UT-503 Master Thesis in Development Management (Autumn 2020–Spring 2021)

On completion of the thesis the participants should have the ability to:

• Plan and conduct an empirical research project
• Collect and analyse data
• Interpret the findings of a research study to draw implications for research and practice
• Write a thesis based on a research study

The main aim of the thesis work is to train the students in practical research under the guidance of a supervisor, and to test the students´ ability to apply theoretical and practical knowledge gained during the coursework to produce an original, quality-assured research report. The thesis can be written as a traditional monograph or, in certain instances and in agreement with the supervisor, be article based. The thesis can be done either individually or in pairs. The students usually do fieldwork to collect data for the thesis, and are encouraged to do fieldwork in a developing country since such experience is considered to be of particular value for research on environment, management and development issues. The fieldwork should preferably take place in a country with a university that is a partner in the master programme. It is, however, possible to do the data collection for the thesis in Norway or any other industrialized country, either as a fieldwork or as deskwork.

The students are free to select a topic. The precondition is that the topic has to be within the interlinked fields of environment, development and management, but can be biased in one or two directions. The topic, the thesis proposal and the outline will be elaborated through the courses in ME-413 (2. Semester), and ME-505 (3. semester). The final thesis proposal will be approved by the supervisor.