Master's thesis (cohort 2023 and earlier)

The Master’s thesis is a research project in which you will learn to conduct research independently. You can choose to conduct a 30 EC Master's thesis (GEO4-2510) or a 45 EC Master's thesis (GEO4-2523). You will develop and/or apply new methods, or apply existing methods to a new problem. The research should be relevant from both a scientific perspective, expanding the body of scientific knowledge, and a societal one, producing knowledge that contributes to a better understanding of or the solution to societal problems in the area of energy. Information on procedures, entrance requirements, place of research, output, etc., you can find in the course description in the Study Guide and in the Energy Science Master’s thesis Course manual (on BlackBoard).

Please use the Master’s thesis research proposal information (on BlackBoard) for your research proposal when you submit it to the secretariat for approval by the Board of Examiners.

In the Natural Science track (cohort 2023 and earlier) you have two separate, compulsory periods of research:

• Natural Science Research Project (30 EC). In this project you will learn to conduct research independently in an energy-related natural science field. Your research should be relevant from both a scientific perspective, expanding the body of scientific knowledge, and a societal one, producing knowledge that contributes to addressing energy-related problems in society. Many groups in the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Geosciences conduct energy-related basic and/or applied research. You will have the opportunity to take advantage of this work during your own research. You also have the option of conducting your research in another Faculty of Science in the Netherlands or abroad.
• Master’s thesis (30 EC).

Your thesis and your research project are two different courses, with separate objectives and deliverables. This means that you have to write two reports and give two presentations. You can learn about the exact deliverables for each course in the course descriptions and in the Energy Science Master’s thesis Course manual (on BlackBoard).

Information on procedures, entrance requirements, place of research, output, etc., you can find in the Study Guide and in the Energy Science Master’s thesis Course manual (on BlackBoard).

Please use the Master’s thesis research proposal information (on BlackBoard). for your research proposal when you submit it to the secretariat for approval by the Board of Examiners.

You will find thesis topics in the Energy Science community in Blackboard.

As of period 2 2024/25, the administrative aspects of the Master’s thesis will be tracked in OSIRIS Case (OSIRIS Zaak in Dutch). Currently, when you start the thesis process, you send an email to the secretariat to inform them of your starting date, supervisor and other details of your project. As of period 2 2024-2025, you will start the Proposal Case in OSIRIS. Note that only students of cohort 2023 and later will register their thesis process in OSIRIS Case. Students from cohort 2022 and earlier will have to follow the procedure describe in the thesis manual of 2023-2024.

Due to some delays in the design of the Master’s thesis process in OSIRIS Case, it is very important to realise that, for this year 2024-2025 only, there are different routes to follow, depending on the start date of the thesis process and your cohort. In this document, the different routes will be explained.

First of all, note that there are two processes in OSIRIS: the proposal process and the thesis process. These are called ‘cases’ in OSIRIS.

The proposal case will be ready in OSIRIS as of period 2, 2024/25. The thesis case, however, will only be available in OSIRIS as of period 3 2024/25. At that point, both cases will be linked (so the thesis case will start automatically when the proposal case has been completed). Therefore we need to have a transition period, and make a distinction depending on your cohort, your thesis start date, and whether you work full-time or part-time on the proposal.

A. Students from cohort 2022 and earlier:

• Follow the old process as described in the thesis manual 2023-24, even if you start the thesis in 2024/25 or later. The new process in OSIRIS Case is only for students from cohort 2023 and later.

B. Students from cohort 2023 who start full-time with the proposal in period 1, 2024/25:

• Will go through the proposal process in the old way (because the proposal process in OSIRIS Case will not be ready yet and the proposal will very likely be ready and assessed prior to period 2)
• The proposal will be assessed in the old way (send it to the secretariat)
• Start the thesis case in OSIRIS Case in period 3
• The thesis itself will be handed in and assessed via OSIRIS Case

C. Students from cohort 2023 who start part-time with the proposal in period 1, 2024/25:

• Cannot start the proposal case in OSIRIS Case in period 1, but you will be asked to register the proposal retrospectively in OSIRIS Case in period 2 (because your proposal will most likely be ready and assessed in period 2)
• Start the thesis case in OSIRIS Case in period 3
• Both the proposal and thesis are assessed via OSIRIS Case

D. Students from cohort 2023 who start (f/t or p/t) with the proposal in period 2, 2024/25:

• Start the proposal case in OSIRIS Case in period 2
• Start the separate thesis case in OSIRIS Case in period 3
• Both the proposal and thesis are assessed via OSIRIS Case

E. Students from cohort 2023 who start (f/t or p/t) with the proposal in period 3, 2024/25 or later:

• Follow the entire proposal + thesis process in OSIRIS Case. The two cases will be linked, so the thesis case will start automatically as soon as you have completed the proposal case.
• Both the proposal and thesis are assessed via OSIRIS Case
• In other words: this will be the new regular process from period 3, 2024/25 onwards.

Every time an action from you is required in OSIRIS, you will receive an automatic email from OSIRIS Case. So keep a close eye on your UU mail.
You can always ask your supervisor or thesis coordinator for help if you are unsure about any aspect of the proposal or thesis process. Contact details can be found in the Master’s thesis course manual. The Master’s thesis course manual 2024-2025 describes the new proposal/thesis process as it will be in OSIRIS.

Your supervisor will assess your Master’s thesis using the Master’s Thesis Rubrics & Assessment Form (to be found on BlackBoard). It makes the items the supervisor assesses and the criteria he or she uses transparent. You will receive the form when you start the Master’s thesis process. Please use it to acquaint yourself with the assessment criteria and to assess yourself during the thesis process. Your supervisor is expected to tell you early on which items he or she considers most important and the order they should take in the thesis, so you will not get any surprises later on.

After your thesis has been approved, it has to be uploaded into the thesis archive. One week after the grade is registered in OSIRIS, the student will receive a request by email to upload the reviewed thesis (in PDF format) through OSIRIS Case for the purpose of the thesis archive. The thesis archive is only accessible to employees. If you did not receive an email, contact osiris.geo@uu.nl.

Every month students present the results of their research. You are very welcome to attend these Graduation Presentations.

Research topics

You have to attend at least ten presentations. This way you will be able to develop a broad view on all kind of current research topics, and to keep in touch with your fellow students and teachers especially in the final, sometimes rather lonely, stage of your studies. Of course you’re also most welcome to start attending them if you’re not working on your thesis yourself yet. Attending and discussing the research of students in their graduation phase, is a useful way to prepare yourself for your own thesis and it might bring you some inspiring ideas on the topics you’ll want to research yourself. You will find the monthly schedules of the presentations - if applicable - on the Blackboard community.

Registration

You will be required to sign a Statement of Attendance, which contains an overview of the presentations you have attended. This means that you will be responsible for keeping track of which presentations you have attended during your Master’s programme. Keep in mind that you need to attend at least 10 presentations before being able to schedule your own. When asking the Copernicus Institute's secretary’s office for a potential presentation date, you will need to hand in the Statement of Attendance together with the Statement of Originality. You can also attend the presentations of Sustainable Development (track Energy and Materials).

Dates

The dates that are available for presenting your thesis or internship can be found on Blackboard. Please contact the secretariat if you want to reserve a time slot (after consulting your supervisor).