The regulations for the Masters program are based on the "Regulations for the 2-year long Masters program at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences”, approved and established by the faculty board-meeting on May 6th 2004 in accordance to the Rules for studies and examinations at the University of Oslo. The program board also has the ability and opportunity to provide more specific/additional rules within the given framework in this regulation or in their own mandate.
Completion of the Masters program.
1) It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all course requirements for the Bachelors program are met prior to the final semester at the latest. This also entails all the course requirements that are part of the basis for the Masters degree, including prerequisites. Final exam will not be scheduled until all the requirements are met.
2) All theoretical exams must be passed prior to the final exam. The long thesis should be printed and handed in by the end of the 4th semester unless the student has received an extension or made proper arrangements for part-time studies. The advisor, examiner and the candidate will set up a date for the exam, which normally is about four weeks after submission of the thesis.
3) Printing of the thesis can either be done by yourself, or you can get it printed by the university facility (Reprotjenesten). The department reception can give you a requisition for printing the mandatory copies when your thesis is complete. The requisition will cover printing of fifteen copies. The University Print Center normally needs 3 working days for printing the Masters thesis. You may find more about how to print your thesis at University Print Center . It is fully possible for the student to choose other printing options/facilities, but those costs must be covered by the student.
The thesis must be in perfect printing condition prior to delivery to the Reprotjenesten. The thesis should be printed on both sides (remember, the “back pages” are blank). The reception must have approval from the advisor if more tha 12 colored prints are to be used.. Printing and binding of the student’s copy of the thesis must be paid by the student. If you wish to have more copies of the thesis than what is covered by the department, you may get a reduced, subsidized rate if the extra copies are ordered at the same time.
4) Upon printing of the thesis, the form Registration for the Masters Degree Final Exam must be given to the Student Council in order to be signed and controlled for semester registration.
All students must submit their master's thesis to DUO open research archive
Make sure to obtain a receipt, which will along with the form Report to Final Masters Exam, and a copy of the front page of the thesis, be given to the MN Student Information Center. Your transcript and diploma will be printed based on this form.
Two copies af the printed thesis are given to your advisor that will ensure that the thesis committee will get a copy each.
The Exam
Once the thesis is submitted, the course of study is completed with an oral exam, scheduled about 4 weeks after submission. The advisor will contact the external and internal examiner when the thesis is submitted. He/she will also inform the Student Council about the name of the examiners and the time for the exam. The Student Council will in turn prepare the necessary paperwork, and reserve a room for the exam. For external thesis, this is done by the internal advisor who finds the examiners for the exam.
The exams are normally arranged twice per year, at the end of each semester - the last week(s) of June with submission deadline around June 1st, and one week in the middle/end of December with submission deadline around the end of November. For those students with an extension for submission of their thesis, the exam will be during the last week of September and in the middle of March with submission deadline around September 1st and February 1st respectively.
At the beginning of February and end of August there be will be an arranged graduation ceremony where transcripts and diplomas are handed out.
Guidelines for the exam can be found under “Exams and Examiners of the Masters thesis”.
7) After the exam, borrowed books and keys must be returned. Everyone must fill out and sign a Clearing Form in order to get your diploma. This form must be returned before the diploma is received and after the examiners has approved the thesis and the presentation (about 4 weeks after the exam). Remember to report any changes of address in Student Web.
Losing your rights as a Masters student and inactivation of student status
A Masters student is considered active from the time the person accepts the offer for admission to the Masters program even though the Application for Approval of the study-plan for the Masters program is not submitted. Students who do not submit such an application within the set deadline will become inactive. Additionally, students, who according to the study-plan should have completed their degree, become inactive if they do not complete their degree. An inactive student will lose their privileges as a Masters student, and will lose their spot in the Masters program within 2 months if he/she does not contact the administration to get approval for a revised study-plan.
Part-time Study, Extensions and Permissions
The Masters program is normally a full-time study, but the program board has the possibility to approve applications for part-time study plans.
Part-time Study: Part-time study is only granted in cases where the thesis project is extra long. If a shorter thesis project is selected, part-time study can only be granted for the theoretical part of the study. One can apply for up to 50% reduction. The study progress plan is defined in the contract for the Masters program.
Extensions for submission of thesis: The application must include a plan for completion. In the case of documented illnesses, extension can be granted for both the theoretical part and the thesis part of the Masters program. It can be granted extensions up to 6 weeks for projects with 30 Study Points (SP), and up to 3 months for projects with 60 SP. For projects with 30 SP, extension is only granted once.
