Master’s degree programme in Civic Planning and Cultural Understanding

Programme description

Degree
The Master’s degree programme in Civic Planning and Cultural Understanding leads to a Master of Philosophy in Civic Planning and Cultural Understanding. Duration of the programme is 2 years (120 ECTS credits).

Programme Responsibility
The Department of Planning and Community Studies, the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tromsø, is responsible for running the master’s degree studies in Civic Planning and Cultural Understanding.

Language of instruction
Norwegian

Application deadline: 15. April

Programme coordinator
The Programme Board.

Programme description
The master’s degree in Civic Planning and Cultural Understanding offers students a qualification to pursue research-based planning and reporting projects. Planning with a starting point in community and cultural understanding presumes a facility in interdisciplinary critical analysis, communication and co-operation. The studies are constructed with a starting point in social science perspectives from Sociology, Political Science, Civic and Cultural Geography, and Social Anthropology. Students are made familiar with theories and methods that cut right across the academic boundaries, but will also acquire specialist theoretical and methodical knowledge in at least one of the fields of study covered by this course. The study course is based on the principle of problem-solving and geared towards processes preoccupying the sector. Basically, the firing range encompasses teamwork and tensions between daily life, business life and public politics at a local society level, within defined regions, concerns or other organizational connections.

Competence Objectives
The master’s degree studies will equip students for work projects that require a social studies insight at a high level. The aim is for the student to be guided in an academic specialization and given professionally relevant insights. The master’s degree studies are built round an independent dissertation work that also provides the basis for research training in social studies (Ph.D).

Admission requirement
Acceptance on this course of study takes place during the Autumn semester.

In order to be accepted on the master’s degree programme in Civic Planning and Cultural Understanding, a bachelor’s degree is required in Civic Planning and Cultural Understanding, or a bachelor’s degree that includes a specialization of at least 80 study points in social science subjects, or equivalent. An examination in method (SVF-1050 or equivalent) and social science theory (SOS-2001 or equivalent) must be included in this specialization. The specialization must incorporate a progression representing at least 30 study points at 2000-level (intermediate level), or equivalent. There is a minimum academic level for acceptance of character C, which is reckoned from an average of characters in the specialized subjects. Students who do not have a bachelor degree in Civic Planning and Cultural Understanding must complete the bachelor degree study field course before completing their master’s degree study.

Subject Organization
The master’s degree generally consists of four semesters’ full-time study. This consists of subjects worth 10 and 20 study points (ECTS) and a master’s degree dissertation worth 60 points. Sections of the programme are compulsory. This primarily includes the theoretical and interdisciplinary introductory course (SPL-3001). Here, the central discourses in civic planning and cultural understanding are presented. The subject is concerned with fundamental academic problems and will provide students with the means to reflect on the relationship between the academic field and society. The course in quantitative method with statistical analysis (10 points) is also compulsory. In addition, the compulsory studies include an academically relevant subject (10 points) which students may choose from the following: (1) culture, commerce and social processes, (2) societal and cultural geography, (3) civic planning and democracy, and (4) regional development, industrial and business organization. Qualitative method is included as an integral part of the academically related subject, culture, commerce and social processes (SPL-3003).

Free choice subjects account for a total of 20 points. These may either be taken from the Institute for Planning and Community Studies’ general academically related subjects, from the bachelor degree programme at 2000-level or from other social science institutes’ subjects at 2000/3000-level. The free choice subjects should be compiled according to students’ academic specializations. Those who do not choose another of the Institute for Planning and Community Studies’ subjects among their free choice subjects must include literature from one of these subjects in their compulsory syllabus. This will ensure that at least two of the Institute’s academically related subjects on offer are included in each student’s subject portfolio.

Students are themselves responsible for choosing the theme of their master’s degree dissertation. Suggestions relating to current research will also be presented to the students. The work with the master’s degree dissertation begins in the first semester with a discussion of issues and the creation of a project outline. The project description is developed further and completed during the course of the second semester. Field work or another type of data collection takes place in the last part of the second semester and during the summer months that follow, with a total duration of 2-5 months. The third semester comprises the option of study abroad or work with free choice subjects at the Institute for Planning and Community Studies or other institutes. The subjects must be approved in advance. The supervision of the master’s degree dissertation is organized by means of supervision seminars that take place throughout the period of study. In addition, students are given access to individual supervision. The master’s degree dissertation will normally be 70-80 pages in length.

The syllabus for the master’s degree studies consists of 3,500 pages in total, of which 2,500 pages form a compulsory syllabus of related subjects and 1,000 pages are linked to the master’s degree dissertation. Of the 2,500 pages, 1,000 of these must be linked to the subject of civic planning and cultural understanding, part II (SPL-3001). The remaining 1,500 pages must be divided between the academic subjects according to the following rule: at least two of the subject must be covered, in each case by at least 500 pages of text.

Student exchange
The Institute for Planning and Community Studies has been in discussion with a number of foreign universities concerning possibilities for co-operation. These include universities within the Nordplus network in regional development and societal geography: Roskilde University Centre, the University of Uppsala, the University of Joensuu and the University of Iceland. The Institute is further about to embark on discussions with the University of Ngaoundéré in Cameroon and the University of Accra in Ghana. Work is also in progress to open discussions with the Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland, in Canada. Students at the Institute may also make use of any arrangements set up by other institutes.

Teaching and Evaluation Procedures
The teaching takes place by means of lectures, supervision seminars and practical work. Quantitative methods are taught in lectures combined with exercises in the computer lab. Qualitative methods are taught partly by means of lectures and partly by means of exercises in participatory observation and interview technique. Through short seminar presentations, broader sketches and essays, an emphasis is laid on developing analytical precision and written representational faculties.

The forms of evaluation in the study course will vary from subject to subject. The introductory course in civic planning and cultural understanding, part II concludes with a self-chosen written piece of work within the themes addressed in the lectures and syllabus, together with an oral test in which the student reflects on central discourses in this academic field. The written work and the oral examination are jointly evaluated with the characters A-F. Quantitative method is evaluated by means of 2 written pieces of work in the form of a take-home assignment (subject to confirmation by ISO). The master’s degree dissertation is judged formatively after the conclusion of the studies and is evaluated with the help of a character scale A-F. The final master’s degree examination consists of an examination lecture on a given topic, together with an oral examination on the student’s self-selected syllabus (1,000 pages) and the syllabus relating to the student’s secondary academic subjects (500 pages). The accumulated results and choice of specialization/academically related subjects will appear on the student’s study report.

Study Progression

	10 points (ECTS)	10 points (ECTS)	10 points (ECTS)
1st semester	SPL-3001: Samfunnsplanlegging og kulturforståelse, del II / Civic Planning and Cultural Understanding;		SPL-3900: Masteroppgave (Prosjektskisse) / Master’s degree dissertation (project description)
2nd semester	SOS-3002: Kvantitativ metode / Quantitative Methods	academically related subjects: SPL-3003: Kultur samhandling og sosiale prosesser / Culture, Commerce and Social Processes. SPL-3004: Samfunns-og kulturgeografi / Societal and Cultural Geography. SPL-3005: Samfunnsplanlegging og demokrati / Civic Planning and Democracy. SPL-3006: Regional utvikling og næringsorganisering / Regional Development and Business Organization	SPL-3900: Masteroppgave / Master’s degree dissertation (qualitative method and field methods relating to the master’s degree dissertation)
3rd semester:	Self-selected subjects (20 points), study abroad or academically related subjects		SPL-3900 Veiledningsseminar / Supervision seminars
4th semester	SPL-3900: Masteroppgave /Master’s degree dissertation.