Here you find the general principles and deadlines associated with master thesis writing.
The regulatory and practical framework for the Master's thesis writing is as shown in the time schedule below. Like all courses, the Master’s thesis is governed by a course description. In the event of any conflict between this information and the course description, the course description is the higher authority.
You should pay special attention to the following:
- You must develop a plan for the Master's Thesis by the end of the semester before you start writing your thesis.
- It is an exam condition that you submit your supervision contract in due time so it can be approved by the 15 August (if for any special reason you will write your dissertation in a fall semester) or the 16 January (if you will write your dissertation in a spring semester). Should you miss the deadline, you will automatically fail the first of three exam attempts. You will get two more opportunities to get your supervision contract approved within a narrow timeframe, but you are at risk of using your remaining two exam attempts if you do not submit the supervision contract in due time.
More specifically, you are expected to make choices regarding the topic of the Master's thesis and a possible supervisor when you enroll in the ‘course’ “Master thesis” using the usual course registration. The department will assist you through info meetings, thesis writing seminars and the like.
Activity |
Deadlines – thesis writing in fall semesters |
Deadlines – thesis writing in spring semesters |
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1. Course enrollment - master thesis |
Usual time limit for course regsitration: |
Usual time limit for course registration: |
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2. Register idea on topic and possible supervisor |
Deadline: |
Deadline: |
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3. Final assignment of supervisors |
Deadline: |
Deadline: |
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4. Digital supervisor contract with research question and supervision plan must be approved |
Deadline: |
Deadline: |
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5. Submit Master's thesis |
Deadline:January 2nd |
Deadline: June 1st |
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6. Grading finished – available at Self Service |
Deadline January 31st |
Deadline June 30th |
You need to prepare for the Master's thesis in your third semester.
According to the curriculum, you are expected to write the master's thesis in your fourth semester, after you have successfully passed a minimum of 60 ECTS worth of classes. In practice, this means that you have to think carefully about the thesis during the third semester.
If for any special reason you write your thesis in a fall semester, then you must start to think about your thesis in the semester prior. The reason for this is that you – before the end of the third semester – must have enrolled in the ‘course’ master thesis and at the same time submitted information about thesis topic and possible supervisor.
Shortly after your application, you will be assigned a supervisor and supervision can begin. In cooperation with your supervisor, you must fill in the supervision contract which is to be approved by the supervisor and the Head of Studies no later than the 16 January. If you miss this deadline, you will have spent one of three exam attempts for the master's thesis.
Sounds complicated? Below, we have made an overview of how you get safely through all steps in the process:
The thesis supervisor agreement can be found here
When you have finished the initial three semesters of your master's study, you are ready to enroll in the ‘course’ master thesis using the normal course registration procedure.
There are two conditions, however: one is that you have passed at least the first semester and an additional 15 ECTS points, and the other is that you must be enrolled in (or have passed) 30 additional ECTS. If you do not fulfill these conditions, you must also consider that there is a time limit for the maximum length of your master’s study. You must start writing your thesis no later than on the 5th semester, as your study will be terminated if you have not started the Master’s thesis within 2 years and 6 months after you began.
You must enroll in the ‘course’ “Master Thesis” in May, if you wish to write the thesis in the fall semester – and in November if you wish to write the thesis in the spring semester. The course registration enrolls you in the exam as well, and you can neither deregister from the ordinary exam nor from any re-exam you might need.
It is a new demand that you register information on the topic of your dissertation and your preferred supervisor by 2 June (if for any special reason you write your dissertation in a fall semester) or 2 December (if you write your dissertation in the spring semester).
Earlier submissions are also welcome, but only students enrolled in “Master thesis” will get a supervisor assigned. A digital form has been created and you can have access to it here. If you are to write the thesis together with a peer, the two of you need to fill in a joint form.
