Procedures and rules at ENSPAC

The following information is valid for you who are writing your master's thesis Autumn 2013 or later. If you have started to write your master's thesis Spring 2013 or earlier, read here.

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General rules about the master's thesis

The master's thesis must as a rule complete the Master’s degree programme. All project work must be completed before the work with the thesis can begin. The thesis subject must be approved by the Head of Study of the programme where the thesis is to be written and the thesis must be handed in for assessment at Roskilde University.

Usually the thesis is written in groups, but it is also possible to wirte the thesis individually.

You can keep you informed about the rules in force for the thesis in the "rules for examinations" (Eksamensordningen).

Furthermore it is important that you keep ýourself updated concerning the study regulations and attachments to the study regulations, as it is here the academic requirements are set.

You can find the study regulations for each subject here (please note that only the Danish version of the acts has legal validity and that other applicalble acts than those translated or linked to here may exist). 

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Types of theses

At Roskilde University it is possible to chose between various types of theses:

• Single subject thesis: You write the thesis in one of your Master’s degree subjects. The thesis is prescribed at 30 ECTS.
• Incorporated thesis (not for 1-subject TekSam): You write a complete thesis on your two Master's degree subjects. You must fulfil the requirements for both subjects. You must be signed up and submit your thesis in both subjects. The thesis is prescribed at 30 ECTS. 
  
  NB! Incorporated thesis at 30 ECTS must be completed in one semester. (As opposed to previous times you cannot use two semesters to complete an incorporated thesis at 30 ECTS).

• Experimental thesis (only for 1-subject TekSam): You write a complete thesis with an experiemental construct. The thesis is prescribed at 45 ECTS.
  
  NB! You must in advance apply the study board to be able to complete an experimental thesis at TekSam.
• Incorporated experimental thesis (not for the programme Working Life Studies and 1-subject TekSam): You write an incorporated thesis with an experimental construct in your two Master's degrees. You must fulfil the requirements for both subjects. You must be signed up and submit your thesis in both subjects. The thesis is prescribed at 60 ECTS (and is completed over 2 semesters).

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The thesis procedure

In connection with the thesis you must have a thesis supervisor, sign a thesis agreeement and sign up for the examination. 

Subject enrolment

The semester before you start writing your thesis, you must state in "Fagtilmeldingen" at www.aarskort.ruc.dk that you plan to write your thesis the comming semester. This is to ensure that the future students can be invited to a thesis meeting.

Thesis meetings

The study guidance office invites all future master thesis students at ENSPAC to a thesis meeting in the middle of the semester. The meeting is about the regulations and procedures concerned with the master thesis. The meeting is also about the proces of writing a thesis.

Thereafter each subject invites students to a workshop. The Workshop is about the students thesis plans with a view to creating thesis groups, contemplating subject and choosing supervisor(s).

Group, subject and supervisor

Doing the semester before you start writing your thesis you must be clear of who you are in group with (or if you want to write your thesis alone), the thesis subject and the name of your supervisor(s).

Deadline for supervisor application:

• • if you start your thesis in the autumn term: 20th og June.

  • if you start on your thesis in the spring term: 16th of December.

  
  

  • for TekSam students, who are writing their 45 ECTS thesis, they have to apply to semester start at the same time as other students.

Thesis contract

In cooperation with the supervisor you must complete a plan for the thesis work and fill in a thesis contract. A thesis problem statement and a timeschedule for the thesis work must be attached the thesis contract.

You can find the thesis contract here.

Only for TekSam: The students must fill in the thesis subject field. See the thesis subject field here.

The thesis contract must be signed by you and the supervisor. Afterwards the thesis contract is submitted to the secretariat for university graduates at ENSPAC. (At incorporated theses a contract is also submitted at the study administration for the combination subject)

Afterwards the head of study signs the thesis contract and the deadline for submission is set. The study administration sends a copy of the thesis contract to you by mail. Now you are signed up and you cannot unregister the thesis procedure.

