Table of contents

The course is connected to the following study programs

Teaching language

English

Prerequisites

Students must have a minimum of 60 ECTS credits including at least one theory/methodology course in English at master's level (EN-454 or EN-455, or EN-410 and EN-411). 30 ECTS credits must be within the same area of specialization as the master's thesis (literature/culture or linguistics).

Learning outcomes

Knowledge: Upon successful completion of the master's thesis, students have

  • detailed insight into scholarly literary or linguistic research methods, relevant literary or linguistic theory, and thorough knowledge of the field of research related to the master's thesis
  • specialized knowledge of the topic of the master's thesis

Skills: Upon successful completion of the master's thesis students are able to

  • work independently with academic issues
  • apply problem-oriented, methodological and theoretically mature approaches to the research
  • compose academic texts using the conventions of the appropriate academic field
  • critically evaluate arguments, and assess the relevance and criteria of quality.
  • engage productively in academic discussions

General competence: Upon successful completion of the master's thesis, students can

  • communicate the nature of the research project and its findings to others in a clear, concise academic style

Contents

The master's thesis is based on independent research and writing on a topic either dealing with English literature or linguistics. The topic of the thesis may be related to one of the courses in the master's programme. The thesis should be approx. 30.000 words in length. The project is to be an analytical investigation of a literary or linguistic topic, involving a critical assessment of relevant sources or students may choose an experimental linguistic topic, involving the collection and interpretation of a novel dataset.

Teaching and learning methods

There are compulsory individual tutorials (approximately 15 hours) and an obligatory poster session in the autumn. In addition, there is a feedback seminar in the spring. Estimated workload: Approximately 1620 hours.

Examination requirements

Compulsory individual tutorials (approximately 15 hours) and participation in the poster session. Formal supervision of the thesis starts after a project description has been handed in and approved of. All courses must be successfully completed before final submission of the master's thesis for assessment.

Examinations

The master's thesis is marked separately and a graded assessment is given. An oral examination will take place after the thesis has been assessed. In the oral exam, the candidate gives a short presentation of the argumentation of the master's thesis, and this is followed by a discussion of the topic with an internal and external examiner. The duration of the oral exam is approximately 45 minutes. The oral exam may adjust the grade given for the thesis by one grade.

Student evaluation

The person responsible for the course decides, in cooperation with student representative, the form of student evaluation and whether the course is to have a midway or end of course evaluation in accordance with the quality system for education, chapter 4.1.

Admission for external candidates

No.
Last updated from FS (Felles studentsystem) Oct. 15, 2026 9:19:04 AM