Curriculum for the Master's Programme in Geography - 2017 - Aalborg

1: Preface

Pursuant to Act 261 of March 18, 2015 on Universities (the University Act) with subsequent changes, the following curriculum for the Master's programme in Geography is stipulated. The programme also follows the Joint Programme Regulations and the Examination Policies and Procedures for The Technical Faculty of IT and Design, The Faculty of Engineering and Science, and The Faculty of Medicine

This curriculum takes effect as from September 1, 2017 – from 1^st semester (only).

2: Basis in Ministerial Orders

The Master’s programme is organised in accordance with the Ministry of Higher Education and Science’s Order no. 1061 of June 30, 2016 on Bachelor’s and Master’s Programmes at Universities (the Ministerial Order of the Study Programmes) and Ministerial Order no. 1062 of June 30, 2016 on University Examinations (the Examination Order). Further reference is made to Ministerial Order no. 258 of March 18, 2015 (the Admission Order) and Ministerial Order no. 114 of February 3, 2015 (the Grading Scale Order) with subsequent changes.

3: Campus

The programme is offered in Aalborg.

4: Faculty affiliation

The Master’s programme falls under The The Faculty of Engineering and Science, Aalborg University.

5: Study board affiliation

The Master’s programme falls under The Study Board of Built Environment

6: Affiliation to corps of external examiners

The Master’s programme is associated with the external examiners corps on Geography

7: Admission requirements

All students applying must document English language qualifications comparable to an ‘English B level’ in the Danish upper secondary school (minimum average grade 02).

Applicants with a legal right of admission (retskrav)

• Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Geography, Aalborg University

Applicants without legal right of admission

Students with another Bachelor's degree, upon application to the Study Board of Planning, Geography and Surveying, will be admitted after a specific academic assessment if the applicant is deemed to have comparable educational prerequisites. The University can stipulate requirements concerning conducting additional exams prior to the start of study.

8: The programme title in Danish and English

The Master’s programme entitles the graduate to the Danish designation Cand.scient. i geografi. The English designation is: Master of Science (MSc) in Geography.

or

Cand.scient. i geografi og [sidefag].The English designation is: Master of Science (MSc) in Geography and [other subject].

9: Programme specifications in ECTS credits

The Master’s programme is a 2-year, research-based, full-time study programme. The programme is set to 120 ECTS credits.

10: Rules concerning credit transfer (merit), including the possibility for choice of modules that are part of another programme at a university in Denmark or abroad

The Study Board can approve successfully completed (passed) programme elements from other Master’s programmes in lieu of programme elements in this programme (credit transfer). The Study Board can also approve successfully completed (passed) programme elements from another Danish programme or a programme outside of Denmark at the same level in lieu of programme elements within this curriculum. Decisions on credit transfer are made by the Study Board based on an academic assessment. See the Joint Programme Regulations for the rules on credit transfer.

11: Exemptions

In exceptional circumstances, the Study Board study can grant exemption from those parts of the curriculum that are not stipulated by law or ministerial order.  Exemption regarding an examination applies to the immediate examination.

12: Rules for examinations

The rules for examinations are stated in the Examination Policies and Procedures published by the faculty on their website.

13: Rules concerning written work, including the Master’s Thesis

In the assessment of all written work, regardless of the language it is written in, weight is also given to the student's formulation and spelling ability, in addition to the academic content. Orthographic and grammatical correctness as well as stylistic proficiency are taken as a basis for the evaluation of language performance. Language performance must always be included as an independent dimension of the total evaluation. However, no examination can be assessed as ‘Pass’ on the basis of good language performance alone; similarly, an examination normally cannot be assessed as ‘Fail’ on the basis of poor language performance alone.

The Study Board can grant exemption from this in special cases (e.g., dyslexia or a native language other than Danish).

The Master’s Thesis must include an English summary (or another foreign language: French, Spanish or German upon approval by the Study Board). If the project is written in English, the summary must be in Danish (The Study Board can grant exemption from this). The summary must be at least 1 page and not more than 2 pages (this is not included in any fixed minimum and maximum number of pages per student). The summary is included in the evaluation of the project as a whole.

14: Requirements regarding the reading of texts in a foreign language

At programmes that are taught in Danish, it is assumed that the student can read academic texts in modern Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and English and use reference works, etc., in other European languages. At programmes taught in English, it is assumed that the student can read academic text and use reference works, etc., in English.

15: Competence profile on the diploma

The following competence profile will appear on the diploma:

A Candidatus graduate has the following competency profile:

A Candidatus graduate has competencies that have been acquired via a course of study that has taken place in a research environment.

A Candidatus graduate is qualified for employment on the labour market based on his or her academic discipline as well as for further research (PhD programmes). A Candidatus graduate has, compared to a Bachelor, developed his or her academic knowledge and independence so as to be able to apply scientific theory and method on an independent basis within both an academic and a professional context.

16: Competence profile of the programme

The graduate of the Master’s programme

Knowledge

• Has insight into the latest national and international geographic research and its importance and relevance for the study of place and space
• Must have advanced knowledge of analytical approaches to physical and human aspects of space and time
• Must have knowledge of theories of science and the methodological foundation of various theories of geography
• Must have extensive knowledge of the development in place and space based on the best international research within geography
• Must have ability to perform scientific reflection on relevant geographic theories and methods and to identify scientific problems within development in place and space 
• Ability to understand, explain and reflect on the potentials and limitations of relevant theories and methods of geography
• Has knowledge of the implications of research ethics
• Possesses insight into and understanding of the sociocultural conditions under which strategies, plans and projects within geography are implemented.

