ANTH4092 – Master's Thesis
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
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Deep understanding of the anthropological research process.
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Experience-based knowledge.
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Knowledge of 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.
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Knowledge of how to apply and reflect on key methodological and theoretical tools that allow you to analyze different types of data.
Skills
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Ability to complete and present an independent scientific work in an ethically sound manner
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Ability to present your research results in a way that meets scientific criteria.
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Ability to analyze, disseminate and present social and cultural phenomena in written form
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Ability to find and put into context relevant literature.
General competence
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Respect for scientific values, such as openness, rationality and precision, and ability to distinguish between research-based knowledge, practice-based knowledge and "perception".
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Enhanced ethical awareness concerning the various problems that may arise during research and the writing up of research results.
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Enhanced capacity 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 must be enrolled in the master’s programme in Social Anthropology.
Formal prerequisite knowledge
Students must have completed ANTH4115 – Advanced Anthropological Theory, ANTH4125 – Advanced Anthropological Methods and Project Development, ANTH4210 – Ethnographic Fieldwork, ANTH4091 – Writing Ethnography and two specialization courses.
Teaching
The master's thesis will be produced during the third and fourth semesters.
In the spring semester the teaching in this course consists of two seminars, which will extend and solidify previous work done with the ANTH4091 Writing Ethnography.
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. Usually, the deadline is in March in the spring semester and 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.
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.??
The master's thesis:
The scope of the master's thesis is 27 000 - 33 000 words. Master’s theses that do not adhere to the word limits will be rejected.
Included in the word count:
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Front page
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Abstract
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Table of contents
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Footnotes
Optional to include in the thesis, but will be included in the word count:
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Acknowledgements
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Preface
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List of figures, maps etc. after the table of contents
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Abbreviations after the table of contents
In addition to the word count:
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Reference list
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Appendices
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 just after the pre-examination meeting:
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The oral exam consists of a conversation between you and the two examiners about the submitted thesis.
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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.
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You are not to give a prepared presentation of the thesis.
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You should bring a copy of the thesis to the exam and may take notes should you wish to do so.
The 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.
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.
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.