The number of credits that can be gained by completing the master research project(s) within a specialisation is described in the e-prospectus. Select your specialization and go to the research projects at the end of the page. 

You will be assessed on the mid-term and final assessment according to this rubric

After the orientation period students select their courses and their research project.

If a student wants to conduct a research project outside Leiden or abroad he/she needs to consult the study advisor. 

All Physics research projects are carried out under the supervision of a LION staff member. Make sure to find a second supervisor/ corrector. This person needs to be from the same list or have a staff position at a closely related institute (e.g. Math, Computer Science, Astronomy).

Once the project has been selected you must register for the Master Physics Rsearch Project course on MyStudyMap. This registration gives automatically access to the Master Researhc Brightspage page. Here, you upload your project form. The studyadvisor will assess and approve/comment.

Getting started; discuss (set up) a research plan with your supervisor. Make sure you have a place to work, a functional computer account etc. The research project is a fulltime assignment.

Mid-term assessment (Assessment form I) ; to monitor the progress of your project a midterm assessment needs to be scheduled. The student and supervisor will meet to touch base and evaluate the project based on the criteria mentioned in the rubric. This opportunity allows the student and supervisor to re-evaluate the project goals.

The research project is concluded with a thesis. 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.

There is a LaTeX template available here

While drafting your thesis you can consult tips for good academic writing skills. 

Plagiarism; 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 Physics Master's theses will be checked for plagiarism. Make sure you carefully read the University's regulations on plagiarism.

Students need to give a presentation at the end of their research project. This presentation will be announced on the Physics education website. Please send the following details in advance to the Education Office. They confirm with the link to the website announcement. 

• uMail 
• date, time and location of the presentation (the room can be booked via the secretariat of the research group or if needed via eduassist)
• title presentation 
• name of the research group 
• name (titles) of the supervisor(s) 

Prior to your certification date the Education Office receives via Brightspace 

• MSc assessment form I
• MSc assessment form II
• Thesis publication form 
• or Grading MSc Casimir short research project 
• A copy of the front page of the final thesis of the research project

Once all forms are submitted, the Science Student Administration (SSA) will register the grade in uSis. 

For questions regarding the process steps or graduation in general please contact eduassist: eduassist@physics.leidenuniv.nl 

All theses are checked for plagiarism by the supervisor and stored in the thesis respository Leiden University Student Repository (a printed version is no longer required).

The student is responsible for uploading the thesis in the thesis repository of the Leiden University. 

• Log in with your ULCN account in the Upload Student Thesis Repository and follow the steps in the manual for uploading the thesis.
• The 'graduation date' is the date that is on the grading and permission to publish form. 
• All Physics theses are entered in the thesis repository and are made public, unless agreed differently. 
• The permission to make a thesis public or to put it under partly or complete embargo is being confirmed by signing the ' permission to publish form' which is now part of the 'grading form', to be found under the section ' Master Forms'.