Professional Documents
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Introduction
General Thesis Information
Thesis: Burden or blessing? ..................................................................
General procedure .............................................................................
Social Science Department
Advice from the Head .......................................................................
Economics ......................................................................................
Sociology ........................................................................................
Political Science ...................................................................................................
Law ...............................................................................................
Geography ......................................................................................
Anthropology ..................................................................................
Psychology ......................................................................................
Science Department
Advice from the Head .......................................................................
Medical Sciences ..............................................................................
Chemistry .......................................................................................
Physics / Mathematics ......................................................................
Life Sciences ....................................................................................
Cognitive Neuroscience .....................................................................
Earth and Environment
........................................................................................
Humanities Department
Advice from the Head .......................................................................
Linguistics .......................................................................................
Art History/Museum Studies ..............................................................
History ...........................................................................................
Religious Studies ..............................................................................
Philosophy ...........................................................................................................
Literature .............................................................................................................
Other Useful Information
From the Writing Center ....................................................................
Who To Contact ...............................................................................
Introduction
by the Academic Student Council 2014-2015
Dear students,
Many UCU students are very focused on achieving a high GPA when it
comes to getting into master programs and acquiring scholarships, but the
thesis is almost as important. Not only because a strong thesis is the best
possible evidence of your academic strength, but also you can use the
process of researching and writing to get access to the academic
community you want to enter, by working in the labs and/or being
supervised by the scholars of your choice. If you choose your topic and
supervisor smartly, you can turn yourself into a person instead of a
number before even applying for a master program.
Getting the best out of your thesis requires solid planning. Of course you
must respect timelines and deadlines, but a good preparation is not only
about logistics. If you want to work on a topic and in an academic
environment that suits your ambitions best, you must be pro-active.
Survey possibilities and dont think that working independently is
synonymous to doing it all alone. Discus your ideas with experts: fellows,
teachers in the field of your interest and ask them for advice. Make sure
that your topic and your research question have matured in repeated
rounds of discussion and reflection before you get started. And make sure
that you are well prepared methodologically by the time you write your
thesis proposal: your work can only be added value academically if it is
methodologically sound.
http://intranet.ucu.uu.nl/index.php?page=research-thesis
Writing Your Thesis in the
Social
Science
Department
Advice from the Head
by Prof. dr. Wil Pansters
Head of Department
Dear student,
You are about to embark on the final leg of your UCU career: the research
thesis. You will do research and write a thesis on a topic that pertains to a
track of your own choice. Of course, you will have to comply with the
requirements and rules that have been put in place for that purpose. The
different tracks within the Department of Social Science all rely on distinct
disciplinary traditions, conceptual legacies, methodological preferences
and research practices. It is therefore highly recommendable to consult
the specific guidelines provided by the fellows. Even so, the department
wants to see that the general rules and procedures are followed across
the board. Procedures and deadlines are there to help you and staff to
organize the entire process in a smooth and fair manner.
The empirical thesis involves data analysis. For a good grade this should
go beyond a few graphs and averages. Some econometrics and statistical
analysis is typically required. Also you usually have to allow for sufficient
time to collect and get to know the data. A theoretical thesis requires you
to build new theory. That will typically involve modeling economic
behavior mathematically. The way to start your thesis is to write a one or
two page description of your main research question and sub questions. A
short literature review (what is the discussion you want to contribute to?)
and explicitly addressing the proposed research method plus a provisional
table of contents is a good format for doing so.
Finally, these are general pointers. You should always feel free to contact
and discuss your plans with the economics teachers. Do not approach
them with: I want to do something with... but give it some good thought
before. I will typically not suggest topics for your thesis but rather will
help you narrow down and whip a creative idea into an executable
research project.
Sociology
by Prof. dr. Frans van Waarden
Sociology Fellow
1. Start early, both with thinking about your topic, and with starting with
the thesis. Dont keep postponing it to the very end. Realize that it is
expected to be much more than a regular course paper, of which you may
have written already so many.
7. Try not to take too large of a topic. The best topics are concrete cases,
which are however expressions of more general issues or major abstract
theoretical issues: social conflict or cooperation, the rule of law,
democracy, violence, etc., etc. The specific problems in your case should
then be derived from the bigger questions; and your findings can feed
back to them.
