Admission requirements
For master students of Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences only. The student has successfully completed Research Project 1 (including thesis and oral presentation). Also the practical work of the Research Project 2 needs to be completed for the larger part. At least 1 month BEFORE the anticipated start of Research Project 2 the student should complete the application form in ProjectMAP (see “Registration” below for details).
Description
After 24.5 weeks of practical work for Research Project 2, the student will start writing his/her thesis. The thesis allows the student to demonstrate his/her competence to critically and systematically integrate the knowledge obtained during Research Project 2 in a comprehensive and concise report written in academic English. In general, the thesis contains the following components: public summary, abstract, introduction, materials&methods, results, discussion, conclusion, and references and is expected to be completed in approximately 3.5 weeks.
In general draft versions of the thesis should be evaluated minimally once and maximally three times before a final mark is provided, thereby allowing the students to optimize the thesis based on supervisor feedback. Guidelines are available on the Brightspace module ‘MSc Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences’.
Course objectives
At the end of the course, the student
can write a coherent, well-argued, and logically structured scientific report about his/her research
can write a well-structured introduction section covering relevant scientific literature and with a clear problem definition.
can write a concise materials&methods section with appropriate details allowing others researchers to repeat the experiments.
can write a coherent results section in which data are presented in clear figures and/or tables and results are systematically described, highlighting the most relevant observations for addressing the research problem
can write a well-argued discussion section with proper data interpretation and placement of the research findings in the broader perspective of the scientific literature.
can write in grammatically correct Academic English with appropriate register and use of sentence structure and paragraphs.
Timetable
Research Project 2 can be conducted throughout the academic year. It takes 24.5 weeks of 40 hours a week, including 21 weeks for practical work and 3.5 weeks for writing the thesis.
Mode of instruction
Self-tuition, tutoring
Assessment method
The level at which the student has reached the course objectives during the conduction of his/her Research Project 2 will be assessed, based on the evaluation criteria as laid down in the Research Project 2 Assessment Form. The final grade is expressed using an integer between 1.0 and 10.0 and can be rounded off/up to a half integer, with the exception of the grade 5.5. The final grade should be ≥6.0 to successfully complete this course.
During Research Project 2, the progress of the student is evaluated two times (in week 12 and 25). The (daily) supervisor is responsible for this evaluation process and is obliged to fill out the evaluation form and discuss the progress with the student. In case a student is graded "insufficient" for one or more of the evaluated parts of the Research Project 2 practical work in week 12, a plan of action is made with agreements on how to improve these parts in order to reach a sufficient level. Please note that in case the final assessment of the Thesis and/or Oral Presentation of Research Project 2 is graded as "insufficient", the student may rewrite the Thesis and/or retake the Oral Presentation based on the feedback of the supervisor/examiner. Please note that in case the final grade of the Practical Work of Research Project 2 is graded as "insufficient", the entire Research Project 2 will need to be conducted again, including the Thesis and the Oral Presentation, under supervision of a different daily supervisor and first examiner.
Reading list
During Research Project 2, the student is expected to get up-to-date with the relevant scientific literature in the subject area of drug research.
Registration
BEFORE the start of Research Project 2 the student should get approval:
1. Start the process by completing the application form for Research Project 2 in ProjectMAP, including a) details of the host institute, b) description of the research project, c) a list of publications related to the project of the research group, and d) if applicable, signed agreement with host institute.
2. the on-site supervisor at the host institute and the internal supervisor (mandated by the Board of Examiners of the master Bio-Pharmaceutical Sciences) receive a link to the application for approval
3. upon approval by the on-site and internal supervisor the application will be forwarded to the BPS Programme Director for final approval.
Note: without completion of point 1 and 2 and without final approval (point 3) in ProjectMAP the student will not be allowed to start!
Registration for the course via MyStudyMap is not needed.
Contact
For general information about the Research Project 2, please contact the study advisor (studyadvisorBPS@lacdr.leidenuniv.nl).
Remarks
Every semester, there is a theory lecture scheduled where information about the Literature Study and the Research Project 2 is discussed. Please check My Timetable for the dates using the code 4323LISTTH group 101 (semester 1) or group 102 (semester 2). Application via My StudyMap for these theory lectures is mandatory.
Attendance of the theory lecture prior to starting the Research Project 2 is advised, but not mandatory.
This information is without prejudice. Alterations can be made for next year.
Software
Starting from the 2024/2025 academic year, the Faculty of Science will use the software distribution platform Academic Software. Through this platform, you can access the software needed for specific courses in your studies. For some software, your laptop must meet certain system requirements, which will be specified with the software. It is important to install the software before the start of the course. More information about the laptop requirements can be found on the student website.