Note this is a student written article and in no way represents the thoughts and feelings of the Radboud or the Master Thesis lab etc. Obviously this information may or may not be in sync with the Official rules and procedures so be warned.
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At the Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen the Master Thesis Project (afstuderen) is run under the auspices of the Master Thesis Lab (MTL). The MTL is thought of as a student lead research institute in which the students are working on their Master Thesis Project. The MTL itself helps with the projects organisation and planning. In essence the lab acts as a shim between the education authorities within the faculty and the students. The website itself contains information regarding what students are supposed to do in order to complete the thesis however this is primarily aimed at non-kerckhoffs students. This page should hopefully provide a more Kerckhoffs Student centric view of this process and help the Nijmegen based Kerckhoffs students.
As most dutch students know there are two types of project that a student can do, they are:
More information can be found here.
According to the MTL website the standard procedure is:
The hardest part of this masters thesis is to find a suitable supervisor and topic. You do not want to be stuck with ones that you do not like. As mentioned above for external projects you must have supervisors based at both locations. In all cases the Radboud based supervisor is the head-honcho and must be a professor either full, associate or assistant. It has been known for the head-honcho to pass the day to day role to their postdocs, so be warned. Examples of various external and internal projects can be found online at the following locations:
More information relating to finding a supervisor can be found here.
In order to register for the MTL you need to submit some physical documentation to the afstudeercoordinator. This is to simply ensure that you able to participate in the MTL. The required documentation is a copy of your collegekaart (Matriculation Card) together with:
For those doing an external project they must also include:
More information can be found here.
Typical of the Netherlands there are various rules that you need to be familiar with. These are the rules of:
This is to ensure that you can finish your studies smoothly. The other set of rules are those of:
More information can be found here.
If you are going to be a local student you can reserve space in the afstudeerproject kamer based within the department. This will require reservation or you can ask Studi5 (whoever they are).
More information can be found here.
This is simply your project proposal that states, what the problem is, how you want to solve the problem, literature review and a global overview of your plan. More information can be found here and examples of previous plans can be found here.
Enough said. The MTL does offer some hints and tips.
To finish your Master Thesis and then attempt the master exam there are four steps you need to do or start doing at least two weeks before you intend to try for the masters exam. These steps are assuming that you have finished writing your thesis.
Simply contact the Teaching Office aka R. Westerman and ask for one. This needs to be displayed on the front page of your thesis.
Once the thesis has been completed, spell checked, grammar checked, copy-edited, double checked, triple checked and you have gotten your other half to check it, you need to hand in several bounded copies, one to the Teaching Office and the rest to your supervisor. The supervisor will specify how many copies they want. You must also send in an electronic copy together with an executive summary to the afstudeercoordinator which will then be published on the MTL website.
Once the thesis has been handed in you then need to give your final presentation. The important things to remember are:
Of note they (the MTL) mention that the masters presentation is around forty minutes that is 35 minutes for talking and five for questions.
Once you have performed your presentation and received a grade you can then register for the master exam with the FSA.
Good Luck!!
A few hints and tips...
TODO
While there is generally no constraint on how long one must take to perform their master thesis generally the Kerckhoffs program has stipulated that the last semester of the master programme is reserved for it. Unfortunately as many Nijmegen students will know that is not necessarily the case that the final semester will be free and that you may be doing extra courses, resits or you are out of sync with the desired program, during that time. Moreover this time has been allocated for the actual research component itself and does not include the prerequisite planning stages that must be performed i.e. the project plan and previous steps.
It is advisable that the Nijmegen students take the extra time in the second half of the third semester due to Twente's eight week courses to start the planning stages. Hence enabling the student to have a 'flying start' at the beginning of the final semester.
Taken directly from the MTL website:
After your final presentation, you can register for the Master Examn at the Facultaire Studenten Administratie (FSA). Convince yourself that you understand all the rules of the FSA. It is very important that you understand all rules, because otherwise you may be too late. For example, if you want to finish your study before the end of August, you must formally arrange this at the FSA in May or perhaps even in April. In that case, you can register for the Master Examn before you have done your final presentation. But let it be clear: the MTL-website provides no information about the FSA rules! There is a bulletin board outside the FSA office describing all rules! If something is not clear, go to the FSA and ask your questions!
This really just says watch your timing so that you are not rushed when finishing your project and then participating in the Masters Exam and remember to register in time for the exam as well.