Examination arrangement

Course content

To be defined individually.

Learning outcome

Learning outcome:

The master thesis shall demonstrate the candidates ability to apply knowledge, skills and competence learned through the other courses in the master program. Master level compared to lower level thesis, means that the required scientific content shall be higher, and that the generic solution results are more focused than the specific case study.

The student shall through the thesis provide some individual contributions to methodology and/or tools for a specific engineering analysis.Through the master thesis, the candidate shall prove basic knowledge in the field of engineering, and knowledge in different methods and tools which have been learned through the qualifying courses. In addition the candidate shall have in-depth knowledge in the specific field covered by the master thesis topic.

The candidate shall also prove knowledge in relevant engineering tools and methods, as well as general project management (plan and execution).

• Ability to combine and apply engineering knowledge into a systematic problem solving process
• Ability to search information and establish new in-depth knowledge in relevant fields including searching for, retrieving and interpreting articles published from scientific journals and publications.
• Ability to relate theory and concepts to evidence in a systematic way, and to draw appropriate conclusions based on the evidence.
• Ability to distinguish between general methodology and the case specific parts Ability to work systematically and individually with a scientific problem

The candidate shall prove the following general competence: apply his/her knowledge and skills in new areas in order to carry out advanced assignments and projects manage an independent project with full responsibility for progress and deadlines clear and extensive communication with different stakeholders in the project ability to validate and generalize results obtained master language and terminology of the relevant academic field ability to communicate about academic issues, analysis and conclusions in the field, both with specialists and the general public knowledge in relevant ethical, social and environmental issues

In addition to the individual thesis topic, the study program shares a common project theme across all courses. This is addressed through the perspective and methodology of each course to deliver discipline specialization, as well as linking the different scopes and aspects into a holistic engineering view.

Learning methods and activities

The Master thesis is an independent work. The task will be tied to an industrial problem or ongoing research at the institute. The student will get one supervisor at NTNU and one from a company or research project. The candidate is responsible to arrange frequent meetings with supervisors, where status shall be presented and problems are discussed. The thesis work can be a part of a visit to another university or in a company. The thesis will be evaluated at NTNU.

Mandatory assignment:

A pre-study report with a project plan shall be delivered within 3 weeks after the start of the thesis work. An A3 poster for the thesis shall be included in this pre-study. A template for this presentation is available on the web site for the master program. This poster shall be updated when the Masters thesis is submitted. Weekly supervision and feedback.Two oral presentations: one at the start to present the thesis plan, and final presentation / defense approx one week before the thesis submission deadline.

Compulsory assignments

• Mandatory assignment

Further on evaluation

The final result shall be a written thesis.

The thesis should be written as a research report according to NTNU recommendations. A standard tentative template will be available to the students. During preparation of the text, the candidate shall make efforts to create a well organized and well written report.

For evaluation of the thesis the following elements are important:

• The introduction shall clearly state the scope of work for the thesis, including problem formulation, objectives and scientific method(s) to be applied. Short and concise.
• Background - A thorough, well organized, concise and relevant state-of-the art survey (summary). This should be from the same field of science/engineering, or from parallel fields where scientific methods can be adapted. This background part must be strictly relevant to the thesis topic, and normally limited to approximately 20% of the thesis (in pages). Non-relevant parts and/or too extensive volume might have negative impact on the evaluation.
• Individual and original contribution - Show ability to explore and understand a new area as well as performing a scientific approach. A unique individual contribution to engineering science will be highly valued. Scientific content such as generic knowledge, a new method/tool or a new application/combination of known technology will be appreciated.
• Figures and illustrations - Graphical illustrations are normally better than verbal descriptions in engineering science. Self made, clear and relevant illustrations are valued. All figures and tables shall be numbered and cross referenced in text.
• Discussion and conclusions - Through thorough discussion and conclusions of results, the candidate shall demonstrate solid understanding of the theories and methods applied in the thesis. The conclusions must correlate well with the objectives of the thesis and the background theories. The conclusion should be validated and the generalization of results should be investigated.
• References - Strict source references and respect to copyright must be followed. All information taken from sources should be thoroughly referred in the reference list according to standard template. Missing references may have serious consequences according to laws protecting intellectual property (IPR). Reporting details will be valued Thesis format according to template. Thesis volume should normally be approx. 75 pages (main parts). Additional parts if required should be organized in appendix. To ease the evaluation of the thesis, it is important to cross-reference text, tables and figures. Fluent language and correct use of relevant scientific terminology. The thesis shall be submitted in INSPERA as a pdf-file. Re-sit examination: In the end of the next semester.

Specific conditions

Recommended previous knowledge

Fullfilled 60 ECTS credits and passed in all mandatory subjects.