Master's Thesis

Knowledge:

Students will learn

• key debates within the substantive field of peace and conflict studies;
• how to select and apply research tools and techniques from the broader field of political science;
• research ethics considerations within the substantive field of peace and conflict studies;
• basic principles for analysis and scholarly debate within the field of political science.

Skills:

• define and operationalize a research question;
• design and conduct an independent enquiry specializing in one or more political science methods;
• identify, collect, and analyze relevant data from various sources;
• place your research question and findings within the broader field of peace and conflict studies and discuss their implications;
• identify and discuss sources of bias in data and analysis.

General competencies:

• understand how design choices and data limitations affect analysis in political science research;
• grasp and discuss ethical challenges and considerations in political science research; broadly and in the sub-field of peace and conflict studies specifically;
• practice evidence-based and transparent analysis based on key principles of social science enquiry.

It is advisable that the students have taken all mandatory courses. A supervisor will be assigned by the Department of Political Science before the student start writing the master's thesis.

Students should consult this resource for research ethics and the social sciences: https://www.forskningsetikk.no/en/resources/the-research-ethics-library/introduction/social-sciences-humanities/.

For formatting and style, please consult the Chicago Manual of Style: https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/home.html

The course is restricted to students in the Peace and Conflict Studies programme.

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.

Students receive a combination of collective and individual academic supervision.

Teaching activities:

• lectures on academic writing;
• software demonstrations;
• drop-in sessions on data management and protection;
• structured writing sessions ("shut up & write" sessions);
• thesis writing workshops where students present and comment on each other’s drafts.

Fieldwork

Will you conduct fieldwork or will your master`s thesis require traveling? Read about financial support of fieldwork.

Master’s Thesis Submission and Oral Examination

Master's thesis:

The master's thesis is written individually and should be submitted in Insperahttps://uio.inspera.no/https://studentweb.uio.no/studentweb/login.jsf?inst=FSPRODbefore the submission deadline.

• Submission deadline for the spring semester: May 15th
• Submission deadline for the autumn semester: November 8th

If the deadline falls on a weekend or a public holiday, it will be extended to the next working day.

Master Thesis in Peace and Conflict Studies - Faculty of Social Sciences (uio.no)

National guidelines for assessment of Master’s theses in political science - Faculty of Social Sciences (uio.no)

Oral examination:

The oral examinations will be scheduled after the submission of the thesis. You will be notified of the time and place for your oral examination via your UiO email address at least 7 days prior to the scheduled examination date. The time period for the oral examinations will be published on the semester page.

Before the oral examination, the evaluation committee, consisting of an internal and an external examiner, will assign a preliminary grade to your master's thesis.

The oral examination typically lasts for 30-45 minutes.

At the beginning of the oral examination, you will be offered the opportunity to hear your preliminary grade. There's no requirement for a formal thesis presentation, but you should be prepared to respond to critical questions related to your topic, content, and choices made. It can be useful to reflect on what you could have done differently and consider how the project could be continued.

After the oral examination, you will be asked to leave the room while the evaluation committee assess whether there are grounds for revising the grade assigned prior to the oral examination. Once the evaluation committee has determined the final grade, you will be notified and provided with a justification orally.

The oral examination is open to the public as stated pursuant to Section 11-6 of the Universities and University Colleges Act.

A master's thesis that has received a passing grade for the exam cannot be resubmitted in a revised form (See §5.6 (5) in the Regulations for Studies and Examinations at the University of Oslo).

A master's thesis that has received a failing grade for the exam can only be resubmitted once as a new examination attempt. The thesis can only be resubmitted in a revised form, and within the semester following the original submission (See §5.6 (5) in the Regulations for Studies and Examinations at the University of Oslo). Please contact the Department of Political Science for information on the possibility of resubmission.