Master Thesis
The goal of the Master Thesis project is to produce an academic manuscript of the student’s own, original work. The Master Thesis must be a representation of the student’s ability to demonstrate knowledge on any topic covered by the Statistical Science curriculum, and to process this knowledge in a sound manner at academic level.
A separate Master Thesis may not exceed 26 ECTS or 19 weeks full time. The topic may be on a different topic than the Internship, but this is not obligatory. Because the topic of the Master Thesis must be of an academic level, the thesis should be potentially publishable, meaning that, possibly with additional work, parts of the thesis could be submitted to a scientific journal.
A student may start the Master Thesis when the following conditions are met:
The student must have obtained at least 70 ECTS
The student needs to inform the supervisor(s) and the scientific coordinator about courses or resits of exams that need to be taken during the time of the Master Thesis project and these should be indicated on the Internship Agreement Form.
The Master Thesis Agreement form should be completed and signed by the student, the supervisor(s), and the scientific coordinator at least one month before the start of the Internship. This form can be found on Black Board.
During the Master Thesis project, the student should have a minimum of 1 contact hour per week (on average) with the first supervisor. If the first supervisor is not available during a particular period of time, the first supervisor is responsible for finding a temporary knowledgeable colleague. The student should have at least 3 contact hours, during the whole project, with the second supervisor (if any).
During the Master Thesis the student must produce a midway report in week 10 of the Master Thesis. This report should be approved by the first supervisor and sent to the Scientific Coordinator. The Scientific Coordinator and/or the second supervisor may invite the student for more detailed information if deemed necessary.
Before the end of the 20th week or the 90th workday of the Master Thesis the student should hand in the final version of the thesis with the scientific coordinator. The first and second supervisor should agree within two weeks if the thesis is acceptable to allow the student to enter the graduation procedure.
If there are good reasons for extending the duration of the Master Thesis beyond 20 weeks, this should be communicated to the scientific coordinator at least three weeks before the end of the Master Thesis project. The decision for granting an extended period of time is with the scientific coordinator.
The student’s accomplishments will be assessed on the following criteria:
Thesis including the appendices
General working attitude
Presentation of the research group at the site of the Master Thesis project
Final presentation at the Mathematical Institute. The final grade for the thesis will be determined by the graduation committee after the final presentation and defense at the Mathematical Institute.