Hi Richard and others!
The definitions Richard offers in his mail yesterday makes a lot of sense.
The Norwegian School of Management practices the same basic distinctions:
Undergraduate: Aims at acquiring basic academic skills, established
discipline oriented knowledge and skills in using this knowledge in
duplicate and modified situations. The undergraduate does not necessarily
cover the whole knowledge base of the discipline. We currently offer 25
different majors at the undergraduate level.
Masters: Be able to master the discipline: Know the whole field and how it
relates to other bodies of knowledge. Be able to see new challenges and
create new solutions based on novel combinations of existing knowledge.
Implies mastering the methods of spesific application oriented knowledge
production, and understand the difference between that and what is
generalizable. A preparation for doctoral work. The above applies to our
MSc only, which assumes a business undergraduate on entry. Does not apply
to our MBAs , which are designed for non-business undergraduates, i.e. a
high-level "undergraduate" crash course in the business disciplines for
those who already have demonstrated the mastery of undergraduate studies in
some field. For those who want to focus on preparing for a doctorate, the
candidates may do a 100% theoretical masters thesis; a novel integration
and/or theoretical extension of existing knowledge.
PhD: Master the production of new generalizable knowledge, and by
implication master methods of generalizable knowledge production. It is
expected that the thesis widens the future knowledge base at the masters
and undergraduate level. Even the most ingenious creation of a new
practical solution for one organization will not qualify for a doctorate
unless that creation can be generalized, improving our understanding and
ability to identify, understand and solve a series of future business
challenges. The candidate must pinpoint what the contribution to the
knowledge base is - i.e. demonstrate a totally updated overview of current
knowledge in the field that applies to the thesis. It is required that the
candidate shows how his or her contribution can be used by practitioners
and be verified and carried forward by scientists.
Our definitions are somewhat more practical in terms of converting them to
guiding tools during the study and measuring rods of performance at the
end. Every course and study program offered at our institution specify:
- Entry requirements
- Aims of the course (knowledge and skills)
- Content (themes and litterature) and learning processes used in the
course
- What is expected of the student during and at the end of the course
- Type and timing of evaluations/exams
- What the participant is a candidate to on completion
If you want to see the precision and extensiveness of definitions of our
studies/courses, visit our web pages: www.bi.no
Best regards!
Brynjulf Tellefsen /s/
Associate Professor
Department of Knowledge Management
Norwegian School of Management
P. O. Box 4676 Sofienberg
N-0506 Oslo, NORWAY
Phone direct: +47-22985142
Via exchange: +47-22985000
Faximile: +47-22985111
Private phone/fax: +47-22149697
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
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