General Information

These thesis regulations list the rights and responsibilities of the MA student and the thesis supervisor when writing or supervising a thesis.

In addition to these general regulations MA programmes can add programme specific rules. These rules can be obtained by contacting the Programme Director.

Credits

A successfully completed MA thesis amounts to 20 EC.

A successfully completed Research MA thesis amounts to 30 EC.

A succesfully completed thesis for the Professional MA programme in Preservation and Presentation of the Moving Image amounts to 15 EC.

Place in the programme

Time to write the thesis is reserved in the study programme in the second semester. For the Research MA thesis time is reserved in the second semester of the second year.

Aims

The thesis is a written report on individual research with a clear academic character. The thesis is written independently by the student under supervision of a member of the academic staff.
The general aim of the thesis is that students display adequate knowledge, understanding, and ability in the field of study to successfully participate in academic discussions, and contribute to these with their own research.

Language of the thesis

The thesis will be written in the language of instruction of the MA programme.
However, for the MA programmes in Arabic language and culture, Greek and Latin language and culture, Hebrew language and culture, Literary Studies, Dutch Sign Linguistics, and Linguistics special rules may apply. These rules can be obtained by the contacting the programme director of the aforementioned MA programmes.

Every thesis, irrespective of the language it is written in, should be accompanied by a summary in English.

Thesis proposal

The student and the programme director decide who would be, considering his specialization, the best thesis supervisor. The student then hands in a thesis proposal of one or two pages with this lecturer.
If the thesis supervisor agrees with the proposal the student submits his request with the relevant exam committee. The exam committee, when in agreement with the thesis proposal, appoints the thesis supervisor and the second reader.

If students would like to write their thesis in a group, they have to be granted permission to do so by the relevant exam committee.

A thesis proposal should always contain the following:

• Working title and provisional table of contents
• Thesis
• Statement: clear definition of the topic and boundaries to be set (thematic, chronological, geographical)
• Working method and time schedule 
• Provisional list of literature 
• Overview of sources and materials 
• Suggestion of supervisor 
• Amount of credits in EC

Supervision

The supervisor advises the student and reviews and assesses the written work while the student prepares and carries out the research and writes the thesis. The students and supervisor are in contact on a regular basis during the course of the research and writing, at least once every two to four weeks. Every student and supervisor contact each other about at least the following:

• An introductory meeting on the choice of topic, literature to be used and the outline. And any boundaries that need to be set to the topic.
• A meeting to finalise and elaborate on the working method 
• Meetings about the provisional chapters of the thesis
• A final meeting in which the supervisor announces and explains the grade awarded

If the supervisor is unable to continue his task, due to illness or other reasons, the relevant exam committee will, in consultation with the student appoint a replacement supervisor.

If the student is unable to finish the thesis he should contact the programme director and study advisor of the MA programme concerned.

If problems arise with the supervision and/or the study pace while writing the thesis the student can contact the study advisor of the School to which the MA programme belongs and the programme director of the MA programme.

The second reader’s work usually does not start until the final stages of the thesis writing process, after the supervisor has approved of the final version of the thesis. However a second reader can be asked to give advice at an earlier stage.

The second reader’s role is to support the supervisor and critically look at his assessment of the thesis. The second reader must assess the final version of the thesis. The supervisor and second reader together award the final grade.

Practicalities

The thesis should contain at least the following:

• Title page (with title, name of student, university, faculty, name of programme, date, supervisor(s)
• Table of contents
• An introduction, containing a definition of the thesis statement, working method, the theoretical framework, and the aim.
• An elaboration on the statement posed in the introduction founded by relevant literature
• Well founded conclusions   
• (If applicable) note system
• Bibliography
• (If applicable) appendices with relevant materials.

Length of thesis

An MA thesis of 20 EC will usually consist of approximately 12.000/16.000 words (not including title page, table of contents, and bibliography).

A Research MA thesis of 30 EC will usually consist of approximately 18.000/24.000 words (not including title page, table of contents, and bibliography).

Assessment

The thesis will be assessed within 28 days after the student has handed it in. Exception to this rule is the period between the last day of the second semester and the first day of the first semester of the following academic year - the summer recess.

The student can lodge an appeal against the assessment of his thesis with the relevant exam committee. For further information please contact the Graduate School for Humanities.

Criteria on which the thesis will be assessed are:

• Clarity of the thesis statement
• Build up of the argument, is it systematic, consistent, logical
• Quality and comprehensiveness of the research
• Legibility
• The extent to which the research has been carried out independently
• Accuracy (concerning references, quotes, notes, and bibliography)
• Consistency in lay-out

The language in which the thesis is written will be assessed on correct use. If there is any suspicion about possible fraud (a willing act or neglect to partially or completely undermine the ability to form an assessment about the student’s knowledge, insight, and/or capabilities) the exam committee can decide to investigate this further (for further reference please look at paragraph 11 of the exam regulations, art. 48 and 49)

Availability

Theses that are handed in and have a pass mark or higher remain property of the MA programme. The faculty board has at this point in time yet to decide where and how theses will be archived. The thesis can be added to the thesis library of the University Library.

Quoting from a thesis is only permitted with permission of the author.