AANK12015U Master's Thesis

Volume 2013/2014
Content

The thesis is written on the basis of empirical data collated by the students during their fieldwork.

Learning Outcome

The thesis should be written in a clear language, be lucidly argued and
exhibit that the student is capable of:

  • formulating and exploring an anthropological research problem
    statement informed by relevant regional, methodological and
    theoretical knowledge
  •  reflecting critically upon the empirical material collated and
    analysing it in relation to the fieldwork's conditions and the
    methods employed
  • evaluating empirical material and theories in relation to one
    another and relating constructively and critically to both
  • making general conclusions on the basis of his/her own work and
    relevant regional, thematic and theoretical literature
  • communicating and arguing in an academically valid and
    authoritative manner.

Students must also fulfil the Department of Anthropology's form and language requirements (see the curriculum 4.3.2 for more about form and
language requirements).


Read about Thesis models here

The thesis must include a summary in English. The max. length of the summary must be 7.200 keystrokes. The summary is included in the overall assessment of the thesis. The keystrokes for the summary do not count towards the max. length for the master thesis itself.
6 meetings with a supervisor of approx. 45 minutes per thesis. If the thesis is written in groups of two students each meeting will be 45 minutes x 1.5.
Students are also entitled to limited supervisor guidance in connection with drawing up the obligatory thesis contract in preparation for writing the thesis. This contact will often be in form of mail or shorter talks and will correspond to approx. 20 minutes.

The supervision can be either individual supervisi on or individual supervision in groups. Supervision in groups consists of students assigned to the same supervisor, typically 2 to 3 students. The students will usually have a common thematic or theoretical interest in their projects. The basic idea is that the students receive individual supervision in turns, and that the other students will learn from listening to comments that relate to fellow students' work. Individual supervision in groups will extend the meetings by 45minutes x 2.

It is still possible for students to receive individual supervision without being in a supervision group, if students or teachers so prefers. However individual supervision without a supervision group can mean that you will not get the supervisor for whom you have applied.

Thesis Seminars (Sign up through STADS self service)

The thesis seminar will treat general concerns in relation to the writing of a thesis, including:
- The process of analysis
- Selection of empirical material
- Integration of theory and empirical material
- What is meant by context
- Questions of validity and reliability
- The actual process of writing

The aims of the course are:
- To create a forum for exchange of experiences with writing a thesis
- To give sound advice on the task of writing academically
- To offer shared supervision concerning general questions
- To establish writing groups
- To foresee special needs of the thesis writers at the Department of Anthropology
Remember to sign up for the Thesis seminar through Self Service.

In spring 2014, the Thesis seminar takes place on Mondays from week 6 to week 21 in room CSS 4.1.12
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Exam
  • 820,5
  • Guidance
  • 4,5
  • Total
  • 825,0
Credit
30 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
Oral defence under invigilation
The oral defence of the thesis will take place after the written thesis has been submitted and is structured as a dialogue between the examinee, the internal assessor and the external examiner. The student begins the defence with an introduction of five to ten minutes. The subsequent dialogue is based on the examined thesis and will include a general anthropological discussion.
Length of oral examination: 45 minutes. For group defences, each member of the group will take a 45-minute individual oral examination
Exam registration requirements
Students must sign a thesis contract in order to begin the thesis writing process. The thesis must be submitted no later than six months after the approval of the thesis contract. If this deadline is not met, it will be counted as an examination attempt (see the Curriculum 4.4.1 for further details).
Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
External censorship
Re-exam
Failure to submit the thesis by the deadline stipulated, will count as an examination attempt. The student must within 14 days submit a 2. thesis contract, which is a condition for continued enrollment at the MSc. A new deadline is stipulated 3 months after the approval of the 2. thesis contract. If the student does not deliver the thesis within this deadline, a third attempt may be granted, according to the same rules that stipulated the second attempt. For more information see the intranet.
Criteria for exam assesment
See description of learning outcome. Formalities for Written Works must be fulfilled, read more: MSc Students