Guidelines for the Master’s Thesis at the Faculty of Technology, Environmental and Social Sciences

Through the master’s thesis, the student shall undertake a limited research project within their own academic field and the subject area of the relevant master’s programme. The master’s thesis is an independent academic work in which the student demonstrates insight into current research, theory and methods relevant to the research question. The work on the master’s thesis shall qualify the student for research and development work. The thesis shall reflect the intended learning outcomes as set out in the course description.

The master’s thesis may be undertaken individually or as a collaborative project. This will be specified in the course description.

All master’s students shall enter into a supervision agreement, in accordance with the Regulations relating to studies and examinations at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Section 11-18 (1).

Appointment of supervisor

The Master’s Portal is used by students to register interest in predefined project proposals, submit their own project proposal, be assigned a supervisor and sign a supervision agreement. Students may also request a specific supervisor. See the Master’s Portal for further information.

At least one of the supervisors shall be affiliated with HVL and shall, as a general rule, be employed at the relevant department or centre. The student may also have supervisors from external organisations. Where the student has more than one supervisor, the supervision agreement shall specify which supervisor is the principal supervisor. Supervision shall cover the academic and practical aspects of carrying out the master’s thesis.

Framework for Supervision

The student shall receive supervision and attend meetings with the supervisor(s) throughout the work on the master’s thesis.

In addition to supervision meetings, supervision on the part of the supervisor includes:

• Ongoing supervision of the student (including preparation for supervision meetings, review of drafts and similar).
• Where relevant, supervision of laboratory experiments, fieldwork and similar activities.
• Where relevant, academic guidance and updates

Supervision is a shared responsibility, and the master’s student shall play an active role:

• The student shall prepare a plan for supervision and progression together with the supervisor
• The student is responsible for the form and content of the thesis
• The student shall submit material for supervision to the supervisor at the agreed time before supervision meetings

The supervisor shall not be a co-author of the master’s thesis. The master’s thesis is the student’s own work.

A student may apply for an extension of the study period of up to two semesters if they are unable to complete the thesis within the allotted time. The right to an extended study period is set out in Regulations relating to studies and examinations at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences,

Section 4-3. In such cases, the student may receive additional supervision provided that they have not already used the allocated hours or resources for supervision, as specified in the supervision agreement (see the Master’s Portal).

The department is responsible for appointing a new supervisor for the student if the original supervisor is unable to continue the supervisory relationship.

See the ethical guidelines for supervision here.

The master's thesis shall be written in Norwegian or English. Other Scandinavian languages may be used by agreement with the supervisor, unless otherwise specified in the course description. For English-language master’s programmes, the thesis shall be written in English, unless otherwise specified in the course description.

Theses written in Norwegian or other Scandinavian languages shall include a summary in English or another relevant foreign language. Theses written in English shall include a short summary in Norwegian or another Scandinavian language, in accordance with requirements of the Regulations relating to studies and examinations at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Section 11-21.

The requirement for a summary in Norwegian or another Scandinavian language does not apply to English-language master’s programmes.

Structure

If the structure and scope of the thesis are not predefined, these aspects shall be discussed with the supervisor. The academic fields have developed templates for the master’s thesis, which are available in Canvas.

Formal requirements

Requirements relating to prior knowledge are set out in the course descriptions for each of the master’s thesis modules. Refer to the course description under “prerequisites”.

The master’s thesis shall include the following elements:

• The Western Norway University of Applied Sciences front page, including the title of the master’s thesis, programme/subject area, candidate number and date of submission. A front page template and further information are available on the webpages for the Examinations Office relating to bachelor’s and master’s theses.
• An abstract of the thesis
• A table of contents with chapter structure and page references
• Figures and tables shall be presented and referred to in the main text, numbered and provided with descriptive titles. Any list of figures and tables shall be placed after the table of contents
• A reference list
• Appendices shall be numbered and included in the table of contents. Appendices consisting of multiple pages shall be page-numbered

Referencing

Citations and the reference list shall follow the referencing style used in the relevant academic field (for example IEEE, APA, Harvard or Vancouver). See the Søk & skriv website for guidance on the use of the chosen style.

Artificial Intelligence

Students working on a master’s thesis shall keep themselves informed through HVL’s dedicated pages on artificial intelligence, in particular the guidelines for the use of artificial intelligence at the institution.

The student has an independent responsibility to ensure that the work on the master’s thesis complies with research ethical norms, rules and guidelines applicable to the project and the academic field.

All projects involving the use of personal data must be assessed by Sikt in advance. See ‘Start-up of student projects’ under the Personal Data Act.

The supervisor is responsible for approving the project plan and ensuring that research ethical obligations are fulfilled.

For further details, see HVL's guidelines on research ethics and data storage in master’s theses.

The thesis must be submitted in Wiseflow.

The title of the thesis must be stated on the diploma, and the student must register the title in StudentWeb upon submission.

To have the work published in HVL Open, the student must give consent for publication when submitting the thesis in Wiseflow. For further information on publication, see the section on Copyright and Publication.

Submission deadline

The submission deadline shall be announced in StudentWeb prior to the registration deadline (1 September / 1 February).

• For the assessment of a master’s thesis, two examiners shall be appointed, and at least one of these shall be external.
• An examiner may not have acted as supervisor for the master’s thesis.
• An examiner must hold at least a master’s degree within the relevant academic field.
• The assessment period for master’s theses is up to six weeks.
• Several study programmes at the faculty include an oral examination with grade adjustment. This is specified in the course descriptions. Such an oral examination may result in the grade for a passed result being adjusted up or down by a maximum of one grade.

An external or internal supervisor may be present during the examination and be available for any questions from the examiner(s), but must withdraw before the grade is determined.

For further information on the form of assessment for the master’s thesis, see the course description.

In the event of a failed master's thesis

From Section 11-19a. Resubmission of bachelor’s theses, master’s theses and other assignments, in the Regulations relating to studies and examinations at the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences:

• In the event of a grade F (fail), the student may submit a revised version for assessment by one of the specified submission deadlines in the two subsequent semesters.
• A revised version may only be submitted once.
• Upon resubmission of the master’s thesis, supervision may be reduced.

The student holds the copyright to the master’s thesis. If parties other than the student own the data used in the master’s thesis, different rules apply.

Theses that have been passed may be published in HVL Open. The student decides whether the thesis shall be published, unless otherwise agreed with any project owner (restriction clause).

For further information on publication agreements, see the HVL's webpages on Publication of theses and  Terms and conditions for publication in NVA.

The Faculty of Technology, Environmental and Social Sciences recommends publishing only theses that, upon assessment, have been awarded a grade of C or above.