Bachelor's Thesis in Geosciences and Energy Resources (GEOBAC)

Content

The bachelor thesis focuses on a particular problem that the student will address during a 4-month period of research. The particular problem will depend on the student's interest and will be developed under the supervision of a University of Stavanger staff member and possibly an external advisor. Thesis topics are relevant to the program, and the student will have the opportunity to select or propose topics. The thesis will include significant components of research and writing. Some theses will be based on experimental work while others are theoretical. The student is encouraged to participate in auxiliary courses provided by the University of Stavanger library.

Learning outcome

A candidate who has completed and passed his or her bachelor's thesis has acquired the following learning outcomes:

The candidate:

• can work independently
• can describe the problem clearly using the terms and expressions of the academic field
• has experience with literature review, scientific reporting, and ethical standards in the field
• has insight into the environmental, health, social, and economic consequences of products and solutions within their field- and can put these in ethical-, life cycle-, and safety perspective
• can apply relevant theoretical models or studies supported by scientific research
• is aware of relevant scholarly tools and techniques
• can investigate the academic problem and relate conclusions to the problem
• has the ability to critically evaluate their own work
• can defend high moral standards in scientific, as well as other contexts, thus being a good role model
• can exchange viewpoints and experiences and behave professionally in a scientific debate
• can recognise when a scientific disagreement is important and can debate accordingly

Required prerequisite knowledge

GEO100 Earth, Energy and Climate, GEO110 Sedimentology and Stratigraphy, GEO210 Structural Geology

Referring to rules and regulations for the Bachelor's- and Master's thesis about requirements of minimum amount of completed ECTS in order to write the Bachelor's thesis.

Thesis writing at Faculty of Science and Technology | University of Stavanger (uis.no)

Of the 100/130 ECTS, the following courses must be passed by 15 January of the semester in which you are to write the thesis: GEO100 Earth, Energy and Climate, GEO110 Sedimentology and Stratigraphy, GEO210 Structural Geology, 30 CREDITS (ECTS) IN TOTAL

Exam

Course teacher(s)

Course coordinator:

Lisa Jean Watson

Course coordinator:

Alejandro Escalona Varela

Head of Department:

Alejandro Escalona Varela

Method of work

The project may be performed individually or in cooperation with one or two other students.

 

Project work: The project work varies with each thesis topic. Some thesis topics are theoretical and others experimental; therefore, the focus of research activities may be different. All thesis projects will include significant literature research and some usage of a computer.

 

Communication with supervisor: It is important for both student and supervisor to establish a successful cooperation throughout the work

progress. This can for example be accomplished through regular meetings where the student presents and discusses

the work progress. A good practice is that the student has written something prior to the meeting as a basis for

discussions with the supervisor. 

 

Managing the project: While regular communiation with the supervisor is encouraged, the student should create an applicable schedule to ensure progress in the project. The schedule should include milestones and deadlines such as when the bulk of literature research should be completed, when different phases of experiments or interpretation or field work should be completed, and when each thesis section should be written for review. It is an advantage for the student to start the writing process as soon as possible.

 

Thesis content: Bachelor's theses can have several different forms. Many theses include construction- or

experimental work, while other theses are more theoretical. A thesis can be an overview-based thesis where an

overview of a concept is made out of different literature sources, a more complementary discussion-based thesis, or

a thesis aiming to solve a specific problem or develop a product. A thesis must include motivation and a clearly defined aim with research questions, be well

structured and be well written. The discussion should include the ethical and environmental consequences of discoveries / themes /
developed products. The general sections of a thesis are: introduction to the topic and problem with the motivation of the study, aim, and research questions; literature review; geologic setting, if applicable; method or experiment; data or list of materials; presentation of results; discussion of results; and conclusions in which the research questions are answered and future work from the study is proposed. The arguments for and against a certain statement must be logically presented and supported by literature. A fellow

student with a similar background should be able to read the thesis without having to use extra information material in

order to understand the message. Reproduction of content from teaching books etc. about general theory and

knowledge should be limited. The candidate must make a list of references for the thesis.

More information about the bachelor's thesis can be found at Faculty's web-pages:

https://www.uis.no/en/engineering/thesis-writing-at-faculty-of-science-and-technologyThesis writing at Faculty of

Science and Technology | University of Stavanger (uis.no)

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