Thesis

You must complete the Research Master's program by writing a Research Master's thesis (30 EC) based on original research.

A Reseach Master's thesis is a scholarly text in which you are expected to contribute, on the basis of independent research, to a debate within your sub-discipline. In your thesis, you must develop a sustained analysis of a focused philosophical problem.

The central research question, to be determined in consultation with your thesis supervisor, should be clearly formulated at the beginning and its relevance to scholarly discussions within the discipline set out. The body of the text should explicate and defend your approach, your findings, and your overall argument in favor of your central claims. In your conclusion you should analyze your findings in the light of your original question and explain the broader implications of your conclusions.

The thesis should be written in correct and clear English.
It will normally be 16.000 to 32.000 words long and may not exceed 40.000 words (including notes and bibliography).

Click below for a list of titles of RMa theses from the past (for inspiration):

Click here for some useful insider's tips on writing a thesis, including how to find a supervisor, by Samuel van Bruchem.

Supervision and assessment

The thesis will be assessed and graded by the supervisor and two other readers. At least one of the assessors should not have been involved in the supervision of the thesis writing and at least one should come from outside of the supervisor’s research group. The composition of the assessing committee must be approved by the Programme Coordinator.

Your Research Master's thesis will be evaluated using a standardised assesment form.

Fraud and plagiarism

You are expected to be familiar with and to observe the norms and values that ensure academic integrity.

Therefore, when you start writing your thesis you will have to hand in a plagiarism rules awareness statement. With this, you declare to know about and abide by the norms and rules on fraud and plagiarism of Utrecht University. When your professor or supervisor suspects fraud or plagiarism, they will notify the board of examiners.

More information and useful links
  • Course Catalogue Link and course code: FRRMV17008
Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License