Ontology based study planning and classification of university subjects

Abstract

This is first and foremost a research project into study planning at the University of Agder. What tools are available for students now, and can an ontology help make it easier? Having a plan for your education is important, and not having proper tools for this can be a frustration for many students. In this thesis I propose an ontology aimed at helping students plan their studies, by giving a graphical presentation of how courses are linked together. I also look at current ways for students to plan their study, and compare them to the ontology. The focus of the ontology is primarily on the bachelors and masters degrees in ICT at the University of Agder, but it is constructed in a manner that makes it easy to redeploy for any other academic degree. I believe that the ontology I created shows that ontology based study planning is a viable tool, and should be expanded upon.