SPBB802: Master's thesis in Biology

Comment

Please note that this master's thesis is carried out over three semesters. The master’s thesis is for students that follows courses alongside the writing of the master thesis, minimum 15 ECTS courses. If you have passed all courses from 1 and 2 semester of your Master's degree programme, you must choose a master’s thesis that is carried out over two semesters. Administratively the thesis is registered with 20 ECTS per semester. Consequently it is important to consider whether you meet the student activity requirements of 45 ECTS each year.

A supervisor contract and project statement must be handed in.
Submission is conducted electronically via spoc.sdu.dk/form/778/submit. Submission must take place no later than 1 week after the semester has started, but is recommended, that it is handed in as soon as possible. The contract must be approved by supervisor, study committee and the head of studies.

Be aware that it is not possible to fill in the form after deadline of submission, since the application system will shut down. The system will reopen in connection with the next course registration, then you can fill out the form for the next semester.

Further information on the selection, construction, execution and completion of the project can be found on this page.

04015701 (former UVA) is identical with this course description.

Entry requirements

None

Academic preconditions

None

Course introduction

The master’s thesis represents the completion of the master’s programme in biology. The project is thus intended to document the student’s abilities to handle biologically relevant professional functions, and that the student has acquired the professional knowledge and the theoretical and methodological qualifications that enable the student to identify, formulate, and solve problems within the central disciplines of biology.

The project explores a relevant research question, chosen within any field of biology. The research question is examined from a theoretical and practical scientific perspective by means of the student’s own theoretical analyses and, possibly, experimentation, and by use of relevant primary scientific literature. The project is completed by the submission of a scientific thesis and an oral defense.

Expected learning outcome

A student, who has completed the master’s thesis can:

master the theories and methods within a field of the biological sciences,
analyse issues within the central biological disciplines, and establish new, scientifically founded models for their solution,
plan and perform advanced biological investigations,
evaluate submitted hypotheses from a qualified theoretical background, and deal critically with the student’s own research results and scientific models, as well as those of others,
put biological issues into perspective using the ways of reasoning and argumentation, and professional terms of the biological sciences,
contribute to the development of new scientific insigts and new applications of the reults of biological research.

Content

The subject of the master’s thesis is determined in collaboration with a supervisor, and the project description is approved as part of the thesis contract by the supervisor, the department, and the study board. The thesis project includes the independent delimitation, solution, and generalisation of results concerning a biological issue with the possible involvement of experiments and studies of the most recent international research within the field.

Literature

To be announced during the course

Examination regulations

Exam element a)

Timing

Deadline for master's theses begun in the autumn semester is the 1. January after starting the thesis.
Deadline for master's theses begun in the spring semester is the 1. June after starting the thesis.

Tests

Report and oral defense

EKA

N110005102

Assessment

Second examiner: External

Grading

7-point grading scale

Identification

Full name and SDU username

Language

Normally, the same as teaching language

Examination aids

There isn't any litterature for the course at the moment

ECTS value

Additional information

The master's thesis may be carried out individually og in pairs. The thesis examination is individual and starts with a presentation on a given subject. After the presentation the student may be examined in both the report and the presentation. The student's presentation is part of the total assessment. Presentation and report may be carried out in Danish or in English.

The deadline for the thesis report is final. This means that one exam attempt has been used if the thesis report has not been handed in on time. In the event of a missed submission deadline, the university sets a modified research problem within the same subject area as the thesis. The modified research problem must correspond a work load of three months, and it must be received by the Head of Studies no later than 14 days after the submission deadline.

The master thesis must contain an abstract of the contents of the report, cf. "Eksamensbekendtgørelsen" (statutory order of examinations) section 24, subsection 2. If the report is written in Danish, the abstract must be in English. If the report is written in English, the abstract must be in Danish. Further guidelines for the report are provided at the department's website.

Indicative number of lessons

hours per semester

Teaching Method

Not specifiec

Timetable

Odense

Show full time table (start E23)
Show full time table (start F24)

Administrative Unit

Biologisk Institut

Team at Educational Law & Registration

NAT

Offered in

Odense

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