Skills

• Can use and employ the methods and tools of geography as well as general skills connected with occupation within the field
• Can assess and select the appropriate geographical theories, methods, tools and general skills, and on a scientific basis draw upon new modes of analysis and solutions
• Can reflect on ethical matters in connection with professional practice
• Can independently make and motivate professionally related decisions and when necessary carry out investigations to procure sufficient information for the basis of decisions
• Can critically assess development work from a scientific perspective
• Can represent data in time and space based on data generated by field measurements or numerical models
• Must be able to assess theoretical and practical problems in connected and disconnected places and to select and motivate relevant projects on the basis of scientific methods
• Must be able to apply theories, methods and tools within physical and human geography on a scientific basis
• Ability to identify theories, methods, techniques and tools and create research  within physical and human geographies of place and space
• Ability to assess and critically evaluate theoretical and practical problems in the field of geography of place and space
• Ability to communicate research-based knowledge and discuss scientific problems in relation to connected and disconnected places with peers and non-specialists alike

Competencies

• Can qualify to be part of public organisations as well as private firms, including NGOs
• Ability to understand geographical problems related to connected and disconnected places and spaces
• Ability to initiate and implement new interdisciplinary research and collaborations between the multifarious professions
• Ability to manage complicated and unpredictable situations in relation to research and planning of work development of connected and disconnected places
• Ability to contribute to continued professional development and innovation in the field of Geographies of connected and disconnected spaces
• Can be part of interdisciplinary teams within the field of geography working with the implementation of plans and strategies of relevance in Danish and/or international contexts
• Can contribute to the development of the profession through conducting research within the field of geography
• Can maintain focus and reflect on the literature and methods used to develop the scientific basis of the geographical problem studied
• Can evaluate the scientific progress independently and select and include additional literature, experiments or data when needed in order to maintain a scientific basis for the project
• Can independently develop own competencies and specialisation

17: Structure and Contents of the programme

The programme is structured in modules and organised as a problem-based study. A module is a programme element or a group of programme elements, which aims to give students a set of professional skills within a fixed time frame specified in ECTS credits, and concluding with one or more examinations within specific exam periods that are defined in the curriculum.

The programme is based on a combination of academic, problem-based and interdisciplinary approaches and organized based on the following work and evaluation methods that combine skills and reflection:

• project work
• lectures
• classroom instructions
• study groups
• workshop
• exercises
• laboratory tests
• measurements and testing in the field
• field work
• portfolio work
• independent study
• Etc.

18: Overview of the programme

The table below presents an overview of project modules and course modules at the four semesters of the master’s programme.

All modules are assessed through individual grading according to the 7-point scale or Pass/Fail (P/F). All modules are assessed by external examination (external grading) (E) or internal examination (internal grading or by assessment by the supervisor only) (I)

At the 3^rd semester the student can choose freely between carrying through the semester as

1. Project semester – with or without integrated, project-oriented internship and with or without two additional courses at existing master’s programmes, eg. Water and Environment, Biology, Urban Planning and Management, Environmental Management and Sustainability Science.
2. A 1^st semester at Urban, Energy and Environmental master’s programme.
3. International or national credit.
4. Extended master’s thesis (cf. the project module description of the 4^th semester).

The programme is taught in English.

Oversigt over tofagsforløbet med geografi som centralt fag

For studerende med centralt fag i geografi gælder følgende forløb, hvor de geografifaglige moduler alle hentes i bachelorstudieordningen. Aktiviteterne på 8.-9. semester er fra bachelorstudieordningen, og idet de læses på kandidatniveau, gælder der ekstra kompetencemål, som kan ses på: www.tech.aau.dk/uddannelse/Studieadministration/.

Oversigt over tofagsforløbet med geografi som sidefag

For studerende med sidefag i geografi gælder følgende forløb, hvor de geografifaglige moduler alle hentes i bachelorstudieordningen. Aktiviteterne på 7.-8. semester er fra bachelorstudieordningen, og idet de læses på kandidatniveau, gælder der ekstra kompetencemål, som kan ses på: www.tech.aau.dk/uddannelse/Studieadministration/.

19: Additional information

The current version of the curriculum is published on the Board of Studies’ website, including more   detailed information about the program, including exams.

All students who have not participated in Aalborg University’s PBL introductory course during their Bachelor’s degree must attend the introductory course “Problem-based Learning and Project Management”. The introductory course must be approved before the student can participate in the project exam. For further information, please see the School of Architecutre, Design and Planning's website. 

20: Commencement and transitional rules

This curriculum is approved by the Dean of The Technical Faculty of IT and Design and enters into force as of September 1, 2017 (only 1^st semester).

Students who wish to complete their studies under the previous curriculum from 2016 must conclude their education by the summer examination period 2018 at the latest, since examinations under the previous curriculum are not offered after this time.

21: Amendments to the curriculum and regulations

Minor editorial changes have been made in conenction with the digitalisation of the curriculum.