Agreement on Master’s Thesis Project between:
Student:Supervisor(s):
Main supervisor
Name:Name:
Student registration
number :Mailaddress:
Address:
Other supervisors:
Telephone:Name:
Mailaddress:Mailaddress:
Degree programme:
ScopeofthethesisinECTS:
Thesisstatement:
Workingtitle:
Thereportis writtenin:Danish( Danishas well as English title must be stated on the cover page)
English( Danishas wellas English titlemust bestated on the cover page)
Physical location of the project:
It is requiredto includea summaryin English regardlessof the chosen language.
Resourceneeds/ financing ,seeinstructionsarticle1
Agreement on the project finances:
Specifictimetableand plan ofsupervision, see
instructions article2
Date of project start:
Deadlineforhandinginthethesis:
Project plan:
-Outlineof themainphasesanddeadlines
-Extent andstructureof thesupervision
The thesis can be published at thelibrariesandhomepages of thedepartmentsand thefaculty. yes
no
The agreement on publishing has beenreadandunderstood,seearticle3 yes
The sectionabout patent rights has beenreadandunderstood,seearticle4 yes
The sectionabout plagiarism has been readandunderstood, seearticle5 yes
Signatures
Student:
Main supervisor: Other supervisors:
Headof programme:
The signed contract must be submitted to The Boardof Studies of Agricultural Sciences
Approved bythe Head of Studies
Date:Signature:
Guidelinesforthe MScthesiscontract
1)Resourceneeds/financing
The supervisor commits him-/herself to makethe facilitiesand research resources agreedupon in the project
planavailable to the project. If completion of the thesisdepends on agrant or an agreementwith a partner,
it isimportant to mention this.Please note that you asastudent must agree to possible risksand their
potential consequences (forexample that partners cangivenotice to terminate contractsandthat thethesis
asa consequence of this has to be redefined).
2)Timeframe
The studentmust begin his/her thesisand submit itwithin the time frame ofthe thesisasspecifiedin the
academicregulations for each degreeprogramme. Whenthe thesis contract hasbeen approved andthe
deadline for submitting the thesis hasbeen appointed,you cannotwithdrawfrom the exam. Ifthe thesisis
not handed in by theappointed time, itcountsas anexaminationattempt.TheBoardofStudiesthen
approvesarevised projectformulationwithin thesamesubjectareaandat thesame timeappointsa new
deadline of 3months. If the thesis is notsubmitted bythis deadline,the student may havea third
examinationattempt according to the regulations thatapply to thesecond examinationattempt.
3)Publicationagreement
Asregardsthepublicationofdataobtainedduringathesisstudy,theregulationsinforcearestipulatedin
“TheDanish MinistryofEducation’scircularNo 169of16July 1973ontheuseofstudents’projectsandtheir
ensuing rights”(”Undervisningsministeriets cirkulære nr. 169 af 16. juli 1973 om anvendelsen af de
studerendesopgaverogderesrettighederiforbindelsehermed” (this
circularisnotavailableinEnglish).Thismeansthatthestudenthastherighttouseandfurtherprocess
originalandprocesseddataafterfinishingthethesisandthatthestudentmustgivewrittenconsentto
publication ofthesedata.However, there are exceptions regarding copyrightas mentionedin article4.
Yes,dataobtainedinconnectionwithmythesismayfigureinpublications,andIapprovetheconditions below: (student’s signature)
Thestudentisobligedto handoveralloriginal andprocesseddata, includinglaboratorylogs,tothe supervisorbutisentitledto acopyforhis/her own use.Thesupervisorreservesforhim-/herself the rightto usethesedatainthebest possibleway incollaborationwiththestudent.Ifthe studentonsigningthethesis contracthas acceptedthat datamay be published, andthestudentachievesresultsthat,in thesupervisor’s opinion,aresuitableforpublishingafter furtherprocessingandpossiblysupplementedwithfurtherdata,a manuscriptmustbeprepared.Thistakesplaceincollaborationbetweenthestudent,thesupervisorand otherco-authors,ifany. Theauthorsequenceisagreeduponbythestudent,thesupervisorotherco- authors,if any,withreferencetotheVancouverProtocol( contributionis modest, hisorher data can be published inthenameof thesupervisor.
Or
No,dataobtainedinconnectionwithmythesismaynotfigureinpublications.Ihandoveracopyofmy original andprocesseddata,including laboratorylogs, to thesupervisor after the completionof the thesis.
(student’s signature)
Onsigningthethesiscontractthestudentmay refusepublicationofthethesisdata.Themain supervisor/project supervisormayinthatcaserevisethesuggestedthesisprojecttakingthisrefusal into consideration.
4)Patentrights
The right to the results appearingfromastudent’s thesis,includinganyimmaterialrights,suchas patent
rightsand copyrights to computer programs takesasits startingpoint “The Danish Ministry ofEducation’s
circular No 169 of 16 July1973on the use of students’ projects their ensuingrights”
(”Undervisningsministeriets cirkulære nr.169af 16.juli 1973omanvendelsen af destuderendesopgaverog
deresrettigheder i forbindelse hermed”) circular isnotavailablein
English).
However, there will oftenbe exceptions to thisstarting point:
I. If the student in connection with his/her thesis takespart ina research projectin which external parties participate, thestudent must renounce his/her right toanypatentableresultsandany copyrightsoncomputer programsbefore his/her participationinthe project begins.
