Master's Thesis
Together with an internship your thesis constitutes your individual graduation trajectory. During your internship the focus is on research questions defined by the project you are participating in. For your thesis the aim is to independently write a report of research driven by your own questions, conducted under the supervision of a senior researcher. The thesis shows how the knowledge and skills acquired during the RMA programme has equipped you with the research, academic and communicative skills to carry out original research.
You are responsible for finding your own supervisor. In all cases you must have an internal supervisor affiliated with the programme. You may have an additional internal or external supervisor. An external supervisor is a senior researcher affiliated with ILS or another institution. The internal supervisor and a second reader have to approve your research proposal in order for you to proceed with your research and are responsible for the final grade of the thesis.
The size of the Master's thesis is 30 EC, the equivalent of one semester of work. As in the case of your term paper and internship you must formally register for your thesis. Please make sure you are aware of the rules and regulations surrounding registration, choice of supervisor and submission (see below).
Please get in touch with the programme coordinator if you feel you are having real problems getting to grips with your thesis.
The topic of the Master's thesis is chosen in consultation with the supervisor. You are expected to make a genuine contribution to the advancement of the knowledge in the field.
The thesis should be structured around a central research question to which it provides an answer. The central research question should be clearly formulated at the beginning and its relevance to scholarly discussions within the discipline set out. The body of the text should show how the question was answered, why the approach chosen is adequate, and what the final outcomes are. The conclusion should contain an analysis of the findings in the light of the original question, and explain the broader implications of the research carried out. There are no strict guidelines as to length, but most theses are between 40 and 70 pages long (i.e. between 30,000 - 35,000 words long; including notes, bibliography and appendices).
It is not possible to enrol for the thesis yourself via Osiris. You should contact the Student Information Desk to be enrolled for the thesis. Furthermore, you should provide the programme coordinator with the following information:
- Name of supervisor(s)
- Topic
- Intended completion date
- Name of an independent/outside reader
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
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 Research 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 experiments with human participants, 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.