Master Programme in Indigenous Studies

Multi-disciplinary Master programme in Indigenous Studies, taught in English

(2 years - 120 study points)

1. Programme coordinator
The Faculty of Social Sciences is responsible for the programme, extensively supported by the Centre for Sámi Studies. A programme committee has been appointed, including representatives from all contributing units at the University of Tromsø

The programme is offered as a joint venture between the Faculties of Social Sciences, Humanities and Law, Tromsø Museum and the Centre for Sámi Studies. All units are located at the University of Tromsø.

2. Admission requirement
Applicants must document three years of study at university level beyond the basic entrance requirements, equivalent to a Bachelor degree. The Master Programme in Indigenous Studies is primarily directed at students with former basic training in the social sciences, but students from law studies and humanities may also be admitted. A special interest in indigenous issues is a precondition.

All applicants must enclose a description of the background for their desire to apply for the Master Programme, and of what they expect from the programme (1 page). Experience from work related to indigenous peoples and/or studies must be documented. Applicants from universities other than the University of Tromsø should enclose a short description of all relevant courses mentioned in applications and certificates.

The programme will be taught in English and applicants must be able to document adequate proficiency in English. For more information about general admission requirements:
http://www.adm.uit.no/studie/foreign/english/Basic.htm

Admission
The programme is limited to 20 seats. The programme aims to recruit Sami and Norwegian students as well as students from other countries. A mixed group of students will strengthen the comparative aspects of the programme, and will contribute to international network building. The programme furthermore aims at recruiting students through financial programmes such as the English Taught Quota Programme and the NORAD (Norwegian Agency For Development Cooperation) Fellowship Programme. A certain amount of seats will be reserved for students with such funding. Admission of students from different countries and regions will be emphasized in order to ensure a varied student group. Ethnic background will also be relevant in this respect.

3. Qualification awarded
Master of philosophy in Indigenous Studies

4. Programme description
The Master Programme in Indigenous Studies is a multi-disciplinary graduate two-year programme in comparative indigenous issues, taught in English and based on the particular research-based knowledge of issues regarding the Sámi and other indigenous peoples at the University of Tromsø. The Master programme is a part of the general focus on internationalisation at the University of Tromsø, and the goal is to attract international students to Tromsø as well as offering new opportunities for students in the region.

Admission to the programme is limited to 20 seats. However, the separate courses are open to all students and may be integrated into other Master programmes or taken separately. The different courses may thus be used to strengthen Sámi or indigenous perspectives in different disciplines.

5. Occupational prospects
The different courses of the Master programme aim to give the students broad knowledge of interdisciplinary perspectives and issues in the study of indigenous peoples. This will be the basis of the in-depth study of the Master thesis, in a relevant topic within research on indigenous peoples of special interest to the individual student.

The Master programme qualifies students for work in various educational institutions, for work within information as well as other areas of public administration, in international non-governmental organisations and in business, and for further research and studies within indigenous issues.

The Master programme also qualifies students for admission to doctoral training.

6. Course and exam organisation
Through two years of studies, students will take courses totalling 120 study points (stp). Most courses are obligatory, with some additional courses that can be chosen on the basis of the interests of the individual student or as a preparation for the Master thesis. Courses are designed to give a broad base from which the individual student may choose a relevant topic for the Master thesis. The thesis work is to be supervised by academic staff from one of the cooperating units at the University of Tromsø, and topics are chosen in cooperation with appointed advisors. The Master thesis gives 50 stp.

Teaching and exams
The programme is taught in English. Lectures and seminars will be given in the various courses. In addition, there will be seminars with the programme coordinator and guest lecturers. After each course, exams will be given. The organisation of the teaching will depend on the character and the content of each course. Marks will be given from A to F, or pass/fail. The different responsible units decide on requirements for the individual courses, which will be used as a basis for the marking of exams and papers. Some courses will have home exams (written paper/essay) with a following oral exam. Other courses will have regular exams lasting from 4 to 8 hours. Folder evaluation may also be used for some of the modules as well as for the field work/ Master thesis. The Master thesis should be between 50 and 70 pages long (depending on the topic), and must be submitted within a given deadline. The programme concludes with a final oral exam. More information about the exams can be found in the descriptions for each individual course. The deadline for thesis submission is May 15th in the fourth semester.

Field work/Master thesis
The Master thesis provides an opportunity for in-depth studies of a chosen field. The topic of the thesis is chosen on the basis of the interests of the student and of relevant issues in the student's home country or chosen region. The project description must be accepted by the advisor prior to the field work/ collection of data.

The collection of data can be carried out through field work lasting up to three months, or through the collection of secondary data /literature studies (optionally in combination with limited interviews). Excursions to the UN (New York and Geneva) or other types of meetings or conferences are also possible starting points for the collection of data.

7. Student exchange
After two semesters of studies, students will have the opportunity to do field work. International students accepted through the Quota Programme or the NORAD Fellowship Programme are required to do their field work in their home country. Other students may do their field work at home or in an area of their choice.

Provided that the exchange programme is approved by the University of Tromsø, some of the students will be able to participate in an exchange with the University of Oulu, Finland, and through them with University of Kansas, USA and University of Newcastle, Australia. In addition, it will be possible to stay at universities that have exchange agreements with the University of Tromsø (cf. NUFU and other partners: San Carlos, Guatemala, URRACAN, Nicaragua or Botswana, Ngaoundéré, Cameroon, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and St. Petersburg and Archangel, Russia etc.) All exchange must be approved in advance and must be arranged to fit the Tromsø Master programme.

8. Evaluation:
The programme will be continually evaluated, as well as after the first two-year period, both by students and by all partners from the different units. In order to ensure availability and accomplishment in the evaluation, the aim is to establish a web-based evaluation system based on an idea from the M.Sc-programme in International Fisheries Management.

9. Social environment:
Close supervision and coordination by administrative and research staff will be necessary for the programme. An international programme requires a strong focus on integration between the students and on social and cultural activities that will contribute to strengthen the unity in the student group and among the staff.

10. Programme progression

1.semester:

• Introductions, seminars and excursion
  
• HIS-3005 Colonization and Revival
  
• SOA-2006 Indigenous Culture and Ethnicity
  
• SOA-2007 Indigenous Resource Management General

• HIF-3620 Representations and Self-Representations
  
• JUR-3650 Indigenous Peoples' Rights
  
• HIS-2002 The Sámi Nation
  
• Seminars and excursion
  
• Elective course