I.e. in your research you should move back and forth between the abstract
and the concrete. Imagine your project as a sandglass: broad at the top (big
abstract issue) narrow in the middle (your concrete research topic), and
again broad at the bottom (results fed back to the big abstract question).
8. As to methods: distinguish between methods to find and collect data or
information, relevant for solving you mystery; and methods for analyzing
it, e.g. through aggregation, comparison, contrasting, confrontation.
Quantitative analysis is merely a method to see help you see the forest for
the trees - i.e. to see confirmations either of what you expected, your
hypotheses, or discover strange and unexpected combinations - in larger
amounts of data, insights that you cannot so easily see intuitively in such
large combinations of data.
Analysts of the modern world have the opposite problem from historians
and archeologists. Whereas these have to draw large conclusions from
sometimes very limited sources of information; students of the modern
world are confronted with an enormous overkill of information, which
they have to filter and filter, select and combine, in order to solve their
research mysteries. But remember, less obvious collections and
combinations are the ones that can produce new and original findings.
10. Therefore, be aware that a good scholar fits also a third role model: that
of the artist, who is painting new and original paintings, with a certain
message. Social science is a science, yes, but it is also an art. You are at a
Liberal (freely combining) Arts and Sciences College. And though we
seem to keep these separate - even physically in different buildings - be
aware that a scholar is both: he or she follows the rigid rules of scientific
discovery; but should also be an artist, exploring new avenues and making
original combinations
Law
by Dr. mr. Antoinette Hildering
Law Professor
Research Skills
For an elaborate instruction on how to write your bachelor law thesis, see:
Ian Curry-Sumner et al. (2010), Research Skills. Instruction for lawyers,
Ars Aequi Libri: Nijmegen.This (affordable) book provides a guide to, e.g.,
writing a law bachelor thesis dealing with issues such as formulation of
a research question and the structuring of the research.
Getting started
1. Undertake preliminary research on legal topics of your interest. It is
advised to start with a general textbook in the relevant field of law. Make
sure there are sufficient legal sources available on the topic.
Planning
Take into account that a draft thesis will still need a couple of weeks of
revision in order to increase the quality once you have researched and
written all of your chapters. In other words, plan to have the full draft
ready three weeks before the deadline, so that you can receive detailed
feedback and insert your increased understanding of the topic during the
process. Schedule your meetings with your supervisor and agree on when
to submit drafts.
Sources
The use and analysis of legal sources (together with a good formulation of
the problem statement) is key to a successful legal thesis. Make sure to
use and analyse primary sources such as treaties, as well as literature.
Keep your footnotes updated (keeping track of paragraphs of cases and
pages of literature) as well as your list of references (the list of references
can include a heading literature/bibliography, consisting of books and
articles, a heading legal instruments, and a heading cases if applicable).
Structure
The extended thesis encompasses around 12.000-16.000 words (30-40
pages), excluding front page, content, list of references, and footnotes.
Making good use of the book Research Skills will help you to write your thesis
according to law school standards (taking into account the formulation of the
legal problem statement, analysis by legal arguments, structure, content,
layout and the capacity to undertake independent research) and be accepted
as such by, for example, legal Master programs.
Political Science
by Dr. Francesco Maiolo
Political Science Fellow
Preliminary remarks
A BA research thesis in political science can take as its focus a wide array
of topics, reflecting the large variety of questions which political
scientists address and (try to) answer, as well as the different approaches
characterizing the sub-disciplines that form the archipelago called
political science. Regardless of their specific domain(s) of expertise,
the Political Science tracks teachers are experienced and committed to
implementing the LAS educational philosophy. They are prepared to
supervise students who intend to analyze in depth problems of political
relevance in the national and international perspectives. The quality of
a thesis is assessed on the basis of a number of substantive and formal
criteria: formulation of the research question; description of the
topic(s); conceptualization; analytic accuracy; argumentative consistency;
originality and creativity; spirit of independence; methodological
justification; indication of data; bibliography; structure and lay out;
consistent reference; planning and time management; regularity in
submission/discussion of thesis materials. Eventually, the theses will be
jointly evaluated by the supervisor and a second reader, who looks at the
final product and whose identity remains unknown to the students.
The role of the second readers is important. Their assessment is meant
to reinforce impartiality and integrity in the evaluation of the quality of a
thesis.
