Appointment of the committee
The censoring?committee consists of the internal censor and external censor, whom together evaluates and grades the master's thesis.?
The internal censor is appointed by the program leader of the master's program that the candidate is associated with. Information about the appointed internal censor must be forwarded from the program leader to the study administration on studieinfo@math.uio.no.?
The program leader's deadline for appointing internal censors:?
- Spring: within March 15th
- Autumn: within October 15th
The external censor is appointed by the candidate's supervisor. Please see more information in the next section.?
External censor
The candidate's supervisor is responsible for contacting and appointing an external censor who agrees to evaluate the?master's thesis.?
Criteria for an external censor:?
- The external censor cannot be a current employee at UiO, or have been an employee at UiO in the last 2 years.
- In cases where a thesis has been conducted at an external institution, or an employee from the said external institution has been a supervisor for the thesis, then the external censor cannot have been an employee at the said external institution in the last two years.?
The external censor should be appointed no later than 1 month before the submission deadline for the thesis. As soon as the appointment of the external censor is confirmed, please forward the name and contact information for the external censor to the study administration on studieinfo@math.uio.no.?
Access to the thesis and plagiarism report
When the external censor is appointed by the candidate's supervisor, the internal censor takes over the responsibility for the planning towards the final master exam.?
The candidate submits the thesis digitally in Inspera. A plagiarism report is automatically generated. The report is often ready the day after submission. There are available instructions from UiO on how to access and review the plagiarism report. See the section "Hvordan leser jeg en Inspera Originality-rapport" on the web page for use of Originality as a plagiarism control tool.?
The internal censor is the only censor with direct access to the master's thesis in Inspera. The internal censor appointed in the commission for the candidate will receive an email from Inspera with login-info. If you cannot login to Inspera at this point, please email the study administration on studieinfo@math.uio.no.?
The internal censor's responsibility once the thesis is submitted:?
- Download the thesis and plagiarism report from Inspera.
- Distribute the thesis and plagiarism report to the external censor and the candidate's supervisor.
- Arrange the time and date for the final master exam (thesis defense). Please see more information in the next section.?
The final master exam (thesis defense)
The final master exam (thesis defense) should be conducted on a date within 3-6 weeks after submission of the thesis.?
The internal censor ensures the arrangements for the master exam. Together with the candidate, external censor and the supervisor(s), the time and date for the final master exam is set.
Booking a room for the master exam
The internal censor books a room for the master exam. Time and place must be reported to the study administration by the online form: [https://nettskjema.no/a/502749]. The information reported in the form will be used for creating a contract for the external examiner and for announcement of the master exam on the department's web pages.?
NB: If the external examiner will participate via Zoom, the internal censor must ensure that the booked room contains the necessary IT equipment for conducting the exam.?
Conducting the master exam (thesis defense)
The candidate starts with a presentation of the thesis with a duration of about 30 minutes. After the presentation and a possible explanatory questions round from the audience, the exam will be closed allowing only the censors, supervisor(s) and candidate to be present for the final closing examination. During the closing examination the censors conduct the examination on the basis of the thesis. After the closing examination the candidate leaved the room letting the censors discuss and come to an agreement for the final grading of the thesis. The grading discussion between the censors should be kept short and concise, so that the external censor may call back in the candidate to communicate the final grade within reasonable time.?
Please see the section "Evaluation of the master's thesis" for important notes prior to the final master exam and different criteria for evaluating master's theses.?
Please see the section "Assessment guides / forms" for censor's assessment guide, grading and more.?
Who must/may be present at the final master exam
The candidate, the internal censor and the external censor must be present at the master exam.?
The supervisor(s) are not obliged to be present, but will normally be present to show their support.?
The master exam is open for audience during the candidate's presentation. After the candidate's presentation and possible explanatory questions round, the exam closes with only the censors, supervisor(s) and candidate present for the final examination.?
Assessment protocol
After completion of the final master exam, the censors fill in, sign and submit the Assessor protocol. Please hand it in on paper to the study administration or forward by email to studieinfo@math.uio.no.?
Evaluation of the master's thesis
The external sensor is responsible for the academic assessment of the master's thesis.
The internal censor also makes an academic assessment of the assignment, but is also responsible for ensuring that the grade is in line with current practice at the department. It may be advisable to discuss characterization with other members of the intern censor pool.
Prior to the final master exam - internal and external censor:
To evaluate the candidate's personal contribution, independence in the process with the thesis etc., the censors should arrange a discussion with the candidate's supervisor(s) to obtain the needed information.?
Different types of master's theses at the Department of Mathematics - different assessment criteria
There are three types of master's theses at the department; Long thesis (60 ECTS), short thesis (30 ECTS) and a short thesis for the Teacher programme/"Lektorprogram" (30 ECTS). It is essential that the three theses types?are assessed on an independent basis and within the practice that exists for each of the thesis types.
Thesis of 60 ECTS?is our traditional master thesis. Here we have good experience with how to assess them.
The requirements for the short thesis (30 ECTS) should not be the same as for long. The short thesis,?means that the student has shorter time to immerse him/herself in his/her theme. The thesis?will therefore, to a lesser extent, be a research project, but rather a form of overview thesis. This means that the presentation of the substance is emphasized heavier than the depth of the academic content, as opposed to the corresponding weighting of a long task. This does not mean that the academic content should not be emphasized, but it may, for example, give?more to the?creativity?of?the way the substance is presented than one would normally do on a long thesis.
"Lektorprogram"?students have less mathematical-academic background than the other master students. This must be taken into consideration in the evaluation of their tasks. The presentation and dissemination of the substance should count as much as advanced academic content.
Some evaluation parameters are common to all three types of tasks. Structure, consistency, readability and good and correct source references or references must in all cases be in place.
Some of our Master's theses, perhaps especially under the CS program, have clear interdisciplinary features. These tasks shall be subject to the same quality requirements as pure academic tasks. But interdisciplinarity usually means that the professional depth of the subjects included will not be on the same level as pure theses. The strength of interdisciplinary theses will determine if and to what extent the candidate manages the interaction between several fields of study and how this interaction is capable of using knowledge from a field to establish new knowledge in another field.
Sensor fees and travel bill form
Routine for sensor fees and travel bill form.
Assessment guides / forms
Supervisors
Supervisor's assessment of Master's projects
Assessment form for supervisor (pdf)
Assessment form for supervisor (odt)
Censors
Assessor's assessment of Master's projects
Assessment form for assessor (pdf)
Assessment for for assessor (odt)
Grading description for Master's thesis
Assessment protocol for Master's thesis
The Faculty web page for grading Master's theses:?
Karakterfastsetting masteroppgaver - nye retningslinher (MN Faculty) (Norwegian)
Other
Pdf with all the information and?different protocols/assessment?forms