It is important to note that the Head of Studies assigns supervisors based on the information you submit about your topic and preferred supervisor. Supervision capacity is limited, though. Not all first preferences for supervisors can be granted, even if the supervisor has agreed to supervise you. The more information you provide in the digital form, the better your chances of getting the most qualified supervisor will be.
It is in your interest that you define your topic in a fairly precise way and include some thoughts on the contents of the thesis and the methods to be applied in the digital form. If you don’t write anything, a supervisor will be assigned to you randomly.
You can find a full list of supervisors and their research interests here.
You will receive information about your assigned supervisor no later than June 15 (for those writing in fall semester) or 15 December (for those writing in spring semester) via an e-mail sent to your SDU student-mail. It is your responsibility to check your email and contact the supervisor as soon as possible to prepare the supervision contract.
The supervisor contract is to be filled in on the basis of a discussion between you and the supervisor. You need to reach agreement on a research question and a supervision plan. This requires the following:
When you are ready to include these elements in the digital supervision contract, then you can complete and submit the contract for approval. When you have filled in the form, this is automatically passed on to your supervisor and to the Head of Studies for approval.
In case you do not submit the supervision contract in time or it is not approved before the deadline, you will not be able to submit your master's thesis and you will have spent an exam attempt for your master's thesis. If you find yourself in this situation, you will have to follow the guidelines on what to do next included in the course description and precisely in the section under ‘Examination conditions’.
When you have submitted the supervision contract and this is approved, you can move on with the master's thesis in accordance with the supervision plan. The criteria for assessing the thesis are specified in the course description, and specifically in the section on ‘Goal description’.
When the Master’s thesis is received, it is passed on to the supervisor and an external examiner for grading.
Should you not be able to submit the Master’s thesis in time, you will have to follow the guidelines included in the course description, in the section ‘Time of examination’ regarding second or third attempt.
The Master’s thesis will be graded using an external examiner and the 7-scale. Grading must be finished no later than one month after submission, i.e., no later than 31 January (for those writing in fall semester) or 30 June (for those writing in fall semester). The grade will be published in the Self Service as for any other exam.
Since the deadline for grading only is a month after submission it is not possible to give pre-approval of the thesis.
If the Master’s thesis is the last exam in your study, you will receive the diploma after the grading is complete by ordinary mail. Each year the department celebrates the graduates of the study programs and you will be invited to participate. To be able to send you the invitation to the conferring ceremony, you will be asked for your private e-mail-address when you will submit your thesis.
You cannot demand an explanation of your grade. However, if you request it, the supervisor can agree to give oral feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of your thesis. Your request of feedback should be submitted directly to the supervisor no later than a month after the grading.
If your master's thesis is graded as ‘failed’ (graded -03 or 00), then you should follow the guidelines included in the course description, in the section ’Time of examination’ regarding second/third attempt.
The thesis is expected to be 60-80 pages and it must not exceed 192.000 keystrokes (80 pages of 2.400 keystrokes including spaces and footnotes/ end notes, but excluding abstract, table of contents, appendices and bibliography). The number of keystrokes must be indicated on the front page. Thesis written by two students must not exceed 312.000 keystrokes (130 pages of 2.400 keystrokes). If the thesis has more than one author, the students are individually responsible for an explicitly specified part of the thesis. All authors share responsibility for the introduction, the summaries and the conclusion.
The thesis should be provided with an abstract (in English). The abstract should be no more than 2 pages. The content of the abstract is included in the overall assessment of the thesis.
The front page should have: Number of keystrokes, name and date of birth, name of your supervisor and his/her department and the title of your Master's Thesis in English.
Please contact the academic student advisor
Christine Pedersen
Academic Student Advisor, Kommunikation og Uddannelse Master in International Security and Law Master in Comparative Public Policy and Welfare Studies
E-mail: spoc.sdu.dk -> counselling center -> contact academic advisor
Phone (during office hours): +45 6550 3350
The location of the student advisor’s office is the same location as Student Information Point