Practical suggestions
Mostly the theses so far produced in the Political Science track are a
combination of Discourse Analysis and Literature Review. The former is
an interpretative approach that takes as its object discourse: writing,
conversations, and more generally communicative events (formal/
institutional or informal). Mainly this approach has been used in order to
establish socio-psychological or even cultural characteristics of particular
classes of political events or actors. Literature Review is an interpretative
approach whose main goal is producing 'understanding of knowledge',
namely an interpretation of the knowledge contained and presented
in the sources which have been selected. The importance of these two
interpretative strategies is widely acknowledged among students who
are expected to be aware of the fact that there exist three orders of
interpretation: the one provided by the author of a thesis (3rd order) is
normally based upon the interpretation of certain writers and writings
(2nd order), which is in turn based upon the interpretation provided by
certain individuals or groups (1st order). Students are generally
interested in the historical, institutional and comparative implications
and presuppositions of their investigations. Yet, only a few seem to feel
confident enough to dwell upon the empirical dimension of problems
and issues relevant in political science.Given that often they are keen on
presenting considerations of normative character, they have to bear in
mind that even if, in manycases, description is compatible with
evaluation, these two dimensions ought to be clearly distinguished in
the thesis.
In this respect it is important to have a clue of what we are
doing when we perform analysis, critique, and theory. The term
analysis is used to describe the detailed examination of a complex
instance for the purpose of shedding light on its nature, structure and
constitutive features. Being analytic is being able to breaking up a
complex whole into its basic elements. In a research thesis often the
analytic dimension is preliminary to the synthetic dimension. The
term synthesis is used to describe the putting together of parts or
elements so as to make up a complex whole. The analytic dimension
is preliminary to the critical dimension to. Being critical does not
necessarily implies being theoretically destructive. The term critique
denotes the activity of assessing the findings of analysis. Thus being
critical fundamentally means looking at certain results and findings from
different angles.
Finally the term theory in general denotes a conception or a
mental scheme of something to be done, or of a method of doing it.In this
sense the term is used to refer to a systematic statement of rules or
principles to be followed. In a more specific sense, the term theory
describes a set of statements held as an explanation of a group of facts or
phenomena. In this perspective, a theory can thus refer to a hypothesis
that has been confirmed or established by observation or experiment and is
accepted as accounting for the known facts. Originality and creativity are
important, yet not necessarily decisive, assets. All of us want to be both
original and creative. Yet it is difficult to display and assess these features.
The suggestion is not to set aside being original and creative, but, rather, to
be realistic about it. Idealizing originality and creativity by no means
contributes to the success of a research project. The answers to four
fundamental questions underpin the framework of a BA research thesis in
political science: What are you going to do? Why are you going to do it?
How are you going to do it? When are you going to do it? Lets us consider
the indispensable features of a research thesis provided that a curious and
questioning mind is the precondition for research.
1. Different kinds of questions can be at the heart of the research problem
which generates the thesis. In this respect students can enjoy the
advantages (and disadvantages) of a virtually unlimited field of choice.
The research question or problem must be clearly stated.
2. Without a clear statement of its goal(s) the thesis cannot be successful.
3. The research needs to be carefully planned in order to achieve
its goal(s).
4. The research must increase understanding by the presentation
of sound conclusions on the significance of its findings.
5. The conclusions must be supported by analysis, critique
and argumentation.
Finally, these are the basic steps a student should make in order to
present a valid thesis proposal to a supervisor:
a) identify one or more instances which may be seen as problem;
b) explain why what the author sees as a problem is to be seen as
a problem by others;
c) explain what is the relevance of examining the problem
in question;
d) explain how, namely through which method, the problem
in question is going to be examined;
e) clearly declare what the author of the thesis wants to prove
or demonstrate even in a hypothetical or simply not
conclusive form.
Geography
by Prof. Dr. Jan van Weesep
Geography Fellow
A BA thesis in the field of geography may deal with any of a wide array of
topics, reflecting the multitude of questions human geographers try to
answer. The obvious first choice is between two main areas of study
reflected in the geography track at UCU. On the one side, topics flow from
the basis laid by the intermediate level course Development Geography,
on the other side there are various topics in the realms of Economic and
social geography dealing with issues in the advanced economies.
Like in all (social) sciences, you must start your project by writing a
proposal once you have identified the (sub)field that you wish to
explore; always take something that holds some fascination for yourself,
that you are curious about. Try to formulate a general research question,
then specify it in some more concrete sub-questions.
