The objective of the thesis is to strengthen your ability to apply the knowledge and methods acquired during your studies to professional tasks and to prepare you for independent expert work.
Theses at Lapland University of Applied Sciences are oriented towards working life, contribute to its development, and help you build contacts and networks. You can perform the work alone, with a partner or in a small group. The thesis can also be multidisciplinary.
A multidisciplinary thesis is a model originally developed for UAS master’s programmes (YAMK), but it can also be applied to UAS bachelor’s theses. A multidisciplinary thesis (30 credits at master’s level) is a working life-oriented, research-based development project carried out as a supervised process in thematic groups of around ten students. The actual thesis is carried out in small groups of 2–3 people. Multidisciplinary final theses can also be conducted for the bachelor’s degree (the scope of the thesis is 15 credits) in an applied manner.
The thesis process helps you develop:
The thesis process includes studies in research and development methods, and other studies in the degree programme also support its completion.
By completing a thesis, you will learn to:
Your thesis helps you demonstrate your competence and shows that you can apply your knowledge and skills in practical expert tasks.
If you have previously completed a higher education degree, you can get your thesis accredited in its entirety or in part. The assessment is always made based on your competence in accordance with the assessment criteria.
If the thesis is only partially accredited, you will need to prepare a report during the final stage that complements the accreditation. You can write the report in a traditional format or as an article. It can be related to your previous thesis topic but does not have to be. It is essential that the report demonstrates your command of the content of the degree programme or training.
Before starting the thesis, you will discuss the publication of the thesis report with your supervisor. If you want to publish a report in a scientific publication, such as Lumen magazine or a publication aimed at the professional community in the field, it is up to you to find out the conditions for publication. For example, in parallel publication, the report is published both in Theseus and in a scientific publication. In this case, the report must be written in an article format. The article template will be published later. If parallel publication is not possible, the thesis will not be published in Theseus.
The scope of the master’s thesis is 30 credits (EQF 7) and corresponds to approximately 810 hours of work or five months of full-time work. The extent of the thesis for a bachelor’s degree is 15 credits and corresponds to approximately 400 hours of work (2.5 months of full-time work) (EQF 6).
Special features of the master’s thesis:
The thesis and its completion are also set out in the degree regulations of the University of Applied Sciences.
All theses involve research and/or development, with differing emphases. In a development-oriented thesis, a product, service, process or work is developed and/or implemented and evaluated based on research methodology. In a research-oriented thesis, quantitative or qualitative applied research is conducted, for example. All theses require you to familiarise yourself carefully with previous research, literature and other materials.
A development-oriented thesis starts from a practical problem that requires a solution. The aim of the thesis is to develop, implement and evaluate new products, services or operating methods.
The thesis typically includes a working life‑oriented functional component that results in a concrete output such as a product, guidelines, service, plan, event, publication, multimedia product, concept or modelling. Often, an external client is involved, but the thesis can also focus on your own company or business idea.
In the written report, you present the theoretical background and describe the product’s development stages coherently. In the report, the solutions related to the output are justified and the results are discussed in relation to the knowledge base.
A thesis requires you to define a research problem or research question and to apply appropriate development and research methods. Data can be collected, for example, from literature, manuals, workshops, interviews or observations.
In the development process, you can either start by working on the output and develop the knowledge base later or proceed in parallel with both parts.
An example of a development-oriented thesis process:
In a research-oriented thesis, you conduct working life-oriented applied research, in which you solve a limited problem or assignment related to your professional field. In the study, you can use quantitative or qualitative methods, and the data may consist of, for example, measurements, interviews or surveys.
In the report, you present the objectives of the thesis, the research problem and the delimitation of the topic. In the literature review, you relate the topic to theories, models and previous studies, utilising professional literature and other sources. In the report, you also describe the study’s implementation, data collection and analysis methods.
Finally, you will review the results of the study, draw conclusions and present possible proposals for further development or further research.
An example of the process in a research-oriented thesis:
A diary-based thesis is suitable for a student who works in a position relevant to their degree programme and wants to develop, for example, practices in their own workplace. The thesis is based on a research problem or research question to which you seek answers by reflecting on your own work.
The thesis includes a work-related diary as well as a report presenting the theoretical basis and development perspective on the chosen topic. Similarly to other types of theses, theoretical background is acquired from literature and expert interviews.
The diary is written daily, and a weekly analysis is used to reflect on the past week from the perspectives of competence development and the research question. The monitoring period usually lasts 10–13 weeks and can be continuous or divided into several phases.
The thesis includes reflection, idea generation, and conclusions that help deepen your expertise and highlight the outcomes of the development process.
An example of a diary-based thesis process:
In a portfolio-based thesis, you bring together the projects and learning tasks you have completed during your studies and, if necessary, prepare new outputs. This type of thesis may also include outputs produced in working life or during leisure time.
The key is that the outputs form a coherent professional entity that serves as a knowledge base for the work. A portfolio-based thesis is a lengthy process that consists of outputs produced at different stages and allows the chosen theme to be examined from multiple perspectives.
The thesis includes a written report in which the outputs are combined and tied to a professional knowledge base.
An example of a portfolio-based thesis process:
Regardless of the thesis topic and implementation method, a written report must be prepared on the thesis. Examples can be found in Theseus, which includes theses and publications from universities of applied sciences.
Each thesis is assigned a supervisor by the University of Applied Sciences. The thesis may also have several supervisors and a representative of the stakeholder group or the work community. The English language and communication teacher is responsible for language guidance.
Completing a thesis is a process that takes place in stages.
On these pages you will find general guidelines and practices for writing the thesis, from selecting the topic to publishing the thesis report. Different degree programmes may also have their own procedures, which are presented in programme-specific meetings and in Moodle.