Deadline for submission of the thesis contract:

Starting in the autumn term: last Thursday in August

Starting in the spring term: last Thursday in January

NB! Special terms for experimental thesis of 45 ECTS (only 1 subject TekSam): commencement of the thesis is in the middle of the semester (i.e. approx after the course lecture). The deadline is in these cases:

• If you start on your thesis in the autumn term: 15 November.

• If you start on your thesis in the spring term: 15 April.

• The study board must at that time have pre-approve that you are allowed to write an experimental thesis.

Prescribed thesis supporting seminar (only for Geography and Planning Studies)

Students at Geography and Planning Studies must concurrently with the thesis work participate in a preschribed thesis supporting seminar.

Registration for the thesis exam

Not later than 14 days before the submission of the thesis you must register for the thesis exam in STADS self-service. Here you will state whether you wish to terminate your thesis with an oral examination or whether you wish the thesis evaluated on the basis of the thesis report.

If you do not register in time, you risk that the thesis evaluation is delayed.

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Submission of the thesis

Deadline for submission of the thesis:

The deadline depends on the size of the thesis (number of ECTS):

• If you start a thesis of 30 ECTS in the autumn: 28 January.
• If you start a thesis of 30 ECTS in the spring: 28 June.
• If you start a thesis of 45 ECTS in the middle of November: 28 June.
• If you start a thesis of 45 ECTS in the middle of April: 30 November.
• If you start a thesis of 60 ECTS in the autumn: 28 June.
• If you start a thesis of 60 ECTS in the spring: 15 December.

Deadline for submitting a thesis concurrently with course activities:

As a rule the course activities are completed before you start on your thesis (this also goes for incorporated theses). However if you are 10-15 ECTS courses short when you start your thesis, the thesis deadline will be extended with 2 months. At incorporated theses, it is required that the combination subject also extend the deadline with 2 months.

At group theses the deadline is only extended if all the members of the Group is short of 10-15 ECTS courses.

Evaluation of problem statement and method (TekSam)

Students at TekSam must have taking part in the evaluation of problem statement and method as a precondition for handing in the Master's Thesis.

Intern evaluation (TekSam)

Students at TekSam must have taking part in intern evaluation as a precondiction for handing in the Master's Thesis.

Prescribed thesis supporting seminar (Geography)

Students at Geography must concurrently with the thesis work participate in a preschribed thesis supporting seminar.

Description of course of study (Geograohy and TekSam)

Students on Geography and TekSam must besides the thesis also hand in a descriptin of course of study.

Geography students must hand in the description of course of study at the same time as the thesis. The supervisor must approve and sign the description of course of study.

TekSam students must hand in the description of course of study (signed by the supervisor) no later than 14 days before the submission of the thesis to the secretariat for university graduates at ENSPAC. Afterwards the study board decides whether the description of course of study can be approved.

Thesis front page

On the front page of the thesis the following information must appear:

• Title of the thesis
• Name and student number 
• Subject
• Supervisor(s)
• Deadline for submission
• Number of standard pages

This is how you submit your thesis

You must submit one copy of the thesis for the RU archive. This is done by uploading the thesis to RUDAR (project library).

You must submit one copy of the thesis into the pigeonhole of the thesis supervisor(s).

You must submit one copy of the thesis to the secretariat for university graduates at ENSPAC together with a receipt that the thesis is uploaded in RUDAR.

You are also requested to submit one extra copy of the thesis which can be used in connection with open house events to promote the programme you have chosen. However this is optional.

If you write an incorporated thesis you must also submit a copy of the thesis to the other programme.

You will receive a receipt that you have submitted the thesis.

Postponement of the thesis deadline

You can apply for postponement of the thesis deadline under special circumstances. You apply for postponement by sending a mail to the secretariat for university graduates at ENSPAC.

