A candidate who has completed his or her programme should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence:

Knowledge

The candidate

• can analyse and present advanced knowledge in geographical research in Development Geography in relation to themes such as development and migration, human ecology, political ecology, environmental discourses and institutions in developing countries
• can analyse geographical issues on the basis of history of geographical thought and theory of science
• can apply contemporary theories, methods and interpretations in development geography, and work independently and in teams with practical and theoretical problem solving

Skills

The candidate

• can establish and develop professional relationships with relevant actors in society
• can choose and delimit a researchable theme for a Master´s thesis and develop a research problem which can be carried out within the time limits and resources available for the study
• can select and evaluate relevant methods for collection of empirical data, and give an epistemological account of the methodological choices.
• can delimit, plan and carry out collection of empirical data through various forms of field work
• can search systematically in libraries, scientific and other data bases and interpret and evaluate data and literature critically
• can discuss and analyse different sources of information critically, analyse empirical data and present geographical arguments and analyses
• can write a research report within given time and resource limits, apply geographical terminology and good academic writing, with exact, updated and systematic use of references, with due credit to secondary sources

General competence

The candidate

• has the ability to carry out field work and treat data in accordance with good ethical norms and Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) practice.
• has the ability to disseminate research results as publications, articles in media and oral presentations.
• has the ability to present research findings as academic writing, in public media and in oral form

In order to be admitted to the program, the applicant must normally have obtained a Bachelor degree of 3-4 years' duration, or have an equivalent educational background. The degree must include at least 1,5 years of full time studies in Geography.

Non-native English speakers must document their English language proficiency in order to be considered for admission to Master's degree programmes at the University of Bergen.

The thesis is normally based on field collection of data in the country of origin, carried out between the first and second year of study. The master's thesis itself, and course options, will be adapted to the individual academic backgrounds and interests of the students. For the sake of the flexibility, the students may choose to split the second and the third semester between thesis work and courses in order to attend elective courses only available in autumn semester and vice versa.

The programme consists of the following courses. All courses are compulsory and must be taken in the order listed.

Autumn 1st semester

• GEO308 Theory of science and research design for geographers (10 credits)
• GEO310 Writing workshop and draft project proposal (10 credits)
• GEO326 Geographical perspctives on food (10 credits)

Spring 2nd semester

• GEO306 Methods in social science (10 credits)
• GEO337 Myths, narratives and institutions: Critical perspectives on environment and development (10 credits)
• GEO316 Practical Skills in Remote Sensing and Spatial analysis (10 credits) or GEO324 Geographies of the Green Economy (10 credits)

Summer

• Fieldwork

3rd and 4th semester

• GEO350 Master's Thesis in Geography, 60 credits

The courses (60 credits) must be completed before the thesis can be submitted. The students must also accomplish and pass 3 milestones before submitting the master thesis.

• 1. Milestone (1. autumn): GEO310 - Project presentation for the supervisor and an opponent. Fellow students, PhDs and academic stab can also be present. Takes place the 2nd week of December.
• 2. Milestone (1. spring): Presentation and discussion of theory, research design for the master thesis and the planned field work in a research group. Takes place in April/May.
• 3. Milestone (2. autumn): After fieldwork. The student shall produce a short report of data, main findings and methodology. Presentation and discussion in a research group. Takes place last week in September.

Department of Geography uses a variety of assessments.

• Written exam
• Oral exam
• Take home exam, often in combination with oral exam
• Portfolio

At the University of Bergen the student's academic performance is assessed both through final examinations as well as various term assignments.

The grading system has either

1. a descending scale from A to E for passes and F for fail, or
2. pass/fail

Grading A-F is most commonly used.

Department of Geography

Studieveileder@geog.uib.no