On completion of the course the students will be able to:

1. demonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of certain areas of business administration related to the program in which the thesis is written, and specialized knowledge of the area of business administration in which the thesis is written

2. demonstrate specialized methodological knowledge applicable to business administration and to the program in which the thesis is written

3. demonstrate insight into current research and development work in business administration and areas related to core topics of the program in which the thesis is written

4. demonstrate the ability to integrate knowledge critically and systematically and analyze, assess and deal with complex phenomena associated with business administration

5. demonstrate the ability to identify and formulate issues critically, independently and creatively as well as using appropriate research methods.
6. demonstrate the ability to plan and execute a research project within a predetermined time frames

7. demonstrate the ability in speech and writing to report clearly and discuss their conclusions and the knowledge and arguments on which they are based, in dialogue with different audiences.

8. demonstrate the ability to make assessments, taking into account relevant scientific, societal and ethical issues and also demonstrate awareness of ethical aspects in research and development work.

The course consists of writing a master thesis. The course includes tutoring seminars, but is based on independent work. At the end of the course all students must defend their thesis at a public seminar, act as main opponent at another student seminar, and actively take part in three other final seminars.

Seminar based tutoring.

The teaching is conducted in English.

Bachelor’s degree (i.e the equivalent of 180 ECTS credits at an accredited university) with at least 30 credits in Business Administration and 30 credits in one (or a combination) of the following areas: business administration, economics, industrial engineering and management, business analytics, informatics, information technology, communication, commerce (or the equivalent) and passed courses of 45 credits on advanced level with a minimum of 30 credits in Business Administration and passed courses of 7,5 credits in Research Methods (or the equivalent). Proof of English proficiency is required.

The course is graded A, B, C, D, E, FX or F.

Examination form:
Thesis (ILOs 1-5, 7-8): examined through the written thesis, as well as oral presentations and discussions in five final seminars (defense, opposition, and active participation in three additional final seminars); represents 70 % of the total course grade (21 credits); individually graded.
Thesis process (ILOs 5-7): assessed through interaction with the supervisor and active participation in four tutoring seminars during the thesis writing process; represents 30 % of the total course grade (9 credits); individually graded.

Note: A course grade can only be given if all ILOs are passed (grade E).

Name of the Test	Value	Grading
Thesis	21 credits	A/B/C/D/E/FX/F
Thesis process	9 credits	A/B/C/D/E/FX/F

It is the responsibility of the examiner to ensure that each course is evaluated. At the outset of the course, the programme evaluators in the course must be contacted. In the middle of the course, the examiner should meet the programme evaluators to identify strengths/weaknesses in the first half of the course.
At the end of the course, the examiner should remind students to fill in the survey. The examiner should also call a meeting with the programme evaluators to debrief the course, based on course evaluation data and comments. The next time the course runs, students should be informed of any measures taken to improve the course based on the previous course evaluations.
At the end of each study period, JIBS’ Director of Quality and Accreditation crafts a “Course Evaluation Quarter Report”, presenting the quantitative results from course evaluation surveys. The Associate Dean of Education, The Associate Deans of Faculty, Programme Directors, and JSA President and Quality receive the report.

Students write the Master thesis in pairs. Even though the thesis is written in pairs the course is examined on an individual basis.

Academic integrity
JIBS students are expected to maintain a strong academic integrity. This implies to behave within the boundaries of academic rules and expectations relating to all types of teaching and examination.

Copying someone else’s work is a particularly serious offence and can lead to disciplinary action. When you copy someone else’s work, you are plagiarising. You must not copy sections of work (such as paragraphs, diagrams, tables and words) from any other person, including another student or any other author. Cutting and pasting is a clear example of plagiarism. There is a workshop and online resources to assist you in not plagiarising called the Interactive Anti-Plagiarism Guide.

Other forms of breaking academic integrity include (but are not limited to) adding your name to a project you did not work on (or allowing someone to add their name), cheating on an examination, helping other students to cheat and submitting other students work as your own, and using non-allowed electronic equipment during an examination. All of these make you liable to disciplinary action.

Selected individually based on the thesis topic. The selection will be based on a discussion between students and tutors in relation to the chosen thesis topic.