Completing Your Master's Studies and Your Master's Thesis
During part A, PhD students must finish accumulating Master's degree qualifications equivalent to 90 ECTS points
And write a thesis equivalent to 30 ETCS points or one or more texts which are together equivalent to a thesis at Master's degree level and thus qualify for the award of a Master's degree of 120 ETCS points.
Responsibility for the content of the Master's degree course and for the examinations on this course lies with the relevant board of studies. Responsibility for the overall PhD programme lies with the Graduate School and the PhD Committee.
It is important to note that the Master’s degree programme officially concludes on the day on which the mark for the Master’s thesis is registered.
This means that the PhD student is withdrawn from part A at the end of the month and transferred to the two-year part B, no matter how much time the student might nominally have left in part A.
It is not possible to transfer any remaining time on part A to part B, which means that early assessment of the Master’s thesis de facto results in a shorter total period of study.
Submission of Master Thesis
Part A students must follow the same rules and regulations as all other students who write a Master’s thesis.
This means that the thesis topic and supervision plan must be submitted to Arts’ Studies Administration office (not the PhD Administration office) six months before the transition to part B.
In addition, it is very important that a working thesis title is submitted to Arts Studies Administration at least six weeks before the thesis is turned in so that a co-examiner can be assigned.
Please note that the above mentioned deadlines can vary due to reasons such as ‘leave of absence’, illness, misaligned enrolment start and the like.
4+4 students are not exempted from the study progress reform while enrolled in part A.
Although some procedures for ensuring timely progress for these students are now performed as part of the biannual evaluations, the rules for Master’s degree students must be followed very precisely in connection with the Master’s thesis, in relation to which Arts Studies Administration is responsible for ensuring timely progress through the standard registration procedures.
The Assessment of Master's Thesis
The Master's degree thesis will be assessed with an external examiner according to the 12-point grading scale.
The student is entitled to receive thesis supervision in accordance with the current rules for such thesis.
The texts which are presented for assessment may be draft for one or more of the chapters of the PhD dissertation, other academic texts (e.g. conference papers or working papers), or a number of academic texts connected with the content of the PhD.
In making the assessment, account must be taken of the fact that the work may be in the nature of work in progress as a part of the PhD project.
To make relationship with the PhD project clear, the project description should be submitted with the work.
The principal supervisor will act as examiner for the assessment of the work as a Master's thesis, and as a PhD supervisor for the midway assessment.
The assessment of the thesis must be completed before the end of Part A.
Midway assessment
The midway assessment, giving admission to Part B, will be considered to be passed. When both
The Master's thesis is assessed as passed
The semi-annual evaluation is approved.
Before the semi-annual evaluation is carried out, there will be a discussion of the PhD project among the PhD student, the principal supervisor and the relevant Phd programme director (or a substitute selected by the PhD programme director).
In the case of a two-year enrolment, this will be the fourth semi-annual evaluation. For shorter enrolment periods, it will typically be the third semi-annual evaluation. The semi-annual evaluation must be completed immediately after the midway interview.
Part B of the four-year PhD programme corresponds in its requirements and contents to the final two years of the three-year PhD programme. On passing the Master's degree and admission to Part B, the PhD student will be employed on a PhD fellowship.
Submission of Master’s thesis after enrolment end on part A
If you do not submit your Master’s thesis in time for the Master’s degree to be awarded no later than the last day of enrolment on part A you must apply for leave between part A and part B.
