Master thesis for students in mathematical sciences (MSMNFMA)

This page tells you how to choose a topic and a supervisor for a master thesis in mathematical sciences. All the permanent scientific staff in the Department of Mathematical Sciences are possible supervisors. You should directly contact one or several of those you think offer an interesting topic for a thesis (see the list below). The list below is a common list for bachelor theses, MTFYMA projects and master theses, so not all topics might be available for all types of thesis. The supervisor will inform you about possible prerequisites to take on a thesis.

The deadline for registering your supervisor is 31st January at 16:00.

MSMNFMA students: Register supervisor/project for the 2025/2026 study year

In writing a master thesis in mathematical sciences, one needs to address the UN's sustainability goals. You find these goals here on page 14. If you want to look at the sustainability strategy of the IE-faculty look here, where page 9 explains the requirements to a bachelor or a master thesis with respect to the UN's sustainability goals.

The master thesis MA3911 (45 credit points) is a mandatory part of a master degree in mathematical sciences. The master thesis is awarded a grade in the usual interval of grades from F up to A. An oral presentation of the thesis is also part of the work with the master thesis. For more information regarding thesis, please see Innsida

For those obtaining a bachelor degree in mathematical sciences from NTNU, one would normally have the same supervisor for the master degree. In that case discuss the topic for the master thesis with your bachelor supervisor. If you want a different supervisor for the master degree, then you must yourself take the initiative for that change. Then consult the catalogue below and contact directly the scientific staff in charge and discuss possible topics for the master thesis.

• The deadline for handing in a master thesis is 1st June (spring term) and 15th December (autumn term).
• The thesis is submitted in Inspera.
• The students' written and oral presentations are assessed by an internal (not supervisor) and one (or more) external examinator.
• The examiners must use the following assessment form (pdf) / assessment form (doc) when censoring the thesis.
• We recommend that students read the examiner's guide. This guide gives the students an insight into how the thesis is assessed.
• The master thesis must reflect on the sustainability relevance of the thesis based on the United Nations' sustainability goals. This is a formal requirement and can be implemented, for example, by a paragraph in the introduction.

The Department of Mathematical Sciences offer to cover the cost of printing of 2 copies of size B5 or A4 of your master thesis, one for the student and one for the supervisor. Additional copies must be paid by you/the student. You can order your print of your thesis through the service of NTNU Grafisk.

When ordering your print at NTNU Grafisk, remember to use the correct "kostnadssted": "631505 Institutt for matematiske fag", and "Leveres med NTNUs Transporttjeneste/NTNU Transport service". "Prosjektnummer" and "analyse" you can disregard.

Both copies will be sent to the department, which will make sure that both your supervisor and you will get a copy each.

You will also find information about how to complete the thesis for submission and how to order printed copies of it at Innsida.

If you have question about printing please contact Elin Merethe Todal in the Department of Mathematical Sciences.

The deadline for handing in a master agreement is 15th September. You can some find information about it here. If you need more information on how to fill out the masters agreement, you can find this here

Here is a short list of LaTeX resources at NTNU.

1. Beginner course in LaTeX given by the library at NTNU (Sign up, the course is in Norwegian)
2. An introduction to LaTeX from PVV. (Various text based resources)

Here is a list of potential supervisors and topics that are available for projects, bachelor thesis and master thesis, and who are supervising these topics. If you find a topic that interests you, click on the person(s) listed under that topic, and you will gain access to specific descriptions of projects, bachelor thesis and master thesis. However, as a student you are encouraged to contact directly the scientific staff to obtain more information about the different topics and projects/thesis.