Admission requirements
Media Technology MSc students
Description
The Media Technology MSc Thesis project is generally the completing curricular element for students. In short, graduates complete an academic study, from start to finish, that derives new knowledge, insights or views. The results of this project are described in the written thesis, and possibly other products.
Graduates are supervised by two thesis advisors. The principle advisor is assigned at the start of the project, while a secondary advisor is selected by the graduate and first advisor. Generally, the principle advisor is from the Media Technology MSc program, whereas the secondary advisor is external.
Each student chooses an individual topic or theme on which they would like to graduate. They then formulate their own scientific question and setup a research to answer it. Personal inspiration can play a large role in coming up with a research question, and creativity is typically required to answer it. Some graduation projects create a "product": something that can be experienced — seen, smelled, tasted, touched or heard; ranging from an interactive object to a piece of software, book, or film. Others are an empirical study or design study. The Media Technology MSc program is open to a great variety of research forms.
The research motivation, context, and outcomes are described by the student (also) in written form, the thesis. Although the thesis too can take many forms, like a book or an essay, it most often is in the style of a scientific-style paper, that could be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal or conference (in principle, or in fact).
Another part of every graduation project is the graduation presentation, which is generally a 25 minute (conference style) presentation, followed by a discussion. These are given by the graduate within public sessions that are planned throughout the year (see the Media Technology MSc program calendar).
See also the list of completed Media Technology MSc theses.
Course objectives
Completion of the Media Technology graduation project implies that students are able to:
work as an independent, autonomous researcher;
formulate a meaningful research question that adds knowledge to an academic field, or alternatively creates a new insight based on academic research;
situate this question within existing research from that academic field;
design and execute a (typically creative) method to answer this question––this involves suitable ways of generating/collecting research insights/data, and analysing these such that relevant conclusions can be drawn;
formulate the answer in the form of a scientific-style paper, potentially accompanied by other forms of output;
share and discuss research research insights with academic peers as well with a broader audience during the graduation presentation.
Timetable
In MyTimetable, you can find all course and programme schedules, allowing you to create your personal timetable. Activities for which you have enrolled via MyStudyMap will automatically appear in your timetable.
Additionally, you can easily link MyTimetable to a calendar app on your phone, and schedule changes will be automatically updated in your calendar. You can also choose to receive email notifications about schedule changes. You can enable notifications in Settings after logging in.
Questions? Watch the video, read the instructions, or contact the ISSC helpdesk.
Note: Joint Degree students from Leiden/Delft need to combine information from both the Leiden and Delft MyTimetables to see a complete schedule. This video explains how to do it.
Mode of instruction
Thesis MA. See also the related course "Graduation Lab" of the Media Technology MSc programme.
Assessment method
The thesis, project execution, presentation, and other output will be assessed by at least two examiners, in accordance with the guidelines of the LIACS Board of Examiners.
Reading List
Registration
As a student, you are responsible for enrolling on time through MyStudyMap.
In this short video, you can see step-by-step how to enrol for courses in MyStudyMap.
Extensive information about the operation of MyStudyMap can be found here.
There are two enrolment periods per year:
Enrolment for the fall opens in July
Enrolment for the spring opens in December
See this page for more information about deadlines and enrolling for courses and exams.
Note:
It is mandatory to enrol for all activities of a course that you are going to follow.
Your enrolment is only complete when you submit your course planning in the ‘Ready for enrolment’ tab by clicking ‘Send’.
Not being enrolled for an exam/resit means that you are not allowed to participate in the exam/resit.
Contact
Contact the lecturer(s) for course specific questions, and the programme coordinator for questions regarding admission and/or registration.
Remarks
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.