In general, there are a number of ways to define a project. You might have
read about a study that you would like to replicate. In that case, you should
study the original research in detail, and design your own replication. Does it
seem like a realistic plan, or would you need time, money, or subjects that
you do not have? Bring your ideas to the fellow - she will be able to place you
with a particular supervisor. Alternatively, if one of your instructors (or
someone affiliated with the UU) is willing to think of a project for you, jump
at the chance. In this case, visit the psychology fellow once you have a
general idea of what you will be working on.
Once you are registered for your thesis, it is important that you start
working on both parts of the final product immediately. Dont necessarily
try to finish writing your literature review before you set up your study
and collect your data. Meet with your supervisor regularly, especially in
the beginning when you are still fine-tuning your research methods. Aim
to test one or two hypotheses at most.
Ask for explicit feedback on your detailed research proposal before you
start carrying out the work. Plan your data analysis before the data are
in. What are the tests you should (and can) run? If you dont know, ask
your advisor or possibly your statistics teacher for help. Keep a research
diary, logging all your ideas, references, and research efforts in detail.
Start writing rough drafts of all parts of your paper early on, especially
the methods and literature review. Keep the fellow updated, especially
when you run into trouble or unexpected delays.
Science
Department
Advice from the Head
by Prof. dr. Johannes
Boonstra Head of Department
1. Prerequisites for the science thesis are a completed science laboratory
course and at least one 300 course in the field of your choice for the thesis. In
almost all cases the thesis requires experimental work in a research
laboratory. Just a literature review does not meet the criteria of the thesis.
2. In your 5th semester, first week after the break, you go to your tutor
and subscribe for the thesis in Osiris. Make sure to download the forms
for the thesis. The first part needs to be signed by you and your tutor. You
should keep the forms.
4. Next, you make an appointment with the thesis coordinator, this is the
fellow in the science department for the field of your interest. This
appointment should be made in the second half of your 5th semester,
well before the end of the semester.
5. It is strongly advised that you have an idea about the topic of your thesis.
Information about research topics at UU and other universities can be
obtained easily on websites of the research groups. Look at these websites,
so you know what is fascinating for you. In the meeting with the thesis
coordinator you discuss the possibilities of doing the thesis on a topic of your
interest, and you make an agreement in finding a local supervisor. The local
supervisor is a researcher at UU or another research laboratory who is able
and willing to supervise you during the experimental part of the thesis. The
forms are signed under step 2. You have to find the local supervisor yourself;
the thesis coordinator may advise you in this process.
6. If you have a local supervisor, you both agree on the time schedule.
Deadlines are indicated on the forms under step 3 and these deadlines are
official ones which you should meet in order to avoid getting an F for the
thesis. Keep in mind that during the thesis period in the summer, the local
supervisor, the thesis coordinator and you may have a vacation break.
These should be included in the agreements about the deadlines.
Remember also that UCU has a deadline in May to make sure that you
have your diploma in June, and a deadline in August to make sure that
you dont have to pay tuition fees for the next academic year. Meeting
these deadlines is your responsibility.
7. After having agreed on the time schedule, have the forms under step 3
signed by all partners involved, and start working on your thesis as agreed
upon.
8. The original forms should remain with the thesis coordinator, it is advised
that you make copies for your own use and for the local supervisor.
10. The thesis coordinator hands in the forms and one copy of the thesis
to College Hall.
Remember, you are responsible for following the procedure, and you
should take initiative, both with respect to the procedure but also with
respect to the topic of your thesis, finding the local supervisor and
establishing the deadlines.
Chemistry
by Dr. Gert-Jan Vroege
Chemistry Fellow
Chemistry is fundamentally an experiment-based science, so that you have to start
finding a research group before identifying a topic for your thesis research. Within
the chemistry department at UU, research topics range from life science (Bijvoet
Institute for Biomolecular Research) to physical/materials science (Debye
Institute for Nanomaterials Research) and from synthesis or instrumental
techniques to theoretical and computer modeling. Because of the
interdisciplinary character of chemistry, your thesis research may also be
conducted at other UU departments (e.g. soft matter research in experimental
or theoretical physics or medicinal chemistry within the pharmaceutical
sciences), other UU faculties (e.g. veterinary medicine) or external institutions
(e.g. for food research). Any UCU chemistry teacher or the UCU chemistry
fellow (see below) can help or advise you to find a good topic.
