Graduation Research, MSc Earth Sciences

Course goals

Content

There are different ways to find an MSc project. MSc projects supervised by staff from the Department of Physical Geography are published in February. Students can apply for these projects following the instructions on the document. For projects at the Department of Earth Sciences, students are encouraged to take the initiative in talking to the academic staff members about possible research topics.
 
The MSc thesis is an individual product that is accomplished by a single student under supervision of a staff member. MSc Research projects can be done in collaboration with other students, but only under the condition that each student works on the basis of an individual problem statement and that the individual performance (and individual thesis) of each student can be properly judged by the supervisor. Together with a thesis supervisor, the student selects a suitable topic of interest that fits within, or has strong links with, one of the Earth Sciences programmes. The topic could be theoretical or practical, could include fieldwork and/or lab-work and/or computer-based simulation/modelling. The university does not provide any financial compensation for the research components: costs (e.g. fieldwork or laboratory analyses) are in principle for the committed research group.
 
For all MSc thesis projects, a permanent member of the scientific staff of the department of Earth Sciences or Physical Geography is responsible for the supervision and research assessment. Postdocs and PhD-students may be involved in the daily supervision. It is possible that the thesis project is performed at another academic or non-academic institution. In this case, a staff member at the host institution will be in charge of the daily supervision who is typically then also the second supervisor. If the project does not involve a second supervisor, a second reviewer has to be assigned to the project. Typically, the second reviewer is only involved in the assessment of the MSc research. However, the second reviewer takes over the responsibilities of the first supervisor if necessary.
 
Apart from the different research activities and steps to achieve the objectives of the MSc Research project (e.g., literature review, fieldwork, labwork, data analysis, computer modelling, thesis writing), which will be discussed with and monitored by the supervisors, the MSc research project encompasses a series of administrative steps for registration and monitoring purposes as part of the quality assurance of the Earth Sciences master programmes. For this, the Osiris Case digital platform is used.

If the student and supervisor agree upon the MSc research project, it needs to be registered and submitted for approval to the Teaching Institute, before the project is started. An MSc thesis project agreement form needs to be filled out, signed by both student and first supervisor, and submitted in Osiris Case. A template of the agreement form can be found in the MSc Research project guidelines, which is available in the Master Earth Sciences Thesis community on Brightspace.
 
In case that the MSc project involves fieldwork, the proposal also includes the signed Declaration regarding safety and behavior during excursions and fieldwork. This form is also available in the Master Earth Sciences Thesis community on Brightspace. Note that assessing the risks of the planned MSc fieldwork and discussing these risks with the student is the task of the supervisor and part of the safety procedure.
 
 
During the MSc project, it is expected that the student does all in his/her power to fulfill the commitments agreed on in the MSc agreement and to ensure the progress of the project as planned. A delay in finalizing the MSc project of more than four weeks after the intended ending date has to be reported and justified by the student to the Teaching Institute by making a change request in Osiris Case. 
 
 
At the end of the MSc project, the student presents his/her results in a public oral presentation, which contributes to the final grade of the MSc thesis project. After sufficient feedback and discussion, the student uploads a final version of the thesis in OSIRIS Case for assessment. The final version thesis will be automatically checked for plagiarism. The supervisor and second reviewer will then assess and grade the thesis using the standard MSc Thesis Rubric Earth Sciences (see the Master Earth Sciences Thesis Brightspace Community for a pdf copy of this assessment form). The assessment of the MSc research project consists of three components: the MSc thesis, the oral presentation, and the process. The assessment of the MSc thesis counts 70% towards the final grade of the MSc Research project, whereas the oral presentation counts 10% towards the final grade. The assessment of the execution of the project (process) makes up the remaining part (20%) of the final assessment of the MSc research project. If the final grade is 8.5 or higher, or if the final grade is less than or equal to 6.0 and greater or equal than 5.5, a third reviewer is required, who supports this final result.
 


Further information about the procedure and the required forms can be found in the Master Earth Sciences Thesis community on Brightspace via: (https://uu.brightspace.com) .