SGLK13010U Thesis

Volume 2023/2024
Education

Master of Science in Global Health - compulsory
 

**Important information**

This course description applies to students that have initiated their thesis in 2023 and students who have submitted the thesis contract and started the thesis writing period from February 2024.
 

However, the requirement of an oral defence ONLY applies to students who have submitted the thesis contract and started the thesis writing period from February 2024. It is stated explicitly in the relevant parts of the course description when the requirement applies only to students that started the thesis writing period from February 2024. 

 

Content

The master’s thesis documents that the student is able to independently select and apply scientific theories and methods in order to address and analyse a specific subject with a global health perspective. The master's thesis is the final assignment of the Master's programme. The objective is to give the student an opportunity to use the acquired knowledge independently in a major assignment.

Find more information about the Master's thesis in KUnet

Learning Outcome

On completion the students should be able to:

Knowledge

  • Identify scientific problems related to global health issues and possess knowledge, based on the highest international research standard.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of theories and methods used when addressing such problems, as well as critically discuss and prioritise among relevant methods.
  • Demonstrate knowledge on the highest international research standard within the field of global health and be able to critically reflect upon this knowledge on a scientific basis.

 

Skills

  • Critically evaluate the scientific literature and key methodologies within the field of global health regarding validity, reliability and applicability.
  • Critically evaluate and disseminate existing data and design, carry out and co-ordinate scientifically valid and specific research to further advance knowledge on a particular problem area or issue in relation to global health.
  • Assess the selected theory/method and the selected delimitation, in relation to the production and interpretation of results/material.
  • Make clear, scientifically based conclusions in relation to problem formulation, and more generally, in relation to the overall problem and the subject area.

 

Competencies

  • Discuss theories/models from the basis of an organised set of concepts and with a high level of independence.
  • Assess the scientific and societal impact of the thesis from an ethical viewpoint.
  • Demonstrate the ability to use research within the field of global health.
Students should have passed all mandatory courses.
Independently writing a master thesis under the supervision of a supervisor from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. External supervisors may be appointed as co-supervisors if additional expertise is needed (external supervisors are specialists working in other parts of the university or at other universities /research institutions). An external supervisor can only undertake supervision in cooperation with university staff and cannot receive payment for the supervision hours.

A thesis seminar is offered during the thesis period.

Supervision entitlements:
• 1 student: 60 hours
• 2 students in a group: 69 hours
• 3 students in a group: 78 hours
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Preparation
  • 759
  • Seminar
  • 6
  • Guidance
  • 60
  • Total
  • 825
Written
Oral
Individual
Collective
Feedback by final exam (In addition to the grade)

Oral feedback as part of the supervision either individually or in groups.

Written assessment by final exam (in addition to the grade).

Credit
30 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment
Oral defence, 45 minutes under invigilation
Type of assessment details
**Important information**
The requirement of an oral defence ONLY applies to students who have submitted the thesis contract and started the thesis writing period from February 2024.

The master’s thesis may be executed by a single student or by a group of maximum 3 students. When students write their thesis as a group, each student must contribute to the separate sections of the thesis, i.e., Introduction, Methodology, etc. The contributions made by each student must be clearly stated on a separate page with the title 'Identification of contributions'. This page must be inserted before the Abstract of the thesis.

The thesis must be completed in accordance with the approved contract and comprise the equivalent of the following:

No. of students - No. of normal pages*

1 student = min. 40 - max. 75
2 students = min. 75 - max. 100
3 students = min. 100 - max. 125

*1 normal page equals approx. 2.400 keystrokes in size 12, font Times New Roman, line spacing: 1,5.
Number of keystrokes overrides number of pages (for example: 75 pages x 2.400 keystrokes/page = 180.000 keystrokes or 90 pages x 2.000 keystrokes/page = 180.000 keystrokes).

One table or figure/illustration equals 500 keystrokes regardless of format.

20 pages of appendices are allowed.

The maximum number of pages includes abstract, and table of content.

All pages must be paginated.

The thesis must include an abstract in English of no more than one A4 page (approx. 2.400 keystrokes). The abstract must sum up the thesis problem, the methods applied, the main results, and the conclusion. The abstract will be included in the overall assessment of the Master’s thesis.

Below requirement ONLY applies to students who have submitted the thesis contract and started the thesis writing period from February 2024:

Oral defence:
The duration of the oral defence is 45-minutes including evaluation. Consisting of 10 minutes of oral presentation of the master's thesis followed by a scientific discussion focusing on the content of the thesis. The student is examined in the entire thesis content, also when the thesis is written by two or three students. If the thesis is written by two students, the duration of the oral exam is 90 minutes including evaluation. If the thesis is written by three students the duration of the oral exam is 135 minutes including evaluation.

If the student and the 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.
In the external examiner online booking form, the supervisor must state if online oral exam is an option
Exam registration requirements

Students should have passed all mandatory courses.

Aid
All aids allowed
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
External censorship
Exam period

The master’s thesis is assessed no later than 2 weeks after the deadline for submission.

Criteria for exam assesment

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

Knowledge

  • Identify scientific problems related to global health issues and possess knowledge, based on the highest international research standard.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of theories and methods used when addressing such problems, as well as critically discuss and prioritise among the relevant methods.
  • Demonstrate knowledge on the highest international research standard within the field of global health and be able to critically reflect upon this knowledge on a scientific basis.

 

Skills

  • Critically evaluate the scientific literature and key methodologies within the field of global health regarding validity, reliability and applicability.
  • Critically evaluate and disseminate existing data and design, carry out and co-ordinate scientifically valid and specific research to further advance knowledge on a particular problem area or issue in relation to global health.
  • Assess the selected theory/method and the selected delimitation, in relation to the production and interpretation of results/material.
  • Make clear, scientifically based conclusions in relation to problem formulation, and more generally, in relation to the overall problem and the subject area.

 

Competencies

  • Discuss theories/models from the basis of an organised set of concepts and with a high level of independence.
  • Assess the scientific and societal impact of the thesis from an ethical viewpoint.
  • Demonstrate the ability to use research within the field of global health.

 

The thesis must be prepared in accordance with the approved thesis agreement. At the assessment of the master's thesis, both the academic content and the student's ability to convey such content will be taken into consideration. Please note that the abstract forms part of the overall assessment of the master's thesis.