The basic outline of your 15 ECTS thesis research depends on the specific topic you
choose. Generally, the first half is used to study and identify background literature,
learn the techniques to be applied in the project and obtain preliminary results, while
the second half proceeds towards solving (or redefining) your research question.
Both in experimental and theoretical research there is a gradual transition
between the 2 stages, but the end of the first half of the project is marked
by producing a literature report and a final research question. Your final
research report is to be written in the format of a scientific paper, the
results of which have to be presented orally.
Up to now experimental chemistry thesis projects have ranged from (bio-) organic
synthesis, design of catalysts, synthesis and spectroscopy of nanoparticles to
investigation of liquid crystals using X-ray scattering at the European Synchrotron
Radiation Facility in France. Computer simulation was used to elucidate structures
of biomolecules from Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, while theoretical models of
novel types of phase separation in a magnetic field were developed in a
collaborative project with theoretical physics.
Physics/Mathematics
by Prof. dr. Christiane de Morais Smith
Physics Fellow, Mathematics Fellow
UCU students can do a Research thesis in experimental or in theoretical physics. In
experimental physics, the possibilities at UU range from the Soft Condensed Matter
group (colloids), which is at the interface with chemistry, to the Nanophysics lab to the
Institute for Marine and Atmospheric research Utrecht, or to the Particle Physics group,
which is a key participant at CERN (Alice project). It is also possible to work on
Astrophysics at SRON, for instance. On the theoretical side, there is an even broader set
of possibilities. During the last years, the theoretical physics theses were on path
integral, super-symmetry, topological quantum computation, econophysics,
meteorology and climate, cosmic-rays, quasi-crystals, physics education, or blue energy,
to cite just a few. The idea is that you try to select a few topics which interest you, and
we will try to find the most appropriate person to be your advisor.
The possibilities for doing a Research Thesis in Math span a large variety of
topics, ranging from Game theory, to group and field theory, Wallpaper patterns,
complex analysis, numerical computations, topology, stochastic systems, or any
other topic that you may be interested. Your choice should also be strategical, to
try to improve your knowledge on some topic that you could be missing, in case
you intend to go for a Master in Mathematics. You could start by contacting your
UCU math teacher and inquiring about possible topics and advisor. In case of
doubt, please refer to the Fellow for help
The basic outline of your 15 ECTS thesis research depends on the specific topic you
choose. Generally, the first half is used to study and identify background literature,
learn the techniques to be applied in the project and obtain preliminary results, while
the second half proceeds towards solving (or redefining) your research question. Both
in experimental and theoretical research there is a gradual transition between the 2
stages, but the end of the first half of the project is marked by producing a literature
report and a final research question. Your final research report is to be written in the
format of a scientific paper, the results of which have to be presented orally..
Life Sciences
by Dr. Fred Wiegant
Life Sciences Fellow
Life Sciences is based on doing experiments and therefore you should
obtain some experience with doing research in one of the many
laboratories you will be able to find in Utrecht (of beyond).
You have to find a field of interest and a research group active in your
field of interest before identifying a topic for your research thesis. In your
choice you could already take into account the Master program you wish
to follow
Details of the following master programs in the field of Life Sciences can
be found on the UU website (The Graduate School of Life Sciences offers
the following research Masters programs: Biology of Disease; Biomedical
Image Sciences; Molecular and Cellular Life Sciences; Cancer Genomics &
Developmental Biology; Drug Innovation; Environmental
Biology; Epidemiology; Infection & Immunity; Neuroscience & Cognition;
Toxicology & Environmental Health).
For further help in finding a topic you can ask other teachers or the fellow.
With respect to the outline of your 15 ECTS research thesis, the first part
is used to identify and study background literature on your topic, learn
the techniques to be applied in your project and produce a state-of-the
art overview of the literature in which your focused research question is
mentioned. The second part is focused exclusively on working in the lab
for about 6 weeks in which you will write a lab journal.
In your thesis project, you will carry out the entire empirical cycle: you will
carry out a literature review, and use this to formulate good research
questions. You will then design the experiment(s), get the set-up ready,
and run the actual experiment(s). Finally, you will analyze the data you
have acquired, interpret the results and write the conclusions in a fully-
referenced research paper. You will need to work with actual research
data. This means that a literature review is never sufficient for a research
thesis in Cognitive Neuroscience!
