SDMM25001U Master's Project, Disaster Management

Volume 2025/2026
Education

Master of Disaster Management - compulsory

This course is offered to MDMa full programme students only.

 

 

Content

The Master’s project is a written report submitted at the end of the Master of Disaster Management. The master’s project concludes the Master of Disaster Management and is required to register for the exam that all prior exams have been passed. Your Master’s project should demonstrate that you can express, analyze, and process problems/issues within the field of disaster risk management, which demands the integration of empirical data, theory, and research methods. 

The project may be based on primary or secondary data and material.  

The master’s project must be completed individually and in accordance with the MDMa Master's Project Guidelines and approved project agreement. It must also be submitted by the project submission deadline indicated in the MDMa exam schedule.

The master project format can be written as one of two models:

1. A traditional Master’s thesis. 

The project comprises a minimum of 25 and a maximum of 35 A4 pages (1 page = approximately 2400 characters, including spaces). This page count does not include abstracts, preliminaries, annexes, and appendices. 

The project should include the following components:

  • Cover page 
  • Abstract
  • Acknowledgments (optional)
  • Dedication (optional)
  • Table of contents
    • List of figures
    • List of tables
    • List of annexes
    • List of abbreviations and acronyms
  • Introduction
  • Objectives
  • Methodology
  • Findings
  • Discussion and recommendations
  • Conclusion
  • Reference list
  • Annexes

 

2. Product/Project Output Model

This model allows for innovative outputs such as story maps, comics, policy briefs, app development, or similar products. These outputs must be accompanied by a report, a minimum of 12, and a maximum of 25 A4 pages (1 page = approximately 2400 characters, including spaces). This page count does not include abstracts, preliminaries, annexes, and appendices. 

The accompanying report should include the following components:

  • Cover page (see format below)
  • Abstract
  • Rationale/Background
  • Review of Current Practices/Knowledge
  • Objective/Purpose
  • Methods/Materials
  • Context
  • Contributions and Implications
  • Strengths and Limitations
  • Conclusion/Recommendation
  • Reference list

 

For either model, the project process consists of several tasks that you complete:

1. Project synopsis (CC4 exam)
2. Project agreement
3. Supervisor process starts
4. Data collection, analysis, writing
5. Master's Project submission
6. Oral defence

Upon enrollment in the Master's project module, students are entitled to a maximum of 30 hours of total guidance from the main and co-supervisor for an individual master's project. The 30 hours include time for reading draft sections and preparing feedback.

Learning Outcome

Upon completion of the Master's Project, students should be able to:

Knowledge

  • To demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of disaster risk management, as reflected in international research, literature, and practice.
  • To critically assess the diverse values, perspectives, and conditions that shape the interdisciplinary nature of disaster risk management.
  • To identify and evaluate key challenges and opportunities within the field of disaster risk management, both in theory and practice.

Skills

  • To work in a problem-based and practice-oriented manner, effectively addressing complex disaster risk management challenges.
  • To critically evaluate and apply appropriate theories, methods, and frameworks from the field in analyzing identified problems.
  • To identify development needs and action opportunities, formulating and translating findings into practical, actionable solutions.
  • To effectively communicate project findings and results to both academic peers and practitioners in the field.

Competences

  • To integrate research findings from disaster risk management into professional practices and decision-making processes.
  • To critically reflect on personal professional practices, actions, and the organizational context, fostering continuous development and improvement.
  • To contribute effectively to interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral collaboration, enhancing knowledge-sharing and advancing best practices within the field.
Research Methodology & Ethics
The master's project concludes the master programme.
Students must have completed all courses incl. electives and passed all exams on the master programme before the master project oral exam/defence.
Supervision according to master project guidelines
Only available for students enrolled in the entire programme.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Preparation
  • 30
  • Project work
  • 474
  • Guidance
  • 30
  • Exam Preparation
  • 5
  • Exam
  • 1
  • Total
  • 540
Individual
Feedback by final exam (In addition to the grade)

Examiners provide individual  feedback on the master's project  during the master's project oral exam/defence

Credit
20 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
Oral defence, 45 mins
Type of assessment details
Written assignment with oral defence
The Exam includes an overall evaluation and assessment of the written master's project, the oral presentation and the subsequent discussion.

