The Bachelor Project is the final part of the bachelor’s degree
The bachelor project is the part of the bachelor programme where you independently document your ability to, in a qualified way, draw up, analyse and address issues within a limited academic subject that reflects the main emphasis of your bachelor's degree.
The bachelor project consists of the following elements:
- Solution to a theoretical, experimental or practical problem
- Bachelor project report, submitted for assessment and part of the bachelor project examination
- Bachelor project examination.
Information about the project
You must yourself (in good time) find a supervisor from the Faculty of Engineering. As a rule, the principal supervisor must be employed by the Faculty of Engineering. Any co-supervisor may be employed by another faculty. All faculty professors, associate professors and assistant professors may act as principal supervisors. PhD students may only act as co-supervisors.
The supervisor is formally responsible for academic supervision during the process and must participate in the concluding bachelor project examination. The role of a supervisor is to supervise during the entire project period through regular dialogue with the student.
If you choose to write your bachelor project in cooperation with a company you may have a supervisor from the company (also known as an external supervisor). In such cases, you must also have a principal supervisor at the Faculty of Engineering. It is the principal supervisor who ensures that the project meets the Faculty standards for a bachelor project.
Cooperation on a project must be based on an agreement between the student(s) and the company. There is no requirement for direct contact between the supervisor(s) and the company. However, it is important that the principal supervisor is familiar with the company’s objectives and how they have contributed to the project.
You may, in connection with your cooperation with the company, receive company data or other classified information, which the company does not want publicised in the bachelor project. In that case the company is likely to ask you to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (abbreviated NDA). An NDA means that your bachelor project will not be publicised.
Read more about NDA/download templates here.
When you submit the bachelor project you must enclose any NDA as a separate, named enclosure to the thesis, also if the NDA is only signed by you and the company. Ultimately it is your responsibility to ensure that SDU is informed of the company’s wish not to publish the bachelor project report.
The bachelor project is usually carried out by 1-2 students. Some study programmes expect that the final project is carried out by two students. In special cases, the bachelor project can be carried out by up to 3 students. This, however, requires special permission by the Head of Programme. In the bachelor project report, it must be stated clearly which parts of the report each student is responsible for.
If you are 2-3 writing the same bachelor project, it is very important that you submit a shared Bachelor Project contract (please see Registration and Bachelor Project Contract below). One of you should start the contract and submit the names of the co-writers as the very first thing. Unfortunately, you cannot add co-authors later on. You may not make separate contracts, if you in fact write the together - if you have separate contracts, you cannot submit the report together.
Registration
You must register for the bachelor project to enter into a bachelor project contract. Registration for the bachelor project takes place at the same time as registration for other courses through Self Service within the registration period. You will receive a letter in your student email when it is time to register. Registration for the bachelor project also means that you are bound by the Faculty’s fixed project period. You must apply the study board for a dispensation by using the application form TECH Other amendments of Final Project Contract, Bachelor Project Contract or Master's Thesis Contract if you cannot keep within the fixed project period. You find more information about the practice of the Study Board on https://mitsdu.dk/en/tek/studienaevn.
NB You must have passed all the courses on the first 4 semesters in order to be allowed to write the bachelor project. If you do not fulfil this prerequisite and still wish to write the bachelor project, you must apply for a dispensation by using the TECH Application of Exemption from Prerequisites. Please note that the practice of the Academic Study Board is restrictive. You find more information about the practice of the Study Board on https://mitsdu.dk/en/tek/studienaevn. Please note that the practice of the Academic Study Board is restrictive.
The Bachelor Project Contract
Once registered you can enter into a TEK Bachelor Project Contract (https://spoc.sdu.dk - > Study Secretariat -> Bachelor project supervisor agreements).
Please note that if you are 2-3 students writing the same project, only one of you can fill in the contract, and must mention the other/s as co-writers from start. Unfortunately, it is not possible for you to add co-writers later on.
You cannot make amendments in the contract once you have sent it for approval. Therefore, please check that all the given information is correct before you click on "Save and send".
The contract will be sent for approval by your possible co-author, Head of Programme and your supervisor. When they have approved the contract, you will receive an e-mail to your SDU-mail confirming this. Should your co-author, Head of Programme and your supervisor reject the contract, it will be returned to you and you can make the suggested changes, after which you can re-send the contract for approval.
The bachelor project contract must be submitted for approval no later than 31 August, if your project period starts on 1 September and no later than 31 January if your project period starts on 1 February. If your study programme has announced an earlier date, you must abide by the submission date announced by your study programme.
Note that finding a subject for the bachelor project and getting started on the project is your own responsibility. Not getting started on the project by semester start does not qualify as an exceptional circumstance which may give grounds for exemption from the submission deadline.
Students enrolled on a programme offered in Danish may write the bachelor project report in either Danish or English. If the supervisor does not speak Danish, the report must be written in English. Students enrolled on a programme offered in English must write the bachelor project report in English.