II. If the student makesaninvention orgets the copyright on computer programsinconnectionwith the completion of the thesisincollaborationwith his/her supervisor, the student must, provided that the University decides to takeover the supervisor’s partof theinvention, transfer his/her part of the invention to the Universityin returnforbecoming covered by AarhusUniversity’s regulationson compensations under section 12 in Danish ActNo.347of 2June1999.
5)Plagiarism
Plagiarismisusinganother person’stextasyour own without makingprecisesource references.Plagiarism
isconsideredaveryseriousoffensebecauseit is atheft ofanotherperson’sworkandbecauseyouare
assessed onworkthatinactual fact isnot yours.
You avoid plagiarism byalways makinga precisesource reference when youuse other people’s work– this applies toquotations, reproductions,interpretations,translations,figures, illustrations,etc. When you produceatext,it must appearclearlywhichistheresult ofyour own ideasandwhich passagesarea result of your processing of other people’sknowledge.
You must beaware thatit isyour responsibility:Ifyou plagiarise, the consequences may bequiteserious. The regulations atAarhusUniversity regardingsanctionsin connection with plagiarism can be found on
6)AcademicregulationsasregardstheMaster’sthesisproject
The Master’sdegreeprogramme is concluded withathesis of 30,45 or60 ECTS credits,depending onthe
extent to which the student prioritises to planand carry out his/her own experimental work. The objective
of the thesisis to give the studentthepossibilityof specialisingina particularareaandindependently
uncover,delimit andstudy a relevant scientific problem.
Learningobjectives:
Characteristics of the threethesis types:
Thesis 30ECTS credits: Thesisbased onliteraturestudies and/or analyses of issuedandedited data sets.
Thesis 45ECTS credits: Thesisinwhichthe studentisresponsible forcollectionandanalysisof original unedited datasets.The quality ofthe datacollection,analysisandediting must beincluded in the overallassessment.
Thesis 60ECTS credits: Thesisinwhichthe studentis responsiblefor planning ofexperimentdesign andmethod aswell ascollectionandanalysisoforiginal unediteddata sets. Qualityand independence indesign of own experiments, planningof dataextractionfrom original data sources, ordevelopment ofnew theorymust be included inthe overall assessment. Furthermore, thequality of the data collection,analysisand editing mustbeincluded intheoverallassessment.
In the assessment of the thesis importance willfurthermore beattached to whether the student can:
Independently uncover and delimitaproblem within the chosenarea.
Arrangea relevant projectdesign foranalysis ofthe delimitedquestion.
Seekandprioritiserelevantliteratureandbecriticalofdifferent theoretical viewsandpossibly conflictingresults.
Include,discussandselectrelevant theoriesinrelation to problems.
Discussandbe criticalof the relevance and qualityofthe appliedliterature, the applied theories/models, methods of analysis andpossible data, includingtrialdesign andstatistical methods.
Carryoutanindependentand coherentanalysisof the chosen problemand summarise the conclusions ofthe study.
Communicate in writing and orallytheanalysesandconclusions ofthe project, including the problem, choice of method, analysis,discussion, conclusionand putting into perspective,inaclear and relevantwayin relation to a defined targetgroup.
Methodof instruction:
No instruction as such isconnected with the thesiswork, but the Board ofStudies will assignasupervisor to
the student; thissupervisor will alsoactasexaminer.A thesis contract mustalsobedrawnupat thetime of
assigninga supervisor; this contract mustbe approved by theHead ofStudies.
The thesis contract mustinclude informationabout:
The extent ofthe thesis (30, 45 or60 ECTScredits)
Formulationof the project, delimitationof the subject
Supervisionplan
Thesis language(DanishorEnglish)
Deadline
The thesis contract is signed by thestudent and thesupervisorand submitted to the Head of Studies for approval. Once the thesis contract has been approvedandthe deadlineforsubmitting the thesis has been determined, the student cannot withdraw from theexam. Ifthe thesis is not submitted by the determined deadline,it willbe consideredasaspent examinationattempt. TheBoardofStudies thenapproves a
changed project formulation within thesame subjectarea andat thesame time determinesanewdeadlineof three months. If the thesis is not submitted by thisdeadline, the student may have a third examination attempt in accordance with the same regulationsthatapply to thesecond examinationattempt.
Methodof evaluation:
A combinedoral and written examwiththe participation ofanexternal examiner. The written part ofthe
exam consists ofadissertation of 100pages, writtenin Danish or English with asummaryinEnglish. A
normal pagefor written submissionsis 2400characters. To calculate normalpages, textisincluded,but not
the front page, table ofcontents, bibliography,appendix,figuresand models. The dissertationmust be
submitted tothe supervisor in4printedcopies.
The oralpartis public(exemptions fromthis cf. the Examination Executive Order, section19,subsections2 and3).The supervisorannouncesthetimeandplaceoftheexaminationinagreement with the student. In the assessment of the thesis dissertationimportance will mainlybeattached toits scientific content, but the student’sspellingandformulatingcapacitywill alsoform part ofthe assessment, irrespectiveof the
languageof the thesis.At the oral examthe student will have30 minutesin which to present the project. The examinerandthe externalexaminer may thenaskthestudentquestionsforupto30 minutes whereuponthe grade will bedeterminedand announced.
The thesis dissertationandthe oral examwillbe assessed jointly, using the Danish 7-point gradingscale.The examinerandthe externalexaminersubsequentlyprepareawrittenassessment.