Preparation
You should have followed the Cognitive Neuroscience I and II courses, and
a level-3 COG course is strongly recommended. Furthermore, courses that
teach research techniques which you can use during your thesis project
are recommended. This includes lab-modules COGL1 Visual Psychophysics,
COGL2 Categorical
Perception, and COGL4 fMRI Data Analysis. Finally, knowledge of statistics
is highly recommended.
Planning
Doing research takes time much more time than you think. Preparation is
key. Start early! Do not forget that your planning will have to depend not only
on when you have time, but also on when your supervisor has time and when
lab facilities and research subjects are available. Familiarize yourself with the
rules on for example how to look for a supervisor
(http://intranet.ucu.uu.nl/index.php?page=research-thesis). Find and
contact your supervisor well before you plan to start, so you will have
time to brainstorm about a research question that interests you and that
is feasible within the duration of your project.
When planning, take into account when you will be busy with exams or
papers for other classes. Unexpected delays always come up make sure
you do not get stuck at the end of the semester with too little time to
write up your thesis.
Humanities
Department
Advice from the Head
by Dr. Sandra Ponzanesi
Head of Department
Inspiration
Think of your thesis as a journey.
If you do not know your destination you risk taking lots of wrong turns
(decisions) and ending up in the middle of nowhere (swamped in your
thesis). However, do not worry too much if your destination has been
reached through a route that is completely different from the one you
had intended. Your journey is more important than your destination.
Doing research must become part of your lifestyle. What you learn
when writing your thesis will be available for your future, no matter what
topic you tackle.
What a thesis is
The process of writing a successful thesis teaches the writer many skills
essential to an academic or professional career as a scholar, civil servant,
writer or professional. You will develop an ability to:
handle large amounts of information and shape it into a single, clear,
and original argument;
plan and create an extended, well-structured written document;
document research accurately;
re-conceive and rewrite chapters in light of criticism from your
supervisor.
How to set up your thesis
1. Find a good Research Question.
2. Define the sub-questions of your investigation.
3. Place your topic within a scientific/theoretical backgroundand
locate yourself within the debate.
4. Why is your contribution essential/innovative/useful? Relevance.
5. How do you intend to answer your research question Research
method.
6. Be clear about your work plan.
7. Be accurate with your bibliographical sources.
8. Final version. Layout/cool off/style/the beauty touch.
Proposal
Before you embark on the full thesis it is advisable to write a short
proposal, consisting of a short essay of 750 - 1000 words. The proposal
should outline the following:
1. The subject and purpose of the thesis. State clearly and concisely
what kind of ideas you will explore, what you seek to prove, what
problem you are raising. In other words, indicate as best you can
at this early stage what you are writing about, what you want to
say about it, and why.
2. Current state of research. Discuss what you know about your topic
at this point, and your familiarity with relevant secondary
resources. Describe what you consider to be original about your
topic in light of what you know has already been said about it.
3. Tentative topical outline. Show how your selection and
arrangement of material fulfils your overall purpose.
4. A preliminary selective bibliography. List the books and other
research materials you will need.
Basic rules
1. Choose an argument/topic that interests you.
2. Stay with an argument you feel comfortable with, but also dare, to
some extent, to explore out of your comfort zone.
3. Rely on sources that are available to you.
4. Choose theories, topics and sources that you understand and know
how to interpret and elaborate upon.
5. Opt for research methods within your cultural background (do not
choose something out of the blue you have no experience with).
6. Your final thesis - worth 15 ECTS - should be about 10,000-15,000
words.
What makes a good topic for your thesis? Youll certainly have your own
interests, favorite art works, artists, periods, and so on. And you are
probably in for some surprises not least from the new angles on art and
museums as part of a Liberal Arts and Sciences education. Think of artists
moves into science (Food Forward); or repatriation controversies
surrounding major artworks (the Parthenon Marbles); or the use of public
art in gentrification projects. LAS students create synergy between art
history and other fields such as history, religious studies, literature,
anthropology, political science, law, and human geography which makes
for original research theses.
Museum visits are an integral part of all the art history courses at UCU:
you will get to see the collections of a number of Dutch art museums.
