ANTH4090 – Master's thesis
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
The master`s thesis is an independent scientific product to be submitted for the final assessment of the master`s degree program.
Learning outcome
Knowledge
- Deep understanding of the anthropological research process
- Experience-based knowledge
- You will learn how your own data, collected during fieldwork, can be connected to analytical issues within social anthropological theory, and can be put in a comparative perspective.
- You will be able to apply and reflect on key methodological and theoretical tools that allow you to analyze different types of data
Skills
- To complete and present an independent scientific work in an ethically sound manner
- Integration of your own research with the standards of scientific and analytical thought - i.e. you will be able to present your thesis results in a way that meets scientific criteria
- Analyze, disseminate and present social and cultural phenomena in solid written form
- You will learn how to find and put into context relevant literature
- Through the work on your thesis, you will acquire dissemination skills
General competence
- Learn to respect scientific values, such as openness, rationality and precision and will learn to distinguish between research-based knowledge, the importance of analytical model choices, practice-based knowledge and "perception"
- Gain ethical awareness concerning the various problems that may arise during research and the writing up of research results
- Learn how to adhere to the principles of academic honesty, integrity, and responsibility when it comes to your research and to other professional work
Admission to the course
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for?in Studentweb.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about?admission requirements and procedures.
This course is not available for single course students.
Formal prerequisite knowledge
You have to complete?ANTH4010 – Advanced Anthropological Theory, ANTH4020 – Academic Writing and Project Development, ANTH4030 – Advanced Anthropological Methods, ANTH4100 – Core Themes in Contemporary Anthropology, ANTH4200 – Fieldwork and two specialization courses before signing up for ANTH4090 – Master's thesis.
Teaching
There is no teaching offered in this course, but you will receive a defined number of sessions of individual supervision when writing your master's thesis. See Guidelines for Supervision and Suggestions for initial supervision meeting.
The master's thesis will be produced during the 2nd half of semester 3 and the whole of semester 4 - i.e. the writing will start after you return from the field in semester 3 (autumn semester), with the exam taking place late in semester 4 (spring semester).
Examination
Compulsory activity:
- Students in their final semester must fill in and submit a reporting form. This web form is?not?used to register for the exam. You must already be registered for the course and the exam in Studentweb to submit your master's thesis.?The department uses the reporting form to?prepare for the upcoming written and oral exams. The deadline for handing in the form is announced in Canvas. The submission deadline is in February/March in the spring semester and in September/October in the autumn semester. Submission of the reporting form will be assessed as Approved/Not approved.?This compulsory activity must be approved in order to take the exam.
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Examination:
The final master's degree exam consists of a master's thesis and an oral examination.
In?the spring semester the deadline for submission of?master's theses is usually in May. Most oral exams will take place in June, and some in August.?In the autumn semester?the submission deadline is usually in November with oral?exams in December and January.?
The master’s thesis and the oral exam are assessed by an examination committee consisting of two examiners, and at least one of them will be external, i.e. not hold a?position at the University of Oslo.
As soon as possible after the submission, and minimum seven days before?the oral exam, you will be notified of the time and place for the oral exam, as well as who the examiners are.??
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The master's thesis:
The scope of the master's thesis is 35 000 words +/- 10 percent. Master’s theses that exceed these limits will be rejected.
Included in the word count:
- Front page
- Abstract
- Table of contents
- Footnotes
Optional to include in the thesis, but will be included in the word count:
- Acknowledgements
- Preface
- List of figures, maps etc. after the table of contents
- Abbreviations after the table of contents
In addition to the word count:
- Reference list
- Appendices
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In addition to submitting the master's thesis you are to submit a separate 1 page summary of the thesis. The summary can be identical to the abstract or slightly different.??
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Sources and citation:
You should familiarize yourself with the rules that apply to?the?Use of sources and citations at UiO?and?Sources and referencing at the Faculty of Social Sciences. If you violate the rules, you may be suspected of?cheating/attempted cheating.
You must choose one reference style and use it consistently throughout the thesis.Follow the instructions on how to?cite:?Referencing?and?Sources and referencing.?
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Front page:
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Submission of the master's?thesis:
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The oral examination:?
Before the oral exam, the examiners hold a?pre-examination meeting where the supervisor is present to clarify ambiguities and answer questions the examiners may have. The supervisor leaves the meeting before the preliminary grade on the master's thesis is set. The supervisor does not attend the oral exam.
The oral examination will only be arranged if the master's thesis is given a passing grade.
Remember to bring your identification to the oral exam. Student ID, passport, driver’s license and Norwegian ID-card are all valid forms of identification.
The examiners will?inform you of the preliminary grade and give?an explanation for it when you present yourself for the oral exam. You can choose not to be informed about the preliminary grade until after the oral exam is completed.
The oral exam lasts for about an hour and usually?takes place?right after the pre-examination meeting:
The oral exam consists of a conversation between you and the two examiners about the submitted thesis.
The examiners may raise all kinds of questions linked to the thesis and its generation. For example, they may?ask?questions about the?use of analytical perspectives, the argument, the thesis' structure, specific research?findings, the fieldwork or the data production, and about issues tied to research ethics.
You are?not?to give a prepared presentation of the thesis.
You should?bring a copy of?the?thesis to the exam, and?may?take notes should you wish to do this.
Your performance at the oral exam?will?be used to adjust the grade on the master's thesis. The adjusted grade is the final one.?The final grade can differ no more than one grade?from the preliminary grade; You can either keep the grade, get one grade lower or one grade higher.?Once the committee has determined the grade following the oral exam, they will inform you of the final grade.?
Only the final grade, and not the preliminary one, will appear on your master's degree diploma.?
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Diploma:
When you have completed the study programme, your digital diploma is issued automatically after a few weeks. More information on digital diploma, diploma on paper and address, diploma supplement, deferral of diploma, and urgent issuing of diploma.
Examination support material
All exam support materials are allowed during this exam. Generating all or part of the exam answer using AI tools such as Chat GPT or similar is not allowed.
Language of examination
You may write your master's thesis in English, Norwegian, Swedish or Danish .
The oral exam will be in English or Norwegian. The department?will strive to accommodate language preferences, but if you have written your thesis in English, your examiners may be English-speaking.
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.
Also see?Grading guidelines in social anthropology
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Explanations and appeals:
During the oral exam the examiners give an explanation for the preliminary grade and present their evaluation of your master's thesis. No additional explanation will be given.
You can appeal against the grade awarded for the master's thesis.You cannot appeal against the adjusted grade on the oral examination.
Two new examiners will reassess?the thesis if you appeal. You will get a new oral exam if the?new grade differs from the original preliminary grade awarded for the thesis.?If the new result does not differ, there will be no?new oral exam.
Resit an examination
A master’s thesis that is not passed may be resubmitted only once, and then within the agreed time and in revised form. A master’s thesis that is passed may not be resubmitted in revised form.
If you?withdraw from the exam?after the deadline, this will be counted as an examination attempt.
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.