Bachelor's Thesis and Maturity Test (15 ECTS)

Objective

The objective of the Bachelor’s Thesis is for the student to demonstrate and develop the ability of applying professional skills and knowledge to a practical development assignment or project relevant to the profession and the working life.
In Metropolia’s Bachelor’s Thesis the student learns and carries out development work, which is based on researched knowledge and other evidence and which concerns the development of professional competences or practices.
On completion of the Bachelor’s Thesis the student will be able to
• identify questions and needs for development in the professional field and the working life and to plan for their solutions
• use reliable and confined information from various sources in the development work
• apply professional skills and knowledge and use appropriate methods for the development task
• execute a development project useful for the working life or the profession in an independent, responsible and collaborative manner
• communicate in different stages of the work both to peers and to other audiences in a clear, well argumented and illustrative manner
• report the results of the work, to assess them and to bring forth proposals for improvement in an appropriate way both in writing and in speech as well as visually.

Content

- Planning of the Thesis Work
- Execution of the Thesis Work
- Reporting and Usefulness of the Thesis and Maturity Test

Location and time

Thesis writing is an independent work that takes place during the autumn semester. At the beginning of the course, there will be a meeting to discuss practicalities about the course and the student's topic. After that, thesis meetings will be organised between the student and the thesis advisor.

In the middle of the course, there will be an interim presentation where the student demonstrates their research progress.

Finally, by the end of the course, the student will present their findings and conclusion of their thesis as well as take the maturity test.

Materials

General recommended learning materials can be found from the Academic Writing Skills folder.

Teaching methods

During the course, the student works on their thesis individually. At the beginning of the course, a main thesis advisor will be assigned to the student based on the topic. Then, the student will work their thesis and meet with their advisor for thesis development discussions during the course.

There will be milestones such as an interim presentation, a final presentation, and a maturity test during the course.

Employer connections

There is also a possibility for the student to conduct a bachelor thesis for a company. In the case of a company's bachelor thesis, the student is required to discuss the plan with their thesis advisor at the beginning of the course. The student also needs to plan their data management in advance.

Exam schedules

The dates for the interim presentation, final presentation, and maturity test will be announced at the beginning of the course.

International connections

There is also a possibility for the student to collaborate with international networks as a part of their thesis work. In this case, the student is required to come up with their own research and data management plan.

Completion alternatives

The student can choose different research streams in order to complete their thesis. The thesis can be written upon a rigor academic research as well as a design project. In the case of writing a thesis based on a design project, the thesis shall reflect the student's systematic process of design as well as their learning reflection.

Student workload

The whole process of thesis writing and maturity test is equal to 15 ECTS.

Content scheduling

Updates and additional materials to the course will be posted in the Thesis channel on Teams. Official announcements will be posted through Oma.

Evaluation scale

0-5

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

The student can
- plan and scope the subject matter satisfactorily
- select a subject that is somewhat significant and topical in the profession and working life
- use their professional knowledge base satisfactorily for the purposes of the final project
- develop professional expertise in their field satisfactorily
- create in the final project satisfactory new and significant solutions in the field and working life
- define satisfactorily the purpose, targets and research or development items of the final project
- apply work procedures and methods satisfactorily
- combine satisfactorily the chosen procedures and working methods with regard to the final project targets
- report the results/product satisfactorily -
report satisfactorily on the applicability of the results/product with regard to other situations and environments
- work satisfactorily in accordance with research and development and professional ethics principles
- assess satisfactorily the work's reliability, ethical aspects and the process
- work reasonably responsibly, independently and in cooperation with others, adhering to any agreed issues and timetables
- produce a satisfactory final project, the structure and form of which are in line with its purpose, targets and research or development items
- use satisfactorily the appropriate professional language in the final project
- communicate satisfactorily about the final project and its results to the target groups
- provide satisfactory grounds for and an assessment of the professional actions, solutions and results
- apply evidence-based source material satisfactorily
- follows satisfactorily the instructions regarding referencing

Assessment criteria, good (3)

The student can
- plan and scopethe subject matter well
- select a subject that is quite significant, topical and demanding in the profession and working life
- use their professional knowledge base well for the purposes of the final project - develop professional expertise in their field well
- create in the final project good new and significant solutions in the field and working life
- define well the purpose, targets and research or development items of the final project
- apply work procedures and methods well
- combine well the chosen procedures and working methods with regard to the final project targets
- report the results/product well
- report well on the applicability of the results/product with regard to other situations and environments
- work well in accordance with research and development and professional ethics principles
- assess well the work's reliability, ethical aspects and the process
- work very responsibly, independently and in cooperation with others, adhering to any agreed issues and timetables
- use well the appropriate professional language in the final project -
communicate well about the final project and its results to the target groups -provide good grounds for and an assessment of the professional actions, solutions and results
- apply evidence-based source material well
- follows well the instructions regarding referencing