The Museum Studies courses contextualize art history within the broader
development of the European public museum; and contextualize collections
within the global dynamics of heritage. Site visits are important occasions for
thinking about your research thesis. While literature reviews are a standard
part of any scholarly work, the research thesis goes beyond secondary
sources to engage with primary ones. This means that the collections held
by museums and other heritage institutions, together with their archives,
constitute rich potential sources with which to engage in your bachelor
thesis That engagement is a long-term process that is cultivated by the
AHMS track: as your knowledge of art history develops, so too should
your awareness of collections that could provide concrete case material
for your research. You gain knowledge of the institutions where these
collections are located and you meet some of the professionals
responsible for them during your coursework.
Establish an on-going
dialogue with your teachers
History
by Dr. Jos van der Linden
History Fellow
Advice
Take a topic you are familiar with and in a discipline you are familiar
with. Otherwise you have to start from scratch. For example build on
topics dealt with during courses and/or previous papers.
Take a topic that is relevant for getting into the masters program you
want to apply for.
Is it possible to combine the knowledge you have acquired in different
disciplines?
It does not matter if much research has already been done on your
topic. Take a topic you are interested in.
Start early, if possible in the semester preceding the semester in
which you plan to write your thesis. Try to have a proposal ready at
the end of that first semester, so that you can read a substantial part
of the literature in the break between the semesters.
Prerequisites
Three courses in history (on 100, 200 and 300 level.)
Requirements
Bibliographical research in libraries and in (virtual) archives.
Students must deal with one or more historiographical debates (the
so-called status questionis) on their subject.
Students must develop their own critical views of those debates and
present the necessary arguments and primary materials (with proper
attention to the pitfalls of source materials and secondary materials)
to back up their views.
What is the relevance of the topic for understanding modern history?
Why does the student consider it an interesting topic?
The amount of primary material to be dealt with must be substantial,
to be determined by the supervisor (this very much depends on the
topic).
Length: 10.000-12.000 words; 25-30 pages. (7.5 ECTS: 8.000-10.000
words)
Reading materials: eight or nine books/ articles and source materials.
(appr. 2500 pages) (7.5 ECTS five or six books etc. /appr. 2.000 pages)
The synopsis (strongly advised) (5-7 pages) consists of the same items as
the research proposal, but after having read about a third of the literature
the student is more informed about the research topic and therefore
better able to ask informed/ intelligent research questions. Take care that
the synopsis is in the form of a narrative, not a bullet-like summary.
Students should start writing as soon as possible. In my experience the
research phase and the writing phase cannot be rigorously separated.
Major problems and new issues will arise once the writing has started.
Students then need time to look up information in the literature. Then
they continue writing. New problems again pop up and the literature will
again have to be consulted Reread what you have written regularly in
order to correct mistakes and refine formulations.
the research phase
and the writing phase
cannot be rigorously
separated
Religious Studies
by Dr. Christoph Baumgartner
Religious Studies Coordinator
BA theses in religious studies can be very different. Roughly, three
formats can be (analytically) distinguished with emphases on different
types of research:
Be sensible. That is, do not pick a topic you have never studied in
philosophy. This will increase the workload exponentially. So, pick a
topic in philosophy that you are already familiar with. This will help in
selecting the readings and assessing the merits of these texts.
If you decide on a thesis in this field, think back to what you were
reading in your literature classes, to the writers and theories that you
studied there. Perhaps there was a specific writer that stood out for you
among all others? Or you were intrigued by how literature addresses
cultural or political issues? How Brecht moved his theater away from the
Aristotelian tradition and why? Or how feminist criticism can be voiced
through literature? Perhaps you also found a particular period especially
interesting and want to explore it in more depth. For example, what was
it that realist writers like Flaubert found problematic about Romanticism
and what effect did this have on their novels? Why was the novel their
preferred genre in the first place? Or can the theme
of religious tolerance stressed by writers of the Enlightenment still
be relevant today? Or, on a different note, how does Mary Shelleys
Frankenstein deal with the scientific discoveries of Shelleys time? What
happens when postcolonial novels make use of intertextuality to re-
write the Western canon? And what does postcolonial criticism mean in
an age of globalization? Or, perhaps, you simply always wanted to work
on Shakespeare. Whatever it may be, the thesis gives you the chance to
explore it.
