ICH Master project - all about planning

Students who started the programme in August 2025 or earlier should mainly follow the Research Track guidance. The exception is number of credits of electives and the course codes. Please see your programme structure for this information.

0. Overall timeline

Some steps in this timeline vary by track, please see notes. 

Note: 

(1) - Fieldwork / data collection is only relevant for the Research track.

(2) - Electives / semester abroad is only relevant for the Thematic track.

In the course FHE4040 you will learn how to write a project description or protocol.

1. Finding a topic and project

Your main task during the first semester is to identify a thesis topic and secure a supervisor. Ideally, both should be in place by December, or no later than early January.

Start by thinking about 2-3 possible project ideas, relevant methodologies, and potential study settings or regions. At this stage, your idea does not need to be highly specific. A broad area such as reproductive health, non-communicable diseases, infectious diseases, or climate and health is sufficient. You can narrow the topic later and develop a short concept note, 0,5-1 page, outlining the research question, research gap, and methodology.

Where to find a topic:

You can find inspiration from:

• Previous studies or work, or articles you have read.
• The first semester courses INTHE4030 – Fundamentals in International Community Health and INTHE4031 – Environment, Climate Change and One Health.
• Research groups at the Department of Community Medicine and Global Health (where the programme is located), or at research projects or research groups at the Institute of Health and Society.
• There may also be an opportunity to get a research topic from some staff at the university or elsewhere who have project data or oversee routinely collected national or regional data that could be analyzed to address some critical research questions.
• Former student’s master thesis (NB! Due to a new system we cannot filter properly to get more thesis at this moment, but there are some. In addition some of them may have restricted access so you cannot read them).

How the programme can help:

The programme organizes brainstorming sessions during the first semester to support topic development. These sessions provide an opportunity to discuss ideas, receive feedback, and learn from other students.

Budget considerations:

When choosing a topic, keep in mind that the programme does not provide funding for research projects. Limited funding may be available through the Institute to support international travel for students conducting research outside EU/EES. We therefore recommend choosing a project that is realistic and feasible within your available resources.

2. Finding a supervisor

When you have chosen an interesting topic for your thesis and have developed a half-page draft of your project ideas, we urge you to personally start contacting staff who could potentially serve as supervisors for your thesis. Each student should by the end of the first semester have a main supervisor preferably employed at the Department.

Requirement of a supervisor

Each student should have one supervisor, and we do not recommend more than one unless it is strictly necessary. The requirement of the supervisor (or supervisor team):

• Be employed at HELSAM, preferably at the Department, the whole period you are a student.
• Have a PHD

In case you need two supervisors, at least one of them should be employed at HELSAM and have a PHD. The other could be a co-supervisor from inside or outside UIO, for example a person who is an expert in the field of your topic, or it could be a PHD candidate in his or her second year or above. It is the program that approves the supervisors.

Where to find a supervisor

Visit the department webpages or the webpage with research groups and research projects at the institute to see if any of the academic staff is working or has experience with a research area that is similar to your idea. You may also contact potential supervisors based on their expertise in specific research methodology (qualitative or quantitative) although they may not have worked on a topic similar to what you are interested in. 

In case you are interested in a topic outside of our staff's expertise, it is possible to secure a supervisor outside of UIO. One source is to talk to lecturers in the INTHE4030 course or other courses you attend. The department collaborate with the Norwegian Institute of Public Health where there are staff with various expertise who could serve as co-supervisors. You may contact them and express your interest.

When you have explored all the possibilities and still face difficulties finding a supervisor, you may contact the programme leader and the student advisors who will help you search for a supervisor.

Around October, the program will send out a form for you to fill in your topic and supervisor search status so that we get an overview of who have found a topic and supervisor and who need help from us.

Supervision hours

Supervision hours vary between the two tracks. The entitled supervision hours for the two tracks are:

• Students in the Research Track are entitled to 20 hours. 
• Students in the Thematic Track are entitled to 10 hours. 

These hours cover all forms of supervision, including face-to-face meetings, email correspondence, telephone calls, and other digital communication.

The allocated supervision hours should be distributed throughout the thesis period until submission. To ensure effective use of the available time, students and supervisors are encouraged to agree on a supervision plan at an early stage of the project.

Supervisors are allocated one hour of preparation time for each hour of supervision provided.

Any supervision provided by a co-supervisor will be deducted from the student's total allocation of supervision hours. Consequently, the principal supervisor and co-supervisor share the allocated supervision hours, and the division of these hours must be specified in the supervision contract.

