Master's Thesis in Public Administration

Postgraduate course

Course description

Objectives and Content

In writing the thesis you are required to pursue independent scientific work and presentation.

The Master's Thesis shall explore a topic/issue which is relevant to Administration and Organizational Science. It is required that the topic and research problem of the Master's Thesis takes its point of departure from the research activities of the Department. It is also required that you follow the research seminar as an integral part of your work with your master's thesis.

Learning Outcomes

A student who has completed the course should have the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge

The student 

  • has acquired advanced knowledge of conducting independent research based on empirical data collected by the student him/herself.

Skills

The student

  • is capable of independent and critical analysis and interpretation.
  • can demonstrate skills about writing a scientific dissertation, developing relevant and logical arguments, and using various reference sources.

General competence

The student 

  • can critically examine various sources of data and information.
  • can ask scientific questions about social events and realities.
  • can make decisions regarding choice of research theme and issue, theoretical and methodological approaches and tools, formulation and development of hypotheses and analysis of data.

ECTS Credits

60 ECTS

Level of Study

Master

Semester of Instruction

Spring/Autumn
Required Previous Knowledge
  • AORG320B / GOV320
  • AORG322B / GOV322
  • AORG323B / GOV323
  • AORG321B / GOV321
  • AORG332 / GOV332
  • One of the elective state of the art courses:

  • AORG325 / GOV325
  • AORG326 / GOV326
  • AORG327 / GOV327
  • AORG328 / GOV328
  • For students enrolled autumn 2017 or earlier: AORG320, AORG321, AORG322 and AORG323

    Recommended Previous Knowledge
    None
    Credit Reduction due to Course Overlap
    None
    Access to the Course
    The course is open for students who have been accepted to the Master's program in public administration.
    Teaching and learning methods
    Individual and collective supervision and dissertation seminars.
    Compulsory Assignments and Attendance
    Presentation of master thesis draft. The student shall at least once comment a draft from a fellow student. Approved compulsory requirements are valid for one semester and must be completed each semester the student is registered for the course. Compulsory requirements must be approved before the exam can be taken. 
    Forms of Assessment

    Master's Thesis. The thesis must be submitted electronically.

    The thesis must be from 80 - 120 pages long, excluding the title page, table of contents, references and all attachments. The department can grant permission to hand in a longer thesis, if there are extraordinary academic reasons for it. A well-reasoned application must be sent to the head of department.

    The thesis can be submitted in English. It is also possible to submit in Norwegian, Swedish or Danish.

    Grading Scale
    Graded A-F
    Assessment Semester

    The Master's Thesis shall be submitted in the fourth semester and the fixed date is June 1st in the spring semester and December 1st in the autumn semester. Submitting on a different date may be granted based on individual application.

    Students with valid absence as defined in the UiB regulations § 5-5 can apply for an extended submission deadline to Studieveileder.gov@uib.no. The application must be submitted before the deadline for submission has expired. A maximum of 14 days can be granted.

    Course Evaluation
    All courses are evaluated according to UiB's system for quality assurance of education.
    Programme Committee
    The Programme Committee is responsible for the content, structure and quality of the study programme and courses. 
    Course Administrator
    Department of Government at the Faculty of Social Sciences has the administrative responsibility for the course and the study programme.