Writing a Bachelor thesis in literature means that you will largely be
working independently, with the help of your supervisor(s). After a first
brainstorm with yourself about a possible topic, an important step to
get started is to discuss your ideas with one of your teachers. Approach
someone whom you would also like to have as your thesis-supervisor. In
this first conversation, you should try to convince your potential
supervisor that your topic has potential, that you can work on
it independently, that it is manageable in the time allotted for it, and that
you have a good idea about which questions you aim raise and discuss in
the thesis. That means you will have to prepare the meeting! For
example,
If you are not certain about these first steps, the track coordinator might
also be able to help you. How to move from a topic of interest to the
draft of a research question? Who could be a potential supervisor?
Once your overall idea for the project has been accepted by a
supervisor, you have to write a proposal for the thesis. This is a crucial
step, as it provides the outline for all further work. Your proposal
should
It is very important that you discuss the proposal with your supervisor
and have it approved by him or her. It is crucial that the proposal, as
well as the thesis of course, comes about in continuing exchange with
your supervisor s/he will advise you on adjustments, corrections,
dead-ends or blind spots, you will bring in your research and critical
analyses; together, this will make a good thesis!
The final product should show that you have been able to delineate a
topic and discuss it with analytic depth. For this discussion, you have
drawn on a representative selection of academic sources, and on the
most relevant and suited literary example(s). Your thesis has been
structured clearly and shows your understanding of the subject.
It gives proof of your skills of academic research and composition, as
well as referencing
A 15 ECTS thesis should be around 10.000-12.000 words and include a
substantial bibliography of around 20 titles (including both literary texts
and academic articles/books). 15 ECTS are roughly the equivalent of 420
hours of work. Proportionally, of this time you should expect to spend:
Make sure that you plan ahead and discuss these steps as well as a
time-line for the thesis with your supervisor at the beginning to ensure
a smooth and enjoyable thesis writing process.
And finally: feel free to contact the writing/skills center for help and
advice in any stage of the writing process! We can help you to develop
research questions or thesis statements, to structure your text, plan the
writing process, and more. Looking forward to hearing from you!
Office: Voltaire Jj
Email: a.a.meijer@uu.nl
Who To Contact
Social Science
Economics Drs. Linda Keijzer l.m.keijzer@uu.nl
Political Science Dr. Francesco Maiolo f.m.maiolo@uu.nl
Sociology Prof. dr. Frans van f.vanwaarden@uu.nl
Waarden
Law Dr. Matthijs de Blois m.deblois@uu.nl
Geography Prof. dr. Jan van j.vanweesep@uu.nl
Weesep
Anthropology Dr. Longina l.a.jakubowska@uu.nl
Jakubowska
Psychology Dr. Christel Lutz c.i.lutz@uu.nl
Science
Cognitive Dr. Hinze Hogendoorn j.h.a.hogendoorn@uu.nl
Neuroscience
Chemistry Dr. Gert-Jan Vroege g.j.vroege@uu.nl
Physics Prof. dr. Cristiane de c.demoraissmith@uu.nl
Morais Smith
Mathematics Prof. dr. Cristiane de c.demoraissmith@uu.nl
Morais Smith
Life Sciences Dr. Fred Wiegant f.a.c.wiegant@uu.nl
Earth & Dr. Maarten Eppinga m.b.eppinga@uu.nl
Environment
Medical Science Prof. dr. Jeen j.r.e.haalboom@uu.nl
Haalboom
Humanities
Art History / Dr. Mary Bouquet m.r.bouquet@uu.nl
Museum Studies
Performing Arts Dr. Mary Bouquet m.r.bouquet@uu.nl
History Dr. Jos van der Linden a.a.m.vanderlinden@uu.nl
Linguistics Dr. Jocelyn Ballantyne j.c.ballantyne@uu.nl
Language & Dr. Jocelyn Ballantyne j.c.ballantyne@uu.nl
Culture
Philosophy Dr. Floris van der f.g.vanderburg@uu.nl
Burg
Religious Studies Dr. Christoph c.baumgartner@uu.nl
Baumgartner
Literature and Dr. Birgit Kaiser b.m.kaiser@uu.nl
Classics
Others
Academic Student Council asc@uu.nl
Writing Center Dr. Annemieke Meijer a.a.meijer@uu.nl
Credits
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