3. Supervision contract

When the program has confirmed your supervisor(s), you should download the supervision contract, and get your supervisor(s) signatures. Please, note that if there are more than one supervisor, they need to state in the contract how they plan to divide the time between them. 

The contract with the signatures is to be uploaded at https://nettskjema.no/a/85616, as a PDF document, as soon as possible and within the spring semester. It is then given to the program leader for final approval and signature, who then gives the final dully signed contract to the student advisor for storage.

The supervision contract contains important information about the formalities and other details regarding supervision, such as student’s responsibilities, supervisor’s responsibility, disagreements, and termination. See the link to the contract above.

4. Choosing methodology

At the start of the second semester, you will be expected to have chosen your thesis topic, secured a supervisor and identified an appropriate methodology (quantitative or qualitative) for your thesis research. This will therefore allow you to know the type of advanced methodology course you need to enroll in during the second semester:

• Qualitative: INTHE4032 and INTHE4113, 10 credits in total 

OR 

• Quantitative: INTHE4033, 10 credits.

The aim of the advanced methodology courses is to assist you in developing your thesis research protocol. You will therefore need to choose the advanced methodology course based on the main methodology you plan to use in your research thesis. It is therefore critical that you start this semester already identified your research topic, methodology and a supervisor. 

Mixed method

We do recommend choosing only one methodology due to the time constraint of a master program. If you would like to have a mixed method, we recommend having one main method (the method course you choose) and having smaller components of the other method to support your research. There is an opportunity to take an elective course to learn more about the other methodology. Please look under the heading 'Choosing elective courses' below.

FHE4040

This is the "protocol" exam. You will get your results within 3 weeks after submission, often before. Apart from the results as to whether you have passed or not, you will also receive comments from the examiner to help you improve your protocol for your thesis. When you have passed this exam and addressed comments raised by the examiner, you may apply for ethical clearance.

5. Choosing elective courses

The number of elective credits required depends on the track you choose or when you started the programme:

• Research Track: 10 credits of elective courses
• Thematic Track: 40 credits of elective courses
• Started in 2025 or earlier: 15 credits of elective courses

For an overview of available elective courses and when they are offered, please visit the Programme Structure webpage.

Applying for Elective Courses within the ICH Programme

The official application deadlines for elective courses at UiO are 1 February and 1 September. However, if you wish to take elective courses offered within the ICH programme, we strongly recommend applying before 10 January to ensure priority placement. After 10 January, any remaining places may be opened to students from other programmes.

Elective Courses Outside the ICH Programme

You may also choose elective courses offered by other faculties at UiO or by other universities. If you would like an external course to count towards your degree, you must obtain approval from the ICH programme before taking the course.

To apply for approval, please email the programme coordinators before 1 February or 1 September, including:

1. The course title and course code
2. A link to the course webpage
3. The name of the institution offering the course

Approval Criteria

To be approved as an elective in the programme, a course must:

• Be offered at master's level or higher
• Be relevant to health and medicine or to your thesis project
• Not overlap significantly with courses already included in your master's degree

Taking Additional Elective Courses

You are welcome to take more elective credits than your chosen track requires. However, only the number of credits needed to complete the degree will be included in your diploma. As a result, your diploma will show a total of 120 credits, even if you have completed additional coursework.

All courses completed at UiO will, however, be documented on your academic transcript.

Please note that we generally do not recommend taking substantially more than 30 credits per semester, as the credit system is designed to reflect a normal full-time study workload.

6. Ethical clearance

The course FHE4040 – Project Planning and Research Ethics provides you with knowledge about ethical consideration in your project. This is necessary for any research projects. You should use the knowledge you acquire in this course to improve your ethical consideration section in your protocol.

Which steps to take to get ethical clearance, and in which order:

