Master's thesis in music education

The master's thesis in music education corresponds to half a year's full work effort and must show that the candidate can work independently and research based. The project will include theoretical and research based perspectives of relevance for the music subject in a teaching profession context. The master's thesis in music education is an independent, critical, ethical, methodical, informed and clearly articulated work. Supervision is an important element in the work on the master's thesis, and supervision is a compulsory part of the course.

The master's thesis can have a practical part or not. This distinction concerns methodological orientation, and is therefore one of many choices that students make during the process, and under supervision. The student accounts for methodological choices in the master's thesis.

In master's theses with a practical part, the practical part and the written part are distinct and mutually dependent parts in the approach to the research topic, and the two parts are assessed as one whole. In such theses, the student is expected to use up to half of the study time to develop the practical part, while the expected scope of the written part is halved compared to a master's thesis without a practical part. Where the thesis contains a practical part, this part must be presented in the master's thesis as a digital, auditory or audio-visual recording, and there should be a link to a public publication channel for the recordings

Knowledge

The student:

• has advanced knowledge of central themes and issues for music/music education, and specialized knowledge of the master's thesis topic
• has advanced and independent knowledge in methodological, ethical and critical research work within the subject area
• has thorough knowledge of academic writing and presentation forms
• can create knowledge in discussion and dialogue with an academic, artistic and music professional community

Skills

The student:

• can independently carry out and present a research project at master's level under supervision and in line with applicable research ethical principles
• can generate, document and process research material in their own master's thesis
• can choose between theoretical perspectives, examine research material with theory and critically reflect on how theory informs choices during the research process
• can find and critically evaluate information in non-digital and digital resources
• can use reference systems in accordance with recognized standards

General competence

The student:

• is able to use supervision
• has thorough expertise in dialogue with colleagues, such as fellow students and teachers, about research
• can analyze and apply current theory in subject and research fields to contribute to new thinking and/or innovation in music teaching

• Selvstendig individuelt arbeid, under veiledning, med masteroppgave i musikkdidaktikk
• Seminarer for studentenes fagfellesskap, der studentene blant annet legger fram sine arbeider i prosess og både gir og mottar tilbakemeldinger seg imellom