At LUC The Hague, there is a strong emphasis put on writing and obtaining writing skills. In most of your classes you will encounter at least one assignment that will require you to write a research paper. Therefore, writing will be an essential part of your career at LUC.

Capstone

The Capstone (bachelor’s thesis) is the final assessment of LUC’s academic programme. Research and writing are overseen by the supervisor. The final product is assessed by both supervisor and reader, one of whom should be based at LUC. The overall management of the Capstone process is in the hands of the Capstone Coordinator (Dr Lucie Zicha, l.zicha@luc.leidenuniv.nl). The goal of the LUC Capstone is for students to complete an independent research project within the student’s major. The Capstone typically draws from each student’s unique curriculum and range of scholarly experiences encountered while at LUC. The Capstone (bachelor thesis) is a product of specialized research that serves to prepare LUC students for competitive graduate programs or employment in government or industry. Bachelor theses at LUC are theoretically or conceptually motivated and exhibit high levels of creativity, rigorous enquiry, and professional production. Students may develop an individual thesis topic or work on a larger project in small groups coordinated by their supervisor. If the latter approach is adopted each student is required to develop and produce a distinct thesis. The thesis is completed during a required Capstone course (10 ECT) that all students enroll in during their final semester of residence at LUC. Each year the most outstanding theses are awarded “Thesis of Merit”.

The Capstone thesis often becomes the most important research project of students’ undergraduate study and a decisive moment in their search for a research identity. The Capstone project offers students the opportunity to develop rigorous academic work, often resulting in a published work in an academic journal or in the general press.

Contact

Questions relating to capstone can be sent to capstone@luc.leidenuniv.nl

Ethics in Research

LUC has developed an ethical protocol for students to adhere to if they pursue primary data collection on human subjects. For more information please contact: lucethicsboard@luc.leidenuniv.nl

External editing services

Instances of using the editing services of outside parties and commercial companies by LUC students for the output that is part of their studies at LUC can be judged as constituting a breach of academic integrity.

Please read the statement of the Board of Examiners on this matter carefully

The Brill-Nijhoff Writing Studio

LUC’s Brill-Nijhoff Writing Centre offers free tutoring for LUC students through its Writing Studio, where you will find Writing Assistants ready to help you with any aspect of your writing projects at LUC, from brainstorming and identifying a topic to organizing your ideas, structuring and strengthening your argumentation and revising your work. The only thing that the Writing Assistants cannot do for you is to edit or correct your work for you as this would fall under the BoE’s definition of academic dishonesty – at LUC we grade writing and therefore it needs to be your own. The Writing Studio is a great resource and you should use it at least once this semester, even if you are satisfied with your grades.

In short, the Writing Studio gives you the opportunity to check if your writing ‘makes sense’ to someone else and really is as good and relevant as it seems to you, and improve it with the help of someone sympathetic and competent before turning it in. Note that you can get writing assistance for any project you work on, in any course at LUC: it does not have to be Academic Writing.

Frequently Asked Questions

For more information please check our Frequently Asked Questions overview.