Please note! Course description is confirmed for two academic years, which means that in general, e.g. Learning outcomes, assessment methods and key content stays unchanged. However, via course syllabus, it is possible to specify or change the course execution in each realization of the course, such as how the contact sessions are organized, assessment methods weighted or materials used.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon successful completion of the course student is able to (1) develop a thesis plan relevant to their thesis topic and MA programme, (2) demonstrate familiarity with information retrieval, academic writing, research ethics and other issues relevant to carrying out their MA thesis, (3) comprehend and apply in their thesis process the contents of the Master's Thesis Guide of the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture, including aims, planning, and process for completing MA thesis, and the thesis evaluation criteria.
Credits: 2
Schedule: 01.08.2020 - 31.05.2021
Teacher in charge (valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022): Heidi Paavilainen
Teacher in charge (applies in this implementation): Heidi Paavilainen
Contact information for the course (valid 29.07.2020-21.12.2112):
University lecturer Heidi Paavilainen (heidi.paavilainen@aalto.fi)
Heidi has a long academic career in the Department, starting with BA+MA in Textile design and PhD in Industrial design. Her doctoral research was about “domestication of design”, that is, how it feels like to live with designed products and garments, and why people bother to do it as it takes quite a lot of work to have design in home. Majority of her time goes to teaching, tutoring and educational leadership but what she can spare, she spends on research about “domestication of recycled stuff”, aiming to contribute to the general field of circular economy with a user point of view. Heidi speaks Finnish and English.
Postdoc research Namkyu Chun (namkyu.chun@aalto.fi)
Through his multicultural (from East Asia to North/South Americas and Nordic Europe) and cross-disciplinary (from fashion design/merchandising, journalism, non-profit fundraising and design consulting) experiences, Namkyu has been interested in critically engaging with discourses on design practice while questioning the social role of design(ers). His relationship with Aalto community began in 2014 as a doctoral candidate. Since the completion of his doctoral studies in 2018, he got more involvements in numerous teaching and educational development activities, such as the MA Thesis Journey project. As a practitioner who has more recently become a researcher/teacher, Namkyu can help navigate challenges as a peer with handy exercises. Currently, Namkyu is working for the EU funded research project Creative Practices for Transformational Futures. Namkyu speaks Korean and English.
CEFR level (applies in this implementation):
Language of instruction and studies (valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022):
Teaching language: English
Languages of study attainment: Finnish, Swedish, English
CONTENT, ASSESSMENT AND WORKLOAD
Content
Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:
The course informs and reminds students about and supports applying in the thesis their learnings in research methods, information retrieval, academic writing, research ethics, written and oral communication, project management and department thesis completion process. Working methods: lectures (100% attentance requirement), pre- and in-class assignments. Alternatively student can independently study and work with assignments and then take an electric exam in specified times.
Applies in this implementation:
Assignments, zoom-sessions and online materials in MyCourses support students to
- Realise where their interests lie and how to develop succesful thesis plan based on their interests, learning objectives and resources;
- How to write compact, actionable, realistic and informative thesis plan in clear language that follows Department’s academic styles;
- Understand and prepare for the entire thesis process with its different options and requirements.
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:
Doing the course by attending in contact teaching: Pre- and in-course assignments, with 100% participation requirement. Doing the course independently: exam based on assignments
Applies in this implementation:
TPO (intensive) is evaluated based on pre-assignments and in-class assignments. TPO (DIY) is evaluated based on pre-assignments and exam.
All assignments and exam answers are reviewed and evaluated with grading scale Failed - New revision needed - Passed - Passed with distinction. Grade depends on how well assignment follows instructions. For example, if some required part is missing, assignment is graded with “New revision needed”. The better assignment meets instructions the higher its grade. Notice that even though students submit several assignments to one “submission box”, each assignment is graded separately.
If assignment is graded with Failed or New revision needed, student can revise the assignment and resubmit via MyCourses until September 18. If parts of (TPO DIY only) exam are Failed or New revision needed, student has two weeks to revise the answer in question and resubmit via email.
The TPO course is evaluated with grade 0-5. Course grade is calculated based on final assignment and exam grades by following, in the order of listing, the principles listed below.
