SASK14301E Master thesis Animal Science 45 ECTS

Volume 2024/2025
Education

MSc in Animal Science - compulsory

Content

The purpose of the thesis is to  illustrate the students’ ability to work independently with an academic topic of importance to the  individual student’s academic profile and to communicate the results.

Learning Outcome

A student who has completed his/her thesis has acquired the following competencies:

Knowledge:

  • Identify scientific problems within the study programme’s subject areas.
  • Summarise a suitable combination of methodologies/theories based on international research for use in his/her work based on the problem formulation.
  • Discuss theories/models on the basis of an organised value system and with a high degree of independence.

 

Skills:

  • Conduct experimental work, model large data sets, and/or interpret existing collected data in order to shed light on the topic as formulated in the problem formulation.
  • Apply and critically evaluate theories/methodologies, including their applicability and limitations.
  • Process data through a choice of academic analysis methods and present findings objectively and in a concise manner.Assess the credibility of own findings based on relevant data processing.
  • Assess the extent to which the production and interpretation of findings/material depend on the theory/methodology chosen and the delimitation chosen.
  • Draw conclusions in a clear and academic manner in relation to the problem formulation and, more generally, considering the topic and the subject area.
  • Discuss and communicate the academic and social significance, if any, of the research based on ethical principles.

 

Competencies:

  • Initiate and perform academic work in a research context.
  • Solve complex problems, develop and carry out assignments in a professional context.

 

Students must have passed or be registered for courses and exams corresponding to at least 60 ECTS of the Masters Programme.
The thesis can be written in groups of two and no more than three students under the supervision of a supervisor from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences or at the Faculty of Science at the University of Copenhagen.
The student can choose to prepare the assignment individually.

The role of the supervisor and any co-supervisor is to guide the student in relation to the structure of the project, choice of experimental and analytical methods etc.

The supervisor must generally approve:
- Objective
- Structure of thesis
- Experimental hypothesis

The supervisor is not responsible for the final thesis. Therefore, the supervisor is not obliged to:
- Read and comment on major part of the thesis before submission
- Contribute with comprehensive supervision on the content of the thesis
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Project work
  • 1215,5
  • Guidance
  • 20
  • Exam
  • 2
  • Total
  • 1237,5
Credit
45 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment, .
Oral examination, 105 minutes
Type of assessment details
Thesis can be completed by groups of two and no more than 3 students. The student can choose to prepare the assignment individually.

The thesis report may either be a joint report or a report stating the contribution of each student in the group. The report type must be specified in the thesis contract.

Even if the group has prepared a report stating the contributions of the individual students, the students will be examined on the content of the entire report at the oral exam, taking into account the academic capabilities of the individual student. The assessment will be based on the individual student’s contribution to the report and the oral presentation

Exam form
The thesis is concluded with an oral defense. For single student the defense lasts max. 1 1/2 hours incl. an oral presentation of max. 30 min followed by a discussion lasting approx. 30-45 min. For group reports the presentation can last max. 45 min followed by a discussion of max. 30-45 minutes pr. person (maximum 1 3/4 hour for 2 person group reports).

Whether the final assignment is written as group work the student may, where there is an oral defense, choose individual oral defense. The exam for group projects may take the form of a separate examination of the individual students without the attendance of other group members, if the student so wishes.
The master’s thesis is assessed no later than 2 weeks after deadline for submission

The oral defense is public, and official notice to announce the time and place for the defense is published by the supervisors department.

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

If the thesis includes a confidential component, this part of the thesis may be considered behind closed doors in connection with the oral defense. Only the student(s), internal examiner and external examiner participate.

The entire thesis may not be considered behind closed doors. In exceptional cases, however, the dean may grant an exemption from this provision.

A single grade is given for the thesis report and the oral defense. The overall assessment includes evaluation of the academic content of the thesis, the student’s spelling and writing proficiency, and the student’s capacity to disseminate the subject matter in written and oral communication.

The grade must be awarded on the same day as the thesis defense is held.

A thesis report must have been handed in by the agreed deadline - KU.net for more information.


The thesis report must include experimental contents or other forms of own data production or modeling of large data sets or collection and evaluation of data.

The report must have the shape of a scientific report, which overall complies with the IMRaD norm for scientific publications. However, the introduction should include an extended literature review, which demonstrates that the student has an overview of existing knowledge within the field, and there should be a concluding discussion to demonstrate the students ability to put his/her own findings into a broader perspective. The report may include a separate scientific paper, preceded by a literature review and concluded by an overall discussion. The page limit and required format of the thesis are as follows:

Maximum 50 A4-pages for a 1 student report and 70 pages for a group report (excluding front page, table of Contents, references and appendices)

Times New Roman, font size 12 (or equivalent) and 2.5 cm margins all around

Line spacing 1.5
Exam registration requirements

 

 

Aid
All aids allowed

ChatGPT or similar Large Language Models (LLM) is entitled to be used as support tool as long as the rules and regulations determined by UCPH are complied with ( link to KU-net). ChatGPT or another LLM is a source which means that the same requirements applies for using quotation marks and source referencing as with all other sources. Otherwise, it will be a case of plagiarism.

Any use of ChatGPT must be indicated in the methodology section.

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

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

Criteria for exam assesment

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

Knowledge:

  • Identify scientific problems within the study programme’s subject areas.
  • Summarise a suitable combination of methodologies/theories based on international research for use in his/her work based on the problem formulation.
  • Discuss theories/models on the basis of an organised value system and with a high degree of independence.

 

Skills:

  • Conduct experimental work, model large data sets, and/or interpret existing collected data in order to shed light on the topic as formulated in the problem formulation.
  • Apply and critically evaluate theories/methodologies, including their applicability and limitations.
  • Process data through a choice of academic analysis methods and present findings objectively and in a concise manner.Assess the credibility of own findings based on relevant data processing.
  • Assess the extent to which the production and interpretation of findings/material depend on the theory/methodology chosen and the delimitation chosen.
  • Draw conclusions in a clear and academic manner in relation to the problem formulation and, more generally, considering the topic and the subject area.
  • Discuss and communicate the academic and social significance, if any, of the research based on ethical principles.

 

If the thesis includes experimental content/own data production, the student will also be able to:

  • Substantiate the idea of conducting experimental work/producing own data in order to shed light on the topic as formulated in the problem formulation.
  • Process data through a choice of academic analysis methods and present findings objectively and in a concise manner.
  • Assess the credibility of own findings based on relevant data processing.

 

Competencies:

  • Initiate and perform academic work in a research context.
  • Solve complex problems, develop and carry out assignments in a work context.