If the circumstances is illness where the nature and extent of the illness prevents you from finishing and submitting the thesis, the illness must be documented by a doctor's note which must reach the secretariat for university graduates at ENSPAC no later than 8 days after the first day of illness.

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Grading of the thesis

The thesis is graded 6 weeks after the submission at the latest (however the month of July does not count because of the Summer Holiday). You can chose between two kinds of grading (Environmental Risk students can as a main rule only choose oral examination): 

Grading solely on the basis of the thesis (not Environmental Risk):

At group theses where one or more of the members wish to have the thesis graded solely on the basis of the thesis, the thesis must be individualized. It must clearly appear from the thesis who is responsible for the individual paragraph in the thesis.

Introduction, problem statement, conclusion and abstract are things which all the members are responsible for and can therefor not be individualized. As a rule of thumb up to 1/3 can be common responsibility - the rest must be individualized.

Grading by oral examination:

The grading of the thesis is a joint grading of the thesis and the oral examination. The grades are given immediately after the examination.

If you wish to sit for an oral examination as a group, you can apply for this before the study board. You must apply no later than 14 days before the submission deadline.

NB! You must also remember to register on https://aarskort.ruc.dk/  for each semester - even though you already have sumbitted your thesis. If you don't you cannot get the thesis graded.

Thesis report/recommendation

For the thesis you only get one grade. As a rule thesis recommendations are not made. You can - e.g. for the sake of further study (PhD) - ask the supervisor(s) to make a thesis recommendation. The application is met if the reason for this is sufficient, according to the supervisor.

The request is made directly to the supervisor(s) in connection with the submission of the thesis.

A prior recognition

A prior recognition is a document where the examiners undertake that the thesis can be passed.

A prior recognition can in this way substantiate - before the final grading - that you will obtain a Master's degree. This may prove relevant in connection with unemployment benefit. It can also be relevant in connection with obtaining pay on "Master's degree level", when you start working.

You can only apply for a prior recognition if you have chosen a grading solely on the basis of the thesis. You can not get a prior recognition if you choose oral examination.

The application form to get a prior recognition is acquired at the unemployment insurance fund/trade union. The form must be submitted together with the thesis. Together with the form is enclosed a postmarked envelope with your address on. When the examiners have made a prior recognition of your thesis, you will receive the form by post.

After the grading

If you wish to receive unemployment benefit, you must no later than 14 days after you are fully-fledged, join an unemployment insurance fund. This also counts if you have obtained work.

Contact your unemployment insurance fund/trade union for further information about the rules and regulations.

Read more about the unemployment insurance fund, work and career here.

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Study facilities

At ENSPAC there are thesis rooms available in building 12.1, room 45 and 59 and in building 02, room 153. You find the rooms and "reserve a seat" in the room yourself.

Furthermore you can be member of the facebook-group called  ’specialestuderende på ENSPAC’, where you can share good advice and experiences with other thesis students.

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New thesis attempt

If you do not submit the thesis before the deadline and there is no exceptional reason, you will have used one examination attempt. You will then automatically begin a new thesis attempt.

In this situation you must:

• register for the exam in STADS self-service no later than 14 days before the original submisson deadline. (Also if you are not following the original terms, concerning submission deadlines).
• inform the ENSPAC Study administration that you want a new thesis attempt. 
• as soon as possible contact the thesis supervisor(s) and formulate a new thesis statement and a time-frame and also fill in a contract for a new thesis attempt. You will find the contract here.

The contract must be sighed by you and by the thesis supervisor(s) and submitted to the ENSPAC Study adminitration. The new thesis statement and time-frame must be enclosed.

The new thesis statement must be a new one compared to the previous statement. It can however be within the same subject area. The change must place new demands on the thesis which correspond to 3 months thesis work in compared to the previous attempt.

The submission deadline is 3 months after the previous deadline.

You have the right to a 2nd and 3rd thesis attempt.

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Questions

If you have further questions to the thesis work, please contact ENSPAC Studievejledning or ENSPAC Studieadministration.