Master's thesis
In your thesis you demonstrate your talents and abilities by presenting the results of independent and original academic research in the broad field of modern European cultural history. It is also possible to follow the selective Public History thesis project. You then complete the master with a product accessible to the public, such as a podcast, exhibition or documentary.
Submitting your thesis proposal
Do your supervisor and second reviewer approve your thesis proposal? Then submit your proposal in Osiris Student > Cases > My cases > Start a new case by using the plus icon in the bottom right corner. A new window will open. Make sure your pop-up blocker is turned off for the new window to open. Choose HUM: Thesis proposal. Your supervisor and second assessor will then officially confirm that you can start your writing process. You will be notified of this by e-mail.
Handing in your thesis
Once you have completed your thesis, you must submit it in Osiris (and not via an email to your supervisor). Osiris provides you with an evaluation progress as well as your final grade.
If your supervisor has indicated that your final paper is ready for assessment, proceed as follows:
- You can upload your thesis in Osiris via Cases > My Cases.
- Consult with your supervisor how the plagiarism check is carried out (e.g. by uploading your thesis in Blackboard or otherwise)
Did you get a pass?
If you have received a satisfactory grade, you will need to upload your thesis' final version in Utrecht University's thesis archive. This is mandatory.
- Go to Osiris Student > Cases
- Choose Archive & publish thesis - Follow-up Case
- Archive your thesis and, if so desired, you can publish it
The Department of History and Art History annually awards a prize of € 750 for the best thesis using digital methods or techniques. With this award we aim to stimulate digital historical research among students.
When is a thesis eligible?
Your thesis qualifies if you have successfully applied digital methods or techniques in it:
- The answer to the research question relies predominantly on digital methods or techniques.
- All digital methods are allowed: from digital text analysis to GIS and from network analysis to 3D modeling.
- The method is based on existing software or on (your own) programming code (in R or Python, for example).
- Your thesis is written in the academic year 2022/23.
To submit a thesis
Please send an email to Pim Huijnen before 15 September 2023, including the following information:
- Subject: Thesis prize Digital History
- Attachment: he thesis itself (as .doc or .pdf)
You can both be nominated by thesis supervisor or you can compete on your own initiative.
The jury
- Joris van Eijnatten (Professor of Digital History, head of the NL eScience Center Amsterdam)
- Pim Huijnen (Assistant professor of Cultural History, Coordinator of the GKG Digital History Group)
- Ortal-Paz Saar (Assistant professor for Ancient History and Classical Civilization
- Selin Dilli (Assistant professor for Economic and Social History
Winners
Best RMA thesis 2021-2022: Edo Storm
Best bachelor thesis 2020-2021: Suzanne Ros
More information
Send an email to Pim Huijnen: p.huijnen@uu.nl
Forms and procedures master's thesis
Your Master's thesis will be assessed following specific evaluation procedures. You can prepare for this by reading the following documents and explanations prior to starting your thesis.
All theses will be evaluated by two separate evaluators. If your supervisor is a professor connected to your Master's programme, he/she will also be the first evaluator.
Your Master's thesis will be evaluated using a standardised assessment form (word). In some cases a third evaluator will be asked to assess your paper. This third evaluator will use another form (word) to evaluate your thesis.
Utrecht University considers any form of academic dishonesty to be a serious offense. Utrecht University expects each student to be familiar with and to observe the norms and values that ensure academic integrity.
Therefore, when you start writing your thesis you will have to hand in the Plagiarism rules awareness statement (pdf). With this, you declare to know about and abide by the norms and rules on fraud and plagiarism of Utrecht University. When your professor or supervisor suspects fraud or plagiarism, they will notify the Board of Examiners.
In case you are doing research that involves interviewing people, submitting questionnaires or involving people in any other way, you are probably doing human-subject related research. If so, please review the checklist and discuss it with your supervisor. The checklist contains information on privacy, ethics and data management.