BIO300 Bachelor's Thesis

The course is connected to the following study programs

• Bachelor's Programme in Biology

Teaching language

Norwegian or English

Prerequisites

BIO102, BIO103, BIO104, BIO113 and BIO111, as well as minimum 20 credits of biology at the 200-level

Course contents

An introduction is given to scientific methods, as well as study and writing techniques, so that students can produce academic reports on an independent basis. During practical work, students will practice skills by collecting and processing research data that will be presented in a written assignment. Special emphasis will be placed on practicing the scientific techniques that are specifically relevant to the thesis and on gaining insight into how a scientific report is presented in writing as well as orally.

Learning outcomes

On completion of the course the students shall

• be able to account for the steps involved in planning and carrying out of a scientific study

• be familiar with relevant work methods for carrying out achosen project

• be able to present results from their project and discuss output and impact orally orally and in a written scientific report

Examination requirements

The student must have participated in both progress seminars to be allowed to take the exam. Oral assessment presupposes that a written report has been submitted within the set deadline. See Canvas for more information.

Teaching methods

The bachelor thesis is carried out under supervision individually or in groups of 2-3 students. Introductory lectures will focus on how to formulate a scientific hypothesis and how to design experimental setup. In addition, the requirements that apply to form, structure, data processing, data presentation and literature references for producing a scientific publication will be highlighted. For the practical part of the project, a personal supervisor will be assigned for each student or pair/group of students. The completion of the work on the bachelor thesis is ensured by the students participating in two mandatory progress seminars. During the first seminar, the student will present their project, with the research question, hypotheses and methods. During second seminar the work is presented in its entirety, with a focus on results and discussion of these. The thesis language may be English.
The course has an expected scope of work of 520 hours.

Evaluation

The person responsible for the course, in consultation with the student representative, decides the method of evaluation and whether the courses will have a midterm- or end of term evaluation, see also the Quality System, section 4.1. Information about evaluation method for the course will be posted on Canvas.

Assessment methods and criteria

The written thesis is assessed by to examiners, and a preliminary grade will be set. After an individual oral examination, a final grade, based on the preliminary grade and potentially adjusted based on the candidates performance on the oral exam, will be determined. Before being allowed to take the oral examination, the students' written thesis must be passed.