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Thesis Seminar Nationalism, Ethnic Conflict and Development - Fall 2026 (February 2026 intake)

Course
2025-2026

Description

Students choose (one of) the thesis seminar(s) offered within their specialisation. It is strongly recommended that students start thinking about the topic of their thesis before the start of the classes. Attendance is compulsory for all classes. Detailed information about the study material and the writing process can be found on Brightspace.

Course Objectives

Objective 1: To deepen the understanding of theories and methods related to research on the theme of the Master Specialisation.
Objective 2: Applying them to a specific topic as part of the student’s Master thesis project.

General information session

See 'Information and Deadlines' for the time and date of the information session.

Thesis seminar Themes:

Theme 101: TBA

Additional Information

Please note that for some seminars there will be no additional substantive readings than the ones discussed in the courses they build on.

Registration

See 'Information and Deadlines'.

Examination

The thesis seminar is composed of a research proposal (first 8 weeks) and a thesis (remaining of the course). The research proposal ensures that the student is on the right track to carry out the research and write the thesis. It must be approved by both readers (see below), but is not awarded a grade. The grade of the thesis corresponds to 100% of the grade of the thesis seminar.

Research Proposal

The research proposal includes a problem statement, theoretical foundation, conceptualization as well as a sound explanation of the methods and techniques for data collection and analysis. The proposal must be approved by the supervisor and a second reader. The second reader will be designated by the Director of Studies. Please note that teachers are not obliged to provide thesis supervision if the proposal is not approved. The research proposal is not graded, it receives only a pass/revise/fail evaluation.

Master Thesis

The MSc thesis needs to comply with high standards of academic research. The formal requirements of the Master thesis are stated on the page ‘Thesis seminar information and deadlines’. The thesis evaluation form with the evaluation criteria will be published on Brightspace.

Students that drop or fail the course have to retake the complete thesis seminar (in the 2nd semester of the next academic year). Students should contact the Exam Committee if they are unable to complete the master thesis by the deadline due to circumstances beyond their control.

Timetable

See 'MyTimetable'.