1. ALL students must submit their updated protocol for assessment to the ICH ethical committee at https://nettskjema.no/a/94010 to get their recommendation on how to proceed. When you have gotten an answer from the ICH ethical committee, you must apply to REK, Sikt, both or non, depending on your project and what the ICH ethical committee recommends. Please, do not apply for ethics approval to Sikt or REK before you have passed your protocol exam and before you have received recommendations from the ICH ethics committee. 
2. REK (Regional Committees for Medical and Health Research Ethics): If you need to send your protocol here, you should opt for the application deadlines in April-August, to avoid delays in your project. It may take up to 2 months to get an answer from them. Please note that your application to REK should be submitted by your supervisor from UIO.
3. SIKT - Data Protection Services for research (former NSD): Most of you will probably send a notification from to Sikt only. There are no specific deadlines for submission of notification to Sikt. Submission is open at any time. They normally answer quite quickly. Please note that your notification to Sikt should be submitted by your supervisor from UIO.
4. Ethical clearance in fieldwork country (if fieldwork will be done outside of Norway): You will need to secure relevant ethics approval and/or permissions from the country outside of Norway where you plan to do your fieldwork. In some countries, having a clearance from Norway help the process to be quicker. You may also do this process parallel to your processing in Norway to save time. Our experience indicates that in some countries, this process may take a long time hence be aware of that and start the process as early as possible.

You MUST have all ethical clearances in order before you start collecting data for your project. While waiting you can acquire knowledge about the country's health system, the culture in your field country and so on, but nothing that has to do with interviewing or other form of direct data collection.

7. Securing your data and TSD

For any researcher it is important to make sure that the data that is collected is secured properly. This also applies for our master students. UIO have a classification of different types of data that says something about how sensitive the data is and how strict you have to be in securing it and where and how you can store it. Please make sure you read these webpages and store your data accordingly.

For sensitive data you would need to use TSD which is the most secure storage solution UIO have. In that case your UIO supervisor will need to make an account in TSD for you to use. 

In short we may say that there are two parallel routines that needs to be followed when it comes to research projects. Those that have to apply for ethical clearance to Sikt have to follow the UIO privacy protection regulations. While those that have to apply to REK have to in addition follow the UIO Quality assurance system for health and medical research routine. 

8. Funding and budget

When planning your thesis project, it is important to design a study that is academically feasible as well as financially realistic. The need for funding will vary depending on the scope and methodology of your project.

• If Research Track (or you are doing a 60 credits thesis) is your choice, you are more likely to incur research-related expenses, for example through fieldwork, travel, data collection, laboratory work, or participant compensation. 
• If Thematic track is your choice, you may also have project-related costs, but these are often more limited.

If your project requires additional resources, we encourage you to explore funding opportunities at an early stage and discuss any anticipated expenses with your supervisor. Applying for funding can be a valuable learning experience and is an important part of academic and research practice. Funding may be available from universities, research institutions, public agencies, foundations, NGOs, and other organizations, both in Norway and internationally.

Below are some examples of funding opportunities. Please note that funding schemes may change over time, and students are encouraged to search broadly for additional sources of support.

• HELSAM's master project scholarship, intended as a top up grant for travel expenses for those doing their fieldwork outside EU/EEA. The maximum fund the Institute will give is around 10.000,- NOK for one student. The funding is limited and competitive.
• Funding opportunities a website by the Medical Faculty where they post possibilities for fundings, mostly for PHD and above, but occasionally also for master students.
• UNIFOR  (in Norwegian) is a webpage where you can find several funding opportunities. Some of the funding opportunities are written in English.
• Scholarship from The Science Colloquium Series (in Norwegian)
• Oslo research (we do not know if they offer scholarship every year, so please check)
• Scholarship from the Norwegian safety forum, search for "masterstipend" within their webpage. We do not know if they offer scholarship every year, so check. The scholarship is for those who are writing a master thesis on injuries and accidents prevention and preventive medicine. On the webpage you find a link to more information about the Forum in English.
• Stipendportalen (in Norwegian) the most used database for looking for scholarships and grants.
• Borregaard Research Foundation, may offer research grants for master students writing on occupational health. We do not know if it will offer it every year, so check.
• SINTEF-grant, offer research grants for master students on topics of health, food and environment to name a few. The stipend page is in Norwegian, but you can write your application in English. You may also look at the research areas webpage in English to get a grip of what they may give grants to.
• Other, e.g. Kirkens Bymisjon, NGOs in Norway or in your field country, or on the topic you are doing.
• Norwegian students may apply for financial support from Lånekassen. You apply online through "Mine sider", but should attach the "D-skjema" which is available on Lånekassens website.

If you receive a grant:

If you receive funding for your fieldwork or thesis project, you will typically be required to submit a financial report or statement of expenses after the project has been completed. It is therefore important to retain receipts and other documentation for all expenses covered by the grant.

If you conduct fieldwork in a country where receipts are not commonly issued, you may use a receipt book purchased in Norway or prepare your own receipt and obtain the seller's signature as documentation of the expense.