The bachelor project report must include an abstract in English. If the report is written in English, the abstract can be in Danish. The abstract will be included in the assessment.
The Faculty of Engineering has no overall requirements as to the length of the bachelor project report, by number of characters or pages. Your study programme, however, may have programme specific requirements. Please contact your Programme Coordinator for further information as to programme specific requirements.
The submission deadline is stated in the bachelor project contract. If you have been granted dispensation for a later deadline this deadline will be stated in the letter of dispensation.
The submission deadline is binding. Should unusual circumstances prevent you from submitting the bachelor project on time, you must apply to the Academic Study Board for dispensation for suspension no later than one month before the official deadline. Please refer to the paragraph Amendments to the bachelor project contract below.
The bachelor project report must not contain any civil registration (cvr) numbers, including your own. Instead you must state your name on the front page. If the bachelor project has more authors, all names must be stated on the front page.
The bachelor project report must be submitted electronically in Digital Eksamen, https://digitaleksamen.sdu.dk/. The report must be submitted as one single pdf document. Enclosures must be submitted as separate files. Any NDA must be available in a separate enclosure in pdf format. Should you have any special enclosures which cannot be submitted in pdf format (such as programming code/encoding, film and similar), these enclosures can be uploaded as a single zip-file together with the pdf document. In addition, any large drawings can be submitted in paper format at the relevant secretarial office provided you have a prior agreement with your supervisor.
You can submit only one copy of the report: if you are more students who write together, you must agree in advance who will submit the bachelor project report in Digital Eksamen.
When you submit the bachelor project report, you will be asked to submit the title of your project. It is very important that you submit the exactly same title as the one in your bachelor project contract or an approved amendment of the contract, as the title will be transferred to your diploma. It is obligatory to submit the English title, whereas the Danish title is voluntary.
You and your possible co-students writing the bachelor project together receive a receipt upon the submitted bachelor project in your SDU mail. It is important that you keep the receipt as this is your documentation for timely submission.
All bachelor project reports are checked for plagiarism.
Change of Title or Project Description
If during the bachelor project you learn that the project takes you in a different direction than initially assumed, you can make amendments in the contract. Please fill in the application form TECH Amendment of title or Project Description - Final Project Contract, Bachelor Project Contract or Master's Thesis Contract (https://spoc.sdu.dk -> Study Secretariat -> Other forms).
You must have submitted the application re. change of title or project description before you submit your bachelor project report.
The changes must be approved by your supervisor. Once this is done, you will be notified by an e-mail.
As a main rule, the approval of change of title or research question does not qualify for dispensation as to submission deadline.
Other Changes (eg. Postponement of the Submission Date)
You must apply the Academic Study Board for dispensation if there are other changes that affect the bachelor project contract, such as the need for postponement of the submission deadline. Such changes must be based on exceptional circumstances. You can apply for the dispensation by using the application form TECH Other amendments of Final Project Contract, Bachelor Project Contract or Master's Thesis Contract (https://spoc.sdu.dk -> Studyboard - > Dispensation).
Applications for dispensation for changes in the thesis contract must, as a basic rule, be received by the Academic Study Board no later than one month before the submission deadline.
Change of Supervisor
If your supervisor changes of one reason or another, please ask your programme coordinator to confirm that the change of supervisor has been approved by the study programme, to the secretariat of the Academic Study Board.
The bachelor project examination is held within 6 weeks from the date of submission of the bachelor project report.
Usually the exam starts with a presentation of the bachelor project. Following the presentation students are examined on the report and the presentation.
In addition to the supervisor(s), an external examiner will be present at the exam as assessor. The exam will be graded according to the 7-point grading scale based on an overall assessment of the bachelor project report and the oral examination and the student will receive the grade immediately after the exam.
Assessment of the bachelor project report is especially based on its academic content. Spelling and wording (regardless of language) are included in the assessment with limited weight unless there are significant deviations from common academic language. Relevant documented disabilities may lead to exemption from this rule.
If you fail to meet the submission deadline for the bachelor project you will use an examination attempt and you must register for teaching classes and examination in the following semester; sign a new bachelor project contract and write a new bachelor project with a new title and project description. Please note that you, in connection with your second examination attempt, cannot expect to receive supervision to the same extend as during your first attempt. You can get a third attempt according to the same rules as apply to the second attempt.
If you fail the bachelor project exam you must, as a rule, register for the re-examination in accordance with the regulations stated in your curriculum regarding re-examinations. Your supervisor will give you a new submission deadline with the opportunity to improve the bachelor project report as well as a new exam date. If you fail to register for re-examination you must register for teaching classes and examination in the following semester; sign a new bachelor project contract and write a new bachelor project with a new title and project description. Please note that in that case you cannot expect to receive supervision to the same extend as during your first attempt.