General provisions

The course is included in the Master's Programme in Religion in Peace and Conflict.

Entry requirements

30 credits within the Master's Programme in Religion in Peace and Conflict

Learning outcomes

The aim of the course is to provide a deeper and specialised knowledge of religion in peace and conflict. The course strengthens the ability to apply scientific theory and method in an independent analysis of a specific problem relevant for the study of religion in peace and conflict.

Through the course, the student will reinforce the skills needed to write an independent scientific work.

On completion of the thesis, the student is expected to be able to:

• with a high degree of independence define, design and carry out a research task related to religious and ethically based peace and justice movements;
• critically relate to and independently apply different scientific and philosophical theories and methodological approaches in the field of the thesis;
• carry out an assessment of research ethical concerns motivated by the research undertaken;
• produce a longer, well argued and well written text in English;
• defend the thesis in a scientific way and constructively challenge the work of a fellow student.

Content

The course consists of a thesis worth 15 credits. At the start of the course, the student will discuss the topic, limitations and material with his/her supervisors. After that, the student will independently formulate a problem and decide on research material, a theoretical approach and a methodology. The thesis will be discussed at a joint seminar for students writing a Master's thesis within the programme.

Instruction

The course is a distance-learning course. Instructions takes the form of synchronous and asynchronous seminars and individual supervision. A computer with Internet connection is essential.

Students are given a fixed number of hours for thesis supervision. Supervision is only provided during the course. Re-registration is subject to resources. Students are not granted re-registration if the originally awarded hours for supervision are used up.

Assessment

The thesis will be debated at the real time thesis seminar for Religion in Peace and Conflict.

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator.

Other regulations

The thesis topic will be chosen in consultation with the supervisor. When choosing a subject for the thesis, consideration should be given to the student's main field of study at Bachelor's level.

Please note that the stated teaching methods may be replaced by self-studies if there is a very low number of students.

Transitional provisions

Students retain the right to be examined on the course according to this syllabus for 3 semesters after their course instance has ended. Normally, instruction will be given according to the latest version of the course syllabus only.