After completion of the Bachelor Research Project you will be able to conduct innovative scientific research. This includes the first conception of a research subject, doing the research and reporting the conclusions in a scientifically fully sound way in written and oral form. The Bachelor Research Project also strengthens the development of behaviour-oriented soft skills, including independent thinking, the ability to find creative and original solutions and thereby enhance your auto-didactic abilities.

Research quality: scientific knowledge, research skills and scientific quality of work

Learning process: professional skils and management skills

Report and communication: thesis writing and oral presentation

Click here to view the full Assessment Rubric.

Please find below an overview of the number of EC attributed to the various components of the Bachelor Research Project for the different study programmes.

Astronomy: the Bachelor Research Project has a total credit of 18 EC. The project is concluded with a Thesis (3 EC) and a Presentation (1 EC), which are credited separately. 

Astronomy & Physics: the Bachelor Research Project has a total credit of 20 EC. The research project is concluded with a Thesis (3 EC) and a Presentation (1 EC), which are credited separately. 

Astronomy & Mathematics: the Bachelor Research Project has a total credit of 24 EC. This includes a Bachelor's Thesis and a Presentation.

Registration forms:

You can find the registration forms in Brightspace on the Bachelor Research Project page.

Assessment forms:

Bachelor Research Project Assessment Form (Astronomy)
Bachelor Research Project Assessment Form (Astronomy & Mathematics)
Bachelor Research Project Assessment Form (Astronomy & Physics)

In case of personal issues, problems with your project or with your supervisor that you want to discuss confidentially, contact the Astronomy study advisor, located in room 567 of the Oort building.

Make sure to enroll for the right study activity in MyStudyMap in order to get access to the Brightspace page for the Bachelor Research Project. Access to this page is required in order to go through the practical steps of approval by the study advisor and project registration below. You will receive information about enrollment in MyStudyMap from the Education Office Astronomy.

Before you start with you Bachelor Research Project, you need approval by the Astronomy study advisor. Students following a double bachelor's programme need approval from the study advisors of both programmes.

For more information on the procedure for requesting approval to start your Bachelor Research Project, please visit the Bachelor Research Project page in Brightspace and check under the section BRP Registration. 

You cannot proceed to the next step without (conditional) approval from the study advisor(s).

In the period November-December, you will choose the topic for your Bachelor Research Project. Projects may involve the analysis of new observations, calculating models for astrophysical or astrochemical processes, or a combination of the two. Hands-on research in laboratory astrophysics or optical instrumentation is also possible.

In November-December a Bachelor Research Project Preparation Meeting will be organised. After this meeting, the Bachelor Research Project coordinator will provide a list of all available projects on Brightspace.

Students following the double Astronomy and Physics bachelor's programmes may choose a project from either Astronomy or Physics. For details see the Prospectus page on the Bachelor Research Project for the double programme Astronomy and Physics and the Bachelor Research Project Brightspace page.

All Astronomy Bachelor Research Projects are carried out under supervision of a member of the scientific staff of Leiden Observatory. Each project on the list of available projects is connected to a supervisor. In addition, you need to find a staff member who will be second examiner for your thesis.

Students following the double Astronomy and Physics bachelor's programme and doing an Astronomy project need to have a second examiner from Physics who is ultimately responsible for approving the project (or a modified version thereof). Students are responsible for finding this second examiner from the Physics department.

You can only proceed to this step after (conditional) approval form the study advisor. 

After deciding on the topic of your choice, you have to register your project with the Education Office Astronomy using the Bachelor Research Project Registration Form. Please note that you are required to follow and complete all sections on the form in sequential order. For a detailed step-by-step plan please visit the Bachelor Research Project page in Brightspace.

For students following the double Astronomy and Physics bachelor's programme, the project must be approved by both the Astronomy Bachelor Research Project coordinator and the Physics Bachelor Research Project coordinator.

The Bachelor Research Project starts of with a Kick Off meeting in January/February and is directly followed by the Research Skills and Scientific Integrity course. See here and here for information on this course. Enrollment in MyStudyMap for this course is required. Make sure you enroll for the right course (2EC version for the Astronomy programme and the double Astronomy and Mathematics programme, 3EC version for the double Astronomy and Physics bachelor's programme). Check the course's Brightspace page as well.