In the cases where the duration of the absence is longer, or there are other valid circumstances will the program board in cooperation with the advisor and the student evaluate if it is possible to change the project. If you have worked as an assistent teacher, you may have max 2 months extension, please contact the student administration for information. Students with maternaty leave during their master study, may also apply for extenion.
Granted extended deadline shall not influence the evaluation of the thesis.
Permissions: If you consider taking a break in your studies, you will have to apply in writing to the program board to get permission in advance. The board will, in cooperation with the advisor, evaluate if the nature of the permission will make it more natural to give the student a new project. The application for permission must be signed by the advisor. Permissions are not granted during work with short duration (30 SP).
The Master program contract will then be revised in accordance with this decision.
Evaluation of the thesis defense/exam
One should take the following guidelines in evaluation of the Masters exam in Molecular Biosciences:
- The ability to get involved and understand the project.
- The ability to work independently
- The ability to communicate and present the project, and use references.
- Originality. By this we are referring to having good and smart ideas, and unexpected elegant, but not necessarily publishable, results.
- Discussion: The ability to present the work as a whole.
- Extent: The extent of the project has to be in accordance with the time available/consumed.
- Technical accomplishment.
The thesis can be written either in English or Norwegian, as an article or as an ordinary Masters thesis.
The Defense/Exam
The exam consists of a 30 minute presentation, which is open to the public, where the student gives an overview of the project. The topics to be covered in the exam are: the approach to the problem, the project topic, methods, background and theory, results/conclusions, and discussion in regards to earlier research.
The advisor and the examiners (the thesis committee) shall be present during the exam.
After the exam, the floor will be open for questions from the public or the thesis committee. The committee will then present their views of the thesis and discuss the thesis with the candidate. The entire process will normally take about an hour. Fellow students can also be present during the presentation of the thesis. After thesis, everyone expect for the examiners and the advisor will leave the room, allowing them to discuss the thesis, the presentation of the thesis, and the following oral examination of the thesis.
The presentation can together with the followed oral examination/discussion be the basis to readjust the given grade to the thesis.
The candidate is then called back in for a discussion/conversation with the thesis committee. The advisor is normally not present during this.
The committee will the present their overall view, and the candidate will be given his/her grade.
The grade shall not be announced before the presentation is completed.
Failure to pass the thesis
If the submitted thesis is not passed, it can be resubmitted after proper changes and revisions have been done. This needs to be accompanied with the final exam.
This assumes that the committee will, in writing, give an evaluation and establish that can be accomplished with normal workload within 6 weeks for 30 SP projects and within 3 months for projects with 60 SP. In that case a deadline shall be set for resubmission.
Thesis with grades A-E can not be resubmitted.
If the resubmitted thesis is failed again (or not submitted within the set deadline) the student will lose his/her right to be enrolled in the Masters program, and will have to reapply for admission to get a new project. Det m? samtidig s?kes om innpassing for det teoretiske pensum.
Exams for the theoretical section must be passed prior to completion of the Masters final exam. A new attempt to choose a topic/direction will have to be in accordance with the regulations set for topics from the department. Improvement of grade for one or several of the topics achieved after the terminal Masters thesis defense will have no influence on your diploma for the Masters degree, but will be documented as it is normally in your transcript.
Overview of the grades for a Masters degree
- A Outstanding. High level of knowledge. Good analytical abilities. Able to think and process the knowledge independently. The candidate shows very solid analytical understanding. The candidate has exceptional knowledge about and a good overview of the topic of the exam and its contents. The candidate is competent in making use of this knowledge.
- B Very Good. Good overview of the field. Able think and process the knowledge independently. The candidate shows good analytical understanding. The candidate has good knowledge about, and good overview of the topic of the exam and its contents. The candidate is good in making use of this knowledge.
- C Good. Is able to understand and make sense of the most important elements in the field. Is able to some extent to think and process the knowledge independently. The candidate has analytical understanding. The candidate has some overview over the most important elements of the topic of the exam an its contents. The candidate can make use of this knowledge.
- D Average. Overview over the most important elements is missing. The ability to think and process knowledge independently is lacking. The candidate has to some extent analytical understanding. The candidate has some overview over the most important elements of the topic of the exam an its contents. The candidate can to some extent make use of this knowledge.
- E Sufficient. Satisfies the minimum requirements, but nothing more. Not able to think and process knowledge independently. The candidate has some overview of the most important elements over the topic of the exam, but his/her knowledge is incomplete and limited about its contents. The candidate can, in limited extent, make use of this knowledge.
- F Failed. Lacks both detailed knowledge and overview. The candidate has very little analytical understanding. The candidate is having major and obvious lacks in understanding the topic of the exam. The candidate has very little overview over the content of the study and the exam. The candidate has very limited ability to make use of this knowledge.