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In that case, he or she will notify both the Examination Board and the student of this decision in writing. If the student should Thesis Regulations Media Studies: stipulations for writing, supervising and evaluating MA- theses Version 01-02-2012? p. 2 wish to reapply for supervision, he or she will need to submit a written request to this effect to the Examination Board. 8. With regard to the application for thesis supervision, the student is obliged to observe the regulations as laid out in the Thesis Guidelines of the department. 9. In exceptional cases, and at the request of the student, the
Examination Board, or the Master’s coordinator acting as its delegate, may appoint a person from outside of the Department as supervisor. 10. The student will write a research proposal, in the form of a work outline, in consultation with the supervisor. The outline should be drawn up in accordance with the sample for a work outline that appears in Appendix 1, and is subject to the supervisor’s approval. 1 1 . At the onset of supervision, the thesis coordinator, in consultation with the supervisor and student, will appoint a second reader to act as second examiner of the thesis on behalf of he Examination Board.
The second reader is not accountable to the student but is accountable to the supervisor and the Board. The intention is not for the second reader to assume part of the supervisors duties. The second reader may request to see the working outline, but will only be handed the final version of the thesis, approved for evaluation by the supervisor, for speculation (see article 16). 12. The student and the supervisor should agree at an early stage on a deadline for submitting the thesis once the working plan has been approved. The thesis must be completed within one year of the application.
If the student fails to submit the thesis within the time limit, without giving valid reasons and/or prior notice and without consulting the supervisor, the Examination Board may, in response to a proposal by the supervisor, prohibit the student from submitting the thesis for a period of up to three months, to be decided by the Board. A new application for supervision will normally have to be made. 13. The following moments of contact between student and supervisor are essential: a. An introductory discussion of the choice and demarcation of the topic, the literature, the approach, consultation Of experts etc. B. Discussion Of the work outline and how the thesis is to be written; c. A discussion of one or more drafts of the thesis, in the form of a few pages or a chapter/various chapters; d. The student and the supervisor may schedule additional discussions if they wish. The student may be required by the supervisor to write a brief report after each discussion of the thesis. One or more of these reports may also be sent to the second reader as notification, if appropriate, so as to avoid misunderstandings about what has been agreed to and to monitor the student’s progress; e. Discussion of the final version of the thesis, during which the student is informed of the motivation for the proposed final grade. Evaluation 14. The thesis should be submitted for evaluation in duplicate. One copy is for the supervisor, one for the second reader. Since March 1st, 2008, the submission of a digital version of the final thesis, on CD or DVD, to the programmer administration is another requirement. 15. A thesis that has been submitted in a timely fashion will be examined and graded within four weeks.
In exceptional cases, this time limit may be extended by the Examination Board at the request of the supervisor or the second reader. In such a case, the student concerned will be notified of this, and Of the reasons regarding the extension, in writing, and before the expiration of the regular time limit. Thesis Regulations Media Studies: stipulations for writing, supervising and evaluating MA- theses Version 01-02-2012- p. 3 16. The second reader will compile a reading report (comprising h 1 AY page) of the final version of the thesis. On the basis of this report, he or she will propose a final grade.
Both the report and the proposed grade are then submitted to the supervisor. Upon request by the supervisor, the report may also be sent to the student. In the event of diverging opinions on the final grade, the supervisor and second reader will try to reach a compromise. If there are concerns, or if the estimations of the grade differ by more than one point, the thesis shall be submitted for marking to the thesis coordinator, acting as the Examination Board’s delegate. If agreement cannot be reached, the case shall be presented to the Examination Board for adjudication. 17.
The thesis will be evaluated in accordance with the standard criteria for the grading of theses as set out in Appendix 3. The grade shall be determined on he basis of the following criteria (as it nears the latter condition, the grade increases): descriptive and (at least) complying with scientific standards; more than just descriptive, a lucid and critical account with original ideas, analyses and interpretation; unquestionable development of the subject and the theory; of publishable standard. The grade will also reflect the whole process involved in developing and writing the thesis.
Reconsideration 18. If the grade allotted to the student is insufficient in meeting the thesis requirements, the student will be given the opportunity in the next semester/academic year to improve the thesis or complete an additional assignment. This opportunity will only be provided once, and if this revised or augmented thesis is not submitted within the set time limit, it will once again be regarded as having failed to meet the requirements. Improving the final version has consequences for the examination date, the graduation date and also for the registration for the programmer of the student. 9. A thesis that, following revision, does not meet the requirements will have to be replaced with an entirely new thesis. The Examination Board, in response to a proposal by the previous, may decree that the new thesis be based on an assignment. Appeals 20. The student may appeal the grade awarded his or her thesis with the Examination Board. An appeal against the thesis grade may also be lodged with the Examination Appeals Board. The Study Adviser may be approached for further information on this. Publicity 21 .