Department of Biomedical Sciences

Info meeting for Masters thesis for class 25 of the

Human Biology study programme
Thorkil Ploug, M.D.
Director of Studies for Human Biology

Department of Biomedical Sciences

Disclaimer
What is presented at this info meeting only applies to Class 25.
For Class 26 starting September 2014 the regulations governing the
thesis work are expected to be somewhat different due to the Study
Progress Reform (Studiefremdriftsreformen).

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Department of Biomedical Sciences

Main guidelines for thesis work

1. Your final exam must be completed within 3 years from the
study programme commencement date
2. Your written thesis must be submitted to the exams office
no later than 10 months from the thesis initiation date
stated in the thesis contract
3. The thesis initiation date stated in the thesis contract may
either be September 1st, December 1st, February 1st or June
1st during the second year of the study programme
4. The thesis contract should be online submitted no later than
1 month prior to the initiation date stated in the contract
5. No later than one month prior to submitting your thesis you
must submit the online document Final titel

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Department of Biomedical Sciences

Subject specific 2013 Curriculum for the Masters

programme in Human Biology effective from
September 1st, 2014 and public published on May
1st, 2014.
12 Masters thesis
During the 3rd and 4th semester of the programme students must
complete their masters thesis. The thesis must demonstrate the
students ability to formulate, analyse and process issues within a
relevant, limited subject in the health sciences in a qualified way.
12.2. The masters thesis is compiled by each student alone.
12.3. The thesis must be completed in accordance with the approved
contract and comprise the equivalent of minimum 50 and maximum 70
A4 pages written in point 12, Times New Roman, line spacing 1.5 and
excluding references and optional appendixes. The thesis must include
an abstract in English or Danish of no more than one A4 page. The
abstract must summarize the research question, the methods used,
important findings, a discussion if relevant, and a conclusion. The
abstract will be included in the overall assessment of the masters thesis.
12.4. Assessment will be based on the students spelling and writing
skills as well as the scientific content of the thesis. The scientific content
will carry most weight.
12.5. The Masters thesis is credited 50 ECTS points.

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Department of Biomedical Sciences

Masters thesis exam

Content
Under the supervision of a researcher to critically acquire knowledge about scientific method and to
apply such knowledge for the solution of a scientific problem of the student's own choice within the
field of health science.
Credit 50 ECTS
Type of assessment: Written assignment
Oral defence, 60 minutes
The master's thesis shall be prepared in accordance with the approved thesis agreement and shall
correspond to approx. 50-60 A4 pages written in Times New Roman 12 points with line spacing set to
1.5 lines.
The thesis must be completed in accordance with the approved contract and comprise the equivalent
of minimum 50 and maximum 70 A4 pages written in point 12, Times New Roman, line spacing 1.5
and excluding references and optional appendixes. The thesis must include an abstract in English or
Danish of no more than one A4 page. The abstract must summarize the research question, the
methods used, important findings, a discussion if relevant, and a conclusion. The abstract will be
included in the overall assessment of the masters thesis.
At the assessment of the master's thesis, both the academic contents and the student's ability to
convey such contents shall be taken into consideration. The academic contents shall carry more
weight during the assessment.
The oral 60-minute exam consisting of 25 minutes of oral presentation of the master's
thesis using AV equipment followed by 30 minutes of scientific discussion focussing on the
issues of the thesis.
Aid: All aids allowed
Marking scale 7-point grading scale
Censorship form: External censorship
Criteria for exam assesment
To achieve the maximum grade of 12, the student shall be able to:
Select and process a well-defined and clear health science problem of research relevance
Convey the work in writing as well as orally at a high international academic level
Critically discuss, assess, conclude and put into perspective own and others' research results at a
high international scientific level while including relevant literature
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Department of Biomedical Sciences

Student questions
1. M man tage orlov inden man begynder p sit speciale, og hvis ja, hvor lnge m man det? Alts
er der regler for, hvor lnge der m g fra man har taget sine sidste fag og til man starter p sit
speciale?
2. Er det stadig gldende, at specialekontrakten skal skrives under og afleveres inden d. 1/8, 1/12,
1/2 eller 1/6? Eller m man gerne g i gang fx 1/3?
3. Are there certain months a year (March, June and December) you have to defend your thesis?
4. When is the earliest we can defend our thesis, and what is the process involved?
5. Hvornr SKAL vi starte, hvornr M vi starte?
6. Er der krav til vejleders akademiske grad, f.eks. han/hun skal vre PhD eller professor?
7. Hvordan forgr det, hvis man laver speciale i udlandet? Hvis jeg har forstet det rigtigt, s er ens
vejleder (intern eller ekstern) ogs ens eksaminator. Hvad s hvis man f.eks har en vejleder der
sidder i USA? Skal man s ogs have en vejleder fra KU, der kan vre eksaminator? Og hvem er
s intern og ekstern?
8. What is the minimum time requirement for the thesis (number of months)?
9. Is it possible to do half of the thesis in Denmark and half internationally?
10. What is the length requirement for the written project?
11. Selve proceduren ved kontrakt osv. (hvis der er ndret noget ift. 2011-ordningen)
12. Kan vi sge om at lave 60 ECTS point i stedet for 50?
13. Hvad skal specialekontrakten indeholde? Forelbig titel, forelbig projektbeskrivelse samt
arbejdsplan - er der nogle mere specifikke krav til, hvad de skal indeholde? Og hvornr skal
specialekontrakten afleveres i hele denne proces?
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Department of Biomedical Sciences

Student questions cont.

14. Hvis man vlger at skrive speciale p fx hospital eller privat virksomhed i industrien, skal
bekrftelse p supervision s kun udfyldes af ens eksterne vejleder?
15. Hvilken rolle har ens interne vejleder? Er det rigtig forstet, at det er mest i forbindelse med
eksamen og det praktiske ift. dette, men ellers ikke ndvendigvis har nogen rolle i lbet af
specialet?

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Department of Biomedical Sciences

Who can be supervisor?

Din vejleder skal vre ansat p SUND for at kunne eksaminere og/eller vre
hovedvejleder (Your main supervisor must hold a position (see below) at SUND in
order perform the supervision and carry out the examination). Baggrunden er, at
universitet skal vre garant for vejlederens faglige niveau, og at fakultetet har
hnd i hanke med eksaminatorer og vejledere, s du som studerende ikke kommer
i klemme i forbindelse med eksamination og vejledning. I praksis fortolkes
bestemmelsen sdan, at vejleder skal have en ansttelseskontrakt med SUND
enten permanent eller tidsbegrnset.
Stillingskategorier employment positions
Din vejleder skal vre ansat i en af disse stillingskategorier (Your main supervisor
must hold one of the following positions):
Adjunkt Assistent professor
Lektor Associate professor
Professor
- dog m adjungerede professorer ikke vre hovedvejleder og/eller eksaminere
Eksterne lektorer og eksterne kliniske lektorer
- dog skal den eksterne lektor eller kliniske lektor have godkendt hos sin institutleder
eller institutadministrator, at der kan disponeres med tid til at vre vejleder
Klinisk professor Clinical professor
Klinisk lektor Clinical associate professor
Vejledere fra andre institutter eller uddannelser
Du har mulighed for selv at finde en vejleder til dit bachelorprojekt eller
kandidatspeciale p tvrs af institutter og uddannelser p SUND. Forudsat at det
enkelte institut har kapacitet til en bachelorprojekt- eller
kandidatspecialestuderende, kan du gennemfre bachelorprojektet eller
kandidatspecialet p det institut p SUND, du nsker.
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Department of Biomedical Sciences

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