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

The student can
- plan and scope the subject matter extremely well
- select a subject that is extremely significant, topical and demanding in the profession and working life
- use their professional knowledge base excellently for the purposes of the final project
- develop professional expertise in their field excellently
- create in the final project excellent new and significant solutions in the field and working life
- define excellently the purpose, targets and research or development items of the final project
- apply work procedures and methods excellently
- combine excellently the chosen procedures and working methods with regard to the final project targets
- report excellently on the applicability of the results/product with regard to other situations and environments
- work excellently in accordance with research and development and professional ethics principles
- assess excellently the work's reliability, ethical aspects and the process
- work extremely responsibly, independently and in cooperation with others, adhering to any agreed issues and timetables
- produce an excellently final project, the structure and form of which are in line with its purpose, targets and research or development items
- use excellently the appropriate professional language in the final project
- communicate excellently about the final project and its results to the target groups
- provide excellent grounds for and an assessment of the professional actions, solutions and results
- apply evidence-based source material excellently - follows excellently the instructions regarding referencing

Assessment methods and criteria

1 - 2 (Satisfactory)
The student is able to:
• justify a topical issue related to your profession and working life, but the arguments are scarce
• define the objectives, purpose, research questions or development tasks of the thesis, but the objectives are not coherent
• follow a research and scientific basis in the thesis, in accordance with educational practice
• use the methodological knowledge base
• choose appropriate working methods and procedures, but the justification is scarce
• produce solutions for their own professional sector and working life
• produces a solution (output), but it only partially meets the purpose and objectives of the work
• present the results succinctly
• work in accordance with the ethical principles of research and development and the profession
• work in accordance with agreements and deadlines
• assess the reliability, ethics and process of the thesis in a concise manner
• produce a report, but it remains inconsistent as a whole in terms of communication: the structure and format do not fully reflect the purpose of the work, the objectives and the working methods and methods chosen.
• use structured, professionally written language, but with recurrent errors of language and style.
• mark sources and references according to the thesis guidelines, but there are corrections to be made
• communicate as an expert on their thesis and its results, but communication is limited

3 - 4 (Good)
The student will be able to:
• give a clear explanation of a topical issue related to your profession and working life
• define the objectives, purpose, research questions or development tasks of the thesis
• apply a wide range of research and scientific bases in line with educational practice in the thesis
• make use of the international and methodological knowledge base
• select and apply appropriate working methods and methods and describe the choice of approach based on source material
• produce appropriate solutions for their own professional field and working life
• produce a solution (output) that meets the purpose and objectives of the work
• present results in a clear and reliable way
• work diligently in accordance with the ethical principles of research and development and the profession
• work in cooperation with others, respecting agreements and deadlines
• assess the reliability, ethics and thesis process of the work
• produce a report that forms a communicative whole: the structure and format correspond to the purpose and objectives of the work and the chosen working methods and methods.
• uses structured, professionally written language, but the text contains occasional errors of language and style.
• mark sources and references almost flawlessly in accordance with the thesis guidelines
• communicate clearly as an expert about their thesis and its results

5 (Excellent)
The student is able to:
• give a clear and comprehensive reasoning on a topical issue related to their own professional field and working life
• define precisely the objectives, purpose, research questions or development tasks of the thesis
• critically and comprehensively apply the research and scientific basis of educational practice in the thesis.
• make use of a current, international and methodological knowledge base
• critically select and apply appropriate working methods and techniques and justify their choice on the basis of source material
• produce innovative and up-to-date solutions for their own professional sector and working life
• produce a solution (output) that is consistent with the purpose and objectives of the work
• present the results in a clear and reliable way and be able to reflect on their relationship and relevance to previous research knowledge
• work in an informed and responsible manner in accordance with the ethical principles of research and development and the profession
• work responsibly in cooperation with others, respecting agreements and deadlines
• critically and comprehensively assess the reliability, ethics and process of the thesis
• produce a report that forms a coherent and well-argued communication package: structure and format are in line with the purpose and objectives of the work and the chosen working methods and methods.
• use argumentative, insightful and error-free language in accordance with professional conventions.
• mark sources and references reliably and accurately and refer to sources in a comprehensive manner in accordance with the thesis guidelines
• communicate their thesis and its results in a versatile and convincing way as an expert

Further information

Professional competence and development
• significance for the profession and the connection to professional practices
• utilization of professional knowledge
• development of professional competence
• applicability in professional life

The methods used and the results obtained
• reliablility and ethics
• validity and innovation
• the usefulness of results
• the management of the thesis process and the development work

Communication and presentation
• structure and form
• the use of standard and professional language
• the focus, clarity and consistency of the text and expressions
• critical, analytical and reflective nature of communication
• argumentation and use of reference sources

Further information

Professional competence and development
• significance for the profession and the connection to professional practices
• utilization of professional knowledge
• development of professional competence
• applicability in professional life

The methods used and the results obtained
• reliablility and ethics
• validity and innovation
• the usefulness of results
• the management of the thesis process and the development work

Communication and presentation
• structure and form
• the use of standard and professional language
• the focus, clarity and consistency of the text and expressions
• critical, analytical and reflective nature of communication
• argumentation and use of reference sources