- One or more “Failed” > Course grade 0
- Three to four “New revision needed” > Course grade 1
- One to two “New revision needed” > Course grade 2
- One or fewer “Passed with distinction” > Course grade 3
- Two to four “Passed with distinction” > Course grade 4
- Five or more “Passed with distinction” > Course grade 5
How to learn about your performance and grading: Assignments and exam are graded in MyCourses, with written feedback and comments whenever reasonable. If more information is needed, student should email teacher in charge of the course.
Workload
Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:
2ECTS is a 54hour workload
- Contact teaching 15h or 0h (remote option)
- Independent studying 28h or 43h (remote option, including exam 2h)
- Personal reflection and self-assessment 10h
- Course feedback 1h
Applies in this implementation:
TPO intensive:
Contact teaching 15 hours refers 6 zoom sessions during orientation week: 3 x 3h and 3 x 2h.
Independent studying 28 hours refers to working with 4 pre-assignments (roughly 5h each) and finishing of 4 in-class assignments (roughly 2h each)
Personal reflection and self-assessment 10 hours refers to the internalisation and reflection based on course contents. This crucial phase of learning and development takes place in student’s own time.
Course feedback 1 hour refers to the feedback that student gives about the course via Webropol survey and directly to the teachers in class.TPO DIY:
Contact teaching 0 hours. Doing TPO independently in your own pace does not involve contact teaching. Student can, however, seek tutoring from teacher in charge of the course.
Independent studying 43 hours refers to the working with 4 pre-assignments (roughly 5h each), 6 assignments (roughly 2-4 hours each) and doing an exam quiz (about 2h) in MyCourses.
Personal reflection and self-assessment 10 hours refers to the internalisation and reflection based on course contents. This crucial phase of learning and development takes place in student’s own time.
Course feedback 1 hour refers to the feedback that student gives about the course via Webropol survey and directly to the teachers in class.
DETAILS
Study Material
Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:
The Master's Thesis Guide of the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture. Additional materials are listed in course syllabus and available in MyCourses
Applies in this implementation:
In addition to The Master’s Thesis Guide of the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture there are no required readings. However, several useful books, articles and other resources are listed in the course MyCourses. In addition, out of all the hundreds of thesis guidebooks we want to highlight one that comes surprisingly close to what ARTS MA students are doing:
- Gruba, P., & Zobel, J. (2017). How to write your first thesis. Springer. Available as a free download in Aalto Finna for Aalto students. Practically speaking the same book has been published as How to write a better minor thesis, 2014.
Substitutes for Courses
Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:
MUO-E0004 Thesis Seminar, 2cr; MUO-E0004 Thesis Seminar (DIY), 2cr; Mo0012 Thesis Seminar I, 4cr; 10021 Thesis Semianr II, 0cr
Prerequisites
Valid 01.08.2020-31.07.2022:
MUO-E0002 Design Research
FURTHER INFORMATION
Details on the schedule
Applies in this implementation:
MyCourses, Friday August 21
Deadline to submit pre-assignments.If student fails to submit pre-assignments in time, they cannot join TPO Intensiveand are automatically participants of self-paced TPO DIY. (edit 20.8.2020) Due to Oodi-confusion (there was two registration links in Oodi, of which only one was linking with this MyCourses) we have to allow late submissions of pre-assignments. New deadline will be September 18. However, we can guarantee feedback only to those pre-assignments that were submitted by August 21.Zoom, Monday August 31
9:15-12 Positioning yourself and your thesis in the field of design (Namkyu & Heidi)
13-15 Getting your thesis done without going bonkers (Heidi & Namkyu)Tuesday September 1
Independent studying + optional zoom tutoring session with teacher about your thesis plansZoom, Wednesday September 2
9:15-12 Basic elements of a good thesis plan (Heidi & Namkyu)
13-15 Academic language (Eeva Berglund)Thursday September 3
Independent studying + optional zoom tutoring session with teacher about your thesis plansZoom, Friday September 4
9:15-12 Talks and Q&A panel with recent graduates (Namkyu & graduates)
13-15 Advanced elements of a good thesis plan (Namkyu & Heidi)MyCourses, Friday September 18
Deadline to submit any revised or missing assignments for the TPO intensive.
- Teacher: Chun Namkyu
- Teacher: Paavilainen Heidi