourself with the contents of scientific literature
- know the theoretical foundation for your research project.
- master the experimental and/or theoretical techniques relevant to your project
- have experience in carrying out a research project according to scientific standards
- can present your results in a scientific form.
In a 20 credits project assignment, you will gain thorough experience with experimental and/or computational methods, and most likely with adapting and presenting your results, but literature search and report writing will also be a large part of the project.
Admission to the course
To be admitted to the course, you must be admitted to Fornybar energi og nanoteknologi (bachelor). For detailed information about the requirements, see Formal prerequisite knowledge.
Admission to the course requires that you, before the start of the semester, find a supervisor with the capacity to offer you a project assignment. The supervisor will normally be one of the scientific staff members at the Centre for Materials Science and Nanotechnology. If you have an external assignment, you will need a contact person who is a member of the scientific staff.
The?research groups?with the capacity to offer project assignments may vary between semesters.?Final admission will only be given once you have concluded?an agreement with a supervisor and have submitted and approved a project description.
Formal prerequisite knowledge
To be admitted to the course, you are required have passed at least 30 credits of chemistry or physics courses. If doing a chemistry project, you will need to have passed?a laboratory course in KJM1101 – Generell kjemi, KJM1121 – Inorganic Chemistry MENA1101 or equivalent?or equivalent courses. MENA-courses?can be included in the 30 credits.
The following HSE-courses must be passed before you begin the laboratory work in MENA3020:
Teaching
At the start of the semester, you will have a mandatory introduction to HSE-regulations at The Department of Chemistry. You will also have 6 hours of teaching in literature search and the use of references. In addition, you must have completed the following courses before you start the experimental work:
The remaining teaching will be individual supervision on your project. You will normally receive up to 60 hours of supervision.
You will write a project report that will be the basis for your examination in the course. Please read the?guidelines for the project report.
You and your supervisor will make a project description that should be signed by both of you and submitted to the student administration for approval.?The course can be taken over two consecutive semesters.
As?the?teaching involves laboratory and/or field work, you should consider taking out a separate travel and personal risk insurance.?Read about your insurance cover as a student.
Examination
You will write a project report that will be the basis for your examination in the course.?
Your supervisor?s evaluation of your efforts and level of Independence will influence your final grade. In addition there will normally be an oral exam where you present and will be examinated in the topic of your project. The oral examination will also influence your final grade.
The student administration has to be notified of the exam result before July 1st for the course to be registered as taken in the spring semester, and before January 1st for the course to be registered as taken in the autumn semester.
Examination support material
No examination support material is allowed.
Grading scale
Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about?the grading system.
Resit an examination
Students who can document a valid reason for absence from the regular examination are?offered a postponed examination at the beginning of the next semester.
Re-scheduled examinations are not offered to students who withdraw during, or did not pass the original examination.
If you fail, you may be given the opportunity to hand in a revised project report within 6 weeks, if your supervisor and sensor agree that the scientific raw material is sufficient.
More about examinations at UiO
- Use of sources and citations
- Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
- Withdrawal from an exam
- Illness at exams / postponed exams
- Explanation of grades and appeals
- Resitting an exam
- Cheating/attempted cheating
You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.