The Research Skills and Scientifc Integrity course includes two weeks of training in research skills, including for example project management, CV writing, science communication and a library workshop. Details including a timetable can be found on the specific Brightspace page for this course.

In February, you will get started with your Bachelor Research Project. Over the first weeks, start background reading on the research topic of your interest. Make an appointment with your supervisor(s) and schedule weekly meetings with them. Make sure you have a place to work, a functional computer account, etc. Also, plan the first steps of your research project.

By mid-February, you should be spending most of your time on your Bachelor Research Project. To structure your time, develop regular working habits. Do not perform your project in free or filler time. Consider it as a job!

The Astronomy Bachelor Research Project is concluded with a thesis (scientific report, one per group). Do not put off writing your thesis until the last few weeks. Start writing parts of the work as you go along. Do not be afraid to ask for feedback from a colleague on your writing. While drafting your thesis, use the Astronomy Thesis writing tips and tips for good academic writing.

The writings and ideas of others form an important part of academic work. The work of others, however, must be clearly identifiable and distinguished from your original writings and ideas. Failure to properly acknowledge the work of others is plagiarism, whether or not you intended to represent the work as your own. All Astronomy bachelor's theses will be checked for plagiarism. Click here to learn how to avoid plagiarism in your writing.

Templates for writing your thesis in Latex/Word are offered on the Bachelor Research Project Brightspace page.

To monitor the progression of the project regular meetings will be scheduled every two weeks with the Bachelor Research Project coordinator and teaching assistant. Consult the Prospectus to see who this year's teaching assistant is. They will be your primary point of contact. During the progression meetings, you will be giving three graded presentations during the course of the project:

1. What will we do in the project?
2. Where do we stand in the project?
3. Final results

For the first meeting, prepare a short (5-min) presentation of your project (one presentation per project), describing:

1. Your research question
2. Why the question is interesting
3. Method by which you are going to address the question

Halfway the semester it is time for your midterm review. As a student doing an Astronomy project you are expected to plan a meeting with your supervisor for this. You and your supervisor assess your progress and you write a short reflection on the findings. More information on the midterm review will be made available on the Bachelor Research Project page in Brightspace.

For 2023, the deadline for handing in your final thesis is Friday 16 June, 17.00 hrs. Your supervisor will check your thesis for plagiarism using approved methods.

Hand in your final thesis as a pdf file on the Bachelor Research Project Brightspace page.

This only applies to students following the double Astronomy and Physics bachelor's programme.

After handing in your thesis as described above, you need to store your thesis online in the Leiden Thesis Repository. Before you follow the steps below, please read the following documents:

• Flowchart scriptierepositorium
• Beschrijving invoer scriptie
• Upload Thesis instructions English

Please follow these steps: 

• Log into the Leiden Thesis Repository using your ULCN account details.
• Use the date that is mentioned on the Bachelor Research Project Assessment and Thesis Publication Form.
• All theses from Physics and Physics & Mathematics are uploaded in the repository and are made public.  Theses from students following the double Physics & Astronomy programme are uploaded in the repository but are not made public (under embargo).
• The decision for making a thesis public or non-public is confirmed by signing the permission form (Bachelor Thesis Publication Form).

Please note that uploading your thesis is a prerequisite for obtaining the diploma for the double Astronomy and Physics bachelor's programme.

In addition to the thesis, the Bachelor Research Project is concluded with a final oral presentation. Prepare your presentation by mid-June. An instruction session and the exact date for the presentation sessions will be communicated by the Bachelor Research Project coordinator. For your presentation, prepare and practice your talk well in advance using these presenting tips and action plan for your presentation.

All Astronomy Bachelor Research Projects are graded on a 1-10 scale using dedicated assessment forms. Your Bachelor Research Project will be assessed by the supervisor and second examiner of your project, based on the assessment criteria mentioned in the General information section above.

Upon completing your research project, your supervisor has to:

1. Complete the Bachelor Research Project Assessment Form (Astronomy), the Bachelor Research Project Assessment Form (Astronomy & Mathematics) or the Bachelor Research Project Assessment Form (Astronomy & Physics).
2. Send a digital version to you (for your own administration) and to the Education Office Astronomy (bachelor@strw.leidenuniv.nl).

Make sure your supervisor is aware of what he or she is expected to do - this is your shared responsibility!

Evaluate your Bachelor Research Project using the online Astronomy Research Project Evaluation Form.