At least 60 credits from the main area Urban Studies at advanced level where the courses US710E and US730E are included.

Included in the main area Urban Studies at advanced level 91-120 credits

The purpose of this course is to provide students with knowledge and skills in planning, conducting and presenting an academic study that supports their ability to critically review, evaluate and draw conclusions from research relevant to the research field of Urban Studies and the Master's program Urban Studies: Urban Business and Development – Real Estate and Transport.

In addition, another purpose in the course is for students to also develop and deepen their ability to critically examine and evaluate different types of research work.

Conducting a scientific study includes identifying a relevant research problem, searching for and selecting relevant literature, research methodology, collecting and analysing relevant empirical material and presenting research results and conclusions. The students conduct their degree project independently, but they will also discuss their and other degree projects in smaller groups and seminars during the semester. They present their academic studies in the form of a written master's thesis.

Students are encouraged to develop their master’s thesis in dialogue with both researchers and with actors outside of academia.

After completing the course, the student must show:

Knowledge and understanding
1. Broad and significantly in-depth knowledge and understanding within the main area of the master program.
2. In-depth insight into current research and development work by developing and conducting an independent scientific study.
3. In-depth methodological knowledge in the main area.

Skills and abilities
4. Ability to critically and systematically integrate knowledge, analyze, assess, and handle complex phenomena, issues, and situations even with limited information.
5. Ability to critically, independently, and creatively identify and develop relevant research questions, plan, and with appropriate methodological considerations and relevant theories carry out qualified tasks within given time frames and thereby contribute to knowledge development and to evaluate this work.
6. Ability to, in text and orally, nationally and internationally, present and discuss conclusions and the knowledge of the independent work in a clear, transparent, and insightful way.
7. Ability to orally present and defend one's independent work at a seminar and to be able to objectively discuss its strengths and weaknesses and consider the role of one's own perspective and context.
8. Ability to discuss other students' research based on academic standards.

Judgment and approach
9. Ability to make assessment of research within fields of relevance for the master program, by asking relevant disciplinary, social, and ethical issues and demonstrate awareness of ethical aspects of research and development work.
10. Ability to identify the personal need for further knowledge and take responsibility for one's own ongoing learning.
11. Ability to show insight into the possibilities and limitations of research, its role in society and the responsibility of the individual of how it is used.

The teaching consists of lectures, seminars and supervision. At the seminars, students are given the opportunity to discuss each other's theses in smaller groups. At the end of the course, the thesis is handed in for presentation. The students will present and defend their own thesis and also on scientific grounds discuss another thesis.

Individual written thesis (28 credits), (UA) (all learning objectives)
Seminars; presentation and defence of own thesis as well as discussing another thesis (2 credits) (UG) (all learning objectives)

For the grade pass on the entire course (30 credits) it is required that all examinations are passed.

The grade grade is based on the individual written thesis (28 credits).

Students are expected to independently identify, evaluate and use literature relevant to the chosen topic of their thesis.

Malmö University provides students who participate in, or who have completed a course, with the opportunity to express their opinions and describe their experiences of the course by completing a course evaluation administered by the University. The University will compile and summarise the results of course evaluations. The University will also inform participants of the results and any decisions relating to measures taken in response to the course evaluations. The results will be made available to the students (HF 1:14).

If a course is no longer offered, or has undergone significant changes, the students must be offered two opportunities for re-examination based on the syllabus that applied at the time of registration, for a period of one year after the changes have been implemented.

If a student has a Learning support decision, the examiner has the right to provide the student with an adapted test, or to allow the student to take the exam in a different format.

The syllabus is a translation of a Swedish source text