The Master's Project
The master's project is prepared in accordance with the approved master's project agreement and the MDMa Master's Project Guidelines. There are two models: 1. The Traditional Master's Project, which corresponds to min. 25 and max. 35 A4 pages (1 page = approximately 2,400 keystrokes, font size 12 pt. line space 1.5) excluding preliminaries i.e. cover page, table of contents, etc., the references and annexes. 2.  Product/Project Output Model, which allows for innovative outputs such as story maps, comics, policy briefs, app development, or similar products. These outputs must be accompanied by a report, a minimum of 12, and a maximum of 25 A4 pages (1 page = approximately 2400 characters, including spaces), excluding abstracts, preliminaries, annexes, and appendices. 

The master's project should include an abstract in English of no more than 1 A4 page and summarize the research question, the methods used, important findings, a discussion if relevant, and a conclusion. The abstract will be included in the overall assessment of the master’sproject.

Assessment is based on the scientific content as well as writing skills of the student. The scientific content will carry most weight.

The Oral Exam/Defence
The duration of the oral exam/defence is 45-minutes including evaluation. The oral 45-minute exam consisting of 10-15 minutes of oral presentation of the master's project followed by 20-25 minutes of scientific discussion focusing on the issues of the master's project. The last 5-10 minutes is for the examiners to decide upon the final marks and provide feedback on the master's project and the oral defence.

If student and supervisor agree, it is possible to hold the oral exam online. Together, the student(s) and supervisor must decide:
- Whether the exam is to be held solely physically
- Whether the exam is to be held solely online
- Whether the external examiner can participate online if they wish.
The supervisor must inform the exam coordinator when booking an external examiner.

Phases of MDMa Master's Project
- Submission of Online master project agreement
- Thesis proposal (10 pages)
- Master's Project (30-35 pages) according to MDMa Master's Project guidelines
- Oral Exam/Oral Defence (45 mins hour)
Examination prerequisites

 

 

 

 

Aid
All aids allowed

All aids allowed for preparation including access to internet and the use of Generative AI.

It is the responsibility of the student to ensure the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the text, including ensuring that the text is not factually incorrect, plagiarized, or contains copyrighted material. AI/LLM’s may not be used as an actual author or a scientific source cf. Vancouver Guidelines.

Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
External censorship
Exam period

See the MDMa Exam Schedule.

Re-exam

The exam form for the reexam is the same as the ordinary exam. See dates in the  MDMa Exam Schedule.

Criteria for exam assesment

To achieve the maximum grade of 12, the student shall be able to:

Knowledge

  • To demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of disaster risk management, as reflected in international research, literature, and practice.
  • To critically assess the diverse values, perspectives, and conditions that shape the interdisciplinary nature of disaster risk management.
  • To identify and evaluate key challenges and opportunities within the field of disaster risk management, both in theory and practice.

Skills

  • To work in a problem-based and practice-oriented manner, effectively addressing complex disaster risk management challenges.
  • To critically evaluate and apply appropriate theories, methods, and frameworks from the field in analyzing identified problems.
  • To identify development needs and action opportunities, formulating and translating findings into practical, actionable solutions.
  • To effectively communicate project findings and results to both academic peers and practitioners in the field.

Competences

  • To integrate research findings from disaster risk management into professional practices and decision-making processes.
  • To critically reflect on personal professional practices, actions, and the organizational context, fostering continuous development and improvement.
  • To contribute effectively to interdisciplinary and inter-sectoral collaboration, enhancing knowledge-sharing and advancing best practices within the field.