Students who receive funding from the HELSAM's master project scholarship are required to submit an account of their expenses after the fieldwork has been completed. Any grant funds that are not used for approved project expenses may be subject to taxation in accordance with applicable regulations.

Budget:

We strongly recommend preparing a detailed budget before starting your thesis project, particularly if you have chosen the Research Track. 

A budget helps you estimate expenses, allocate resources effectively, and determine whether additional funding may be needed. We also recommend reviewing and updating your budget regularly throughout the project to ensure that spending remains within the available funding.

Typical budget items may include:

• Travel expenses
• Accommodation
• Food and living expenses during fieldwork
• Travel insurance
• Vaccinations and health-related preparations
• Equipment and research supplies
• Software licenses or specialized datasets
• Ethical review or clearance fees
• Compensation or incentives for research participants
• Laboratory analyses and other research-related costs
• Conference registration fees and presentation-related expenses

Careful budgeting and record-keeping will help ensure that your project runs smoothly and that you can meet any reporting requirements associated with your funding.

9. Semester abroad

Mostly relevant for those who choose the Thematic Track.

More information will come.

10. Tips for data collection

Only relevant for those who choose the Research Track.

• Pay the semester fee and register for only lectures in INTHE4050 (or INTHE4012 if you started in 2025 or earlier) in the autumn (although the lectures and exam are in the spring) – the last deadline is 1 September.
• Check your UIO email weekly, or at least monthly.
• Save, save, save! Always save and take backups of your files and recordings.
• Communicate with your supervisor and program coordinator. Especially if something happen that you think will delay your project. We are here to try to help you find a good solution.
• Changes in your project: In case you find it is practically impossible to do the data collection the way you had planned, contact your supervisor to talk about changes. You do not need to have a perfect text or thoroughly thought through plan before you communicate with your supervisor. In case you are still stuck contact your program coordinator early on so that the program can help solve the problem before you get to much delayed.
• Communicate with your fellow students. Previous students have mentioned how good it was to be able to communicate with other students who knew what they were going through and get mental support from each other.
• Print out some articles before you leave, to read while in field. It is good to have something useful to read while you are waiting, as there may be lots of waiting.
• Read 1-2 article per week. We recommend you to read 1-2 scientific articles (or chapter in a scientific book) regarding your topic each week. This will keep your mind active, give you new ideas and questions regarding your topic and be helpful in many other ways.
• Write while collecting data. We recommend you to write notes (diary regarding your project) during your data collection, preferably each day or week. This can be impressions of the day, new questions you got or observations you made or other. We recommend you write on paper, as it is scientifically said it is better for reflections. This will be valuable later on in your data collection or when writing your thesis. You may also start writing on several parts on your thesis during data collection.
• Keep track on your budget. We advice you to go through your budget each week or month to see that you are not spending much more than you expected.
• Get receipts for ALL expenses you have. As you most likely will need to document your spending for those that you got funding from, either the institute or other organizations. If you have not done that, you are in high risk of having to pay back the money. If you do not automatically get a receipt, bring a receipt book or piece of paper on which you write what the expenses are for, the date, the amount and get the receiver to sign this piece of paper. 

11. If you do fieldwork abroad

Only relevant for those who choose the Research Track.

• Fill out the Fieldwork outside of Norway form. It is important due to emergencies abroad, but also for us to register how many of our students do fieldwork in an other country.
• Please read UIO's webpage regarding safety abroad.
• Arrange for your returning to Norway visa – here is how to Apply for renewal of residence permit.
• Plan to be back in Oslo again on the third week of January, which is around the 10th of January. The obligatory lectures on how to analyze and write your thesis usually starts then and are very useful and helpful.
• Buy a travel insurance in case something should happen. Make sure it last the whole time you are on fieldwork. This you have to pay yourself, so add it in the budget.
• Get the appropriate vaccinations according to the country you are traveling to. This you have to pay yourself, so add it in the budget.
• Prepare your stay in the field country: Cultural sensitivity, what is available, equipment, currency, money transfer. Inform your family, supervisor and Master program about your contact points.
• Be prepared for the unexpected.
• Be flexible.
• Have fun.

12. Your thesis, the requirements and exam

In the forth semester it is all about analyzing and writing up the thesis, submission and the oral exam. You find out about all the requirements and information you need at the following webpages depending on your track: 

Started in 2025 or earlier: ICH Master's thesis - guidelines and submission webpage.

Research Track: Link

Thematic Track: Link

You may also find more information at Helsam's master thesis webpage