Routines for the master's degree programme

All master's degree students must have an individual education plan. The individual education plan shall

• contribute to a close and mutually binding relationship between the student and the University of Bergen
• show how the University helps students achieve defined learning objectives at the agreed-upon times

The individual education plan consists of two sections: a general section and a section specific section. The general section applies to all master's degree students at UiB; it discusses general issues in the programme and highlights rights and obligations between students and the University of Bergen. The specific section discusses your programme in more detail and also contains each individual student's course of study. You fill this in via StudentWeb. The specific section also includes a supervision contract, which is an agreement between the student, supervisor and the head of the department you are affiliated with. This contract must be filled in by a deadline set in the specific section. You get the contract from your department.

The individual education plan is valid as long as you follow it and comply with applicable rules and regulations, or in other words for four semesters for a full-time student. As a full-time student, progress should be made through 30 credits each semester. You will be called for a follow-up conversation if it turns out that you are taking fewer credits than the plan stipulates. You can make an agreement about a part-time programme (50%) with a corresponding extension of the contract. You must apply for this separately (see the separate section).

To be allocated a supervisor, you must sign a supervision contract. Each master's degree programme has defined when in the programme you must sign the contract. The contract stipulates who your supervisor is, how many hours of supervision you are entitled to and generally defines the rights and obligations between supervisors and students.

The thesis contract can be found at the bottom of this page (PDF format).

Students can apply to the department to extend the master's programme by a fifth semester. By submitting a special application, students can seek a further one-semester extension. The Faculty processes this application. The application form can be found at the bottom of this page. The applicant must present a schedule approved by their supervisor. The schedule must present a realistic picture of how you plan to complete the rest of your master's thesis. If the application is for fifth semester, it will be processed by the department. If the application is for a sixth semester, the department sends it to the Faculty of Humanities along with a recommendation from the department and supervisor. It is not possible to apply for a further extension.

Application deadlines for extensions of supervision contracts:

• For a fifth semester: 1 May or 5 November in the fourth semester.
• For a sixth semester: 1 May or 5 November  in the fifth semester.

The application form can be found here.

If you apply for a leave of absence, you must explain the reason for the leave. The application must include documentation in form of a medical certificate, birth certificate, confirmation of due date, a notice of compulsory military service. etc. If you apply for a leave of absence from the master's programme for academic reasons – for instance to take courses outside the programme – you must include a statement from your department/supervisor. If you apply for a leave for academic reasons – for instance to participate in archaeological fieldwork – work contracts must be enclosed along with a statement from your supervisor.

You can apply for a leave for a minimum of one semester and a maximum of two semesters. You apply on a separate form to the Faculty of Humanities. Also see section § 5-2: Leave of absence in "Regulations concerning studies at the University of Bergen (sudy regulations)" and the supplementary regulations for the Faculty of Humanities.
 

How do I apply?

You can find the application form on the student pages.

When can I apply?

Apply as fast as possible.

Your individual education plan includes an agreement about what your academic progress should be. The normal academic progress is 100%, which means 30 credits each semester. You can make an agreement to complete all or part of the programme part time (at minimum 50%). The length of study for part-time students is a maximum of eight semesters. You must apply to the department for changes to your academic progress, using the applicable form.

Application deadlines for changes in academic progress:

• For the autumn semester: 1. september
• For the spring semester: 1. february 

How can I apply?

You must report changes to full-time/part-time status via the online form:

• Notification form for changes in academic progress

If you are collecting, registering, processing or storing personal data, your project is likely subject to a notification requirement. You must fill in a notification form and submit it to the Data Protection Official for Research. The notification requirement is statutory under the Personal Data Act, and the procedure of submitting a notification to Sikt has been decided on by University management.

You can find information and the form on Sikts website

You can apply to your department for financial support for your work on your master's thesis. You can apply a maximum of two times, and can receive NOK 2,500 each time. This support is for costs related to data collection, fieldwork, travel, costs for copying sources, questionnaires, buying IT services, postage, etc. You can receive up to NOK 5,000 for especially costly travel; this is equivalent to two projects. You should submit a completed application form well in advance of travelling (the processing time is usually three weeks). Note that your supervisor's recommendation and signature must be enclosed with the application form.

The completed application and documentation can either be sent to The Faculty of Humanities, Post box 7805, 5020 Bergen or be handed in to the Information Centre in The Faculty of Humanities.

On special application, the departments can award up to five stipends of up to NOK 10,000 as a grant for long-term (more than three months) travel / data collection / fieldwork in countries outside of Europe. This is equivalent to two projects worthy of support.

Deadlines for special support:

• For the autumn semester: 1 April
• For the spring semester: 1 October

You use the same application form as when you apply for financial support (PDF format).
Note: application forms only avaliable in norwegian.

The ordinary submission deadlines in the Faculty of Humanities are as follows:

• Spring semester: 1 February and 15 May
• Autumn semester: 1 September and 20 November

The University has its own supplier that prints the master's thesis. Students must submit an electronic version of the thesis in PDF on Studentweb by the stipulated deadline. You must be registered for the examination in the master's thesis in order for the course to be visible on Studentweb.

The thesis must be submitted as a PDF, normally as one document. It is usually easiest to have the entire thesis as one document in your text processing programme and then creating a PDF file from the document. If you use OpenOffice or Word for Mac, these programmes have a function for creating PDF files. If you use Word for Windows, the free PDF Creator programme can create PDF files.

Note: The computer assistants in the UiB computer labs can help you with this.

When submitting through Studentweb, you must choose whether the master's thesis is to be available and searchable online in BORA. If it is, students enter an agreement with BORA.

If you have questions about the submission, you must contact the department responsible for your master's programme.

From the autumn of 2008, all master's theses must have a compulsory abstract of half a page to one page in a language other than the language in which it is written. The other language will normally be English. For foreign language disciplines, the other language may for instance be Norwegian. The abstract must be submitted as part of the thesis, not as an appendix. The student cannot normally restrict access to the thesis, though there are exceptions.