Thesis and papers
When writing a thesis or paper you must make good use of the insights you have gained during your lectures and studies so far. You should also refer to relevant literature and carry out your own research on the topic.
One of the most important things you will learn during an academic study programme is how to write an interesting piece of work that meets the criteria of scientific quality, whilst also being accesible to the broader public.
Refer to our Study skills pages for more information on academic writing skills.
Faculty regulations
The criteria of the thesis are outlined in the faculty-wide regulation shown on the right side of this page. For both papers as well as thesis the rules on plagiarism and academic integrity apply.
Request for appointing thesis supervisor
The Board of Examiners is responsible for appointing a supervisor for the master’s thesis and the bachelor’s thesis
Every study programme has its own procedure for appointing supervisors. Please consult the course description of the master’s thesis or bachelor’s thesis in the e-prospectus.
Need help with your writing assignment? Come to the Writing Lab!
Want to discuss your academic writing assignment (final paper, paper or other) with a trained peer tutor? Book a free appointment at the Writing Lab.
Workshops and thesis events
The Writing Lab organises interactive, hands-on (and free!) workshops and thesis events every semester to help you improve your academic writing skills and/or make writing your thesis a success!
The 45-minute individual coaching session allows you to focus on exactly what you need or have questions about. Everything you discuss with your coach remains between you and the conversation can take place face-to-face or online. If you want, you can also send your writing coach a piece of text in advance, which you will then discuss together during the appointment.
Every semester, the Writing lab offers four interactive workshops:
- Basic skills in academic writing:
Goal paper, planning, structure, formulating research questions - Creating a clear structure:
Clarity, coherence, paragraphs, main- and subquestions, text plan - Develop an academic style:
Define style, techniques, formulation, sentence structure - Keep on writing: becoming a disciplined writer:
Common challenges, planning, perfectionism, concentration issues
- Thesis kick-off:
Get a kickstart with your thesis. In two workshops, you will learn all about designing and planning your thesis. - Thesis group:
Get to know other thesis writers in 4 weekly meetings, learn to plan better and exchange tips and experiences to stay productive. - Thesis week:
For a week, you will write on your thesis every day from 09:00-17:00 under the guidance of the Writing Lab.
Procedure Research Master thesis
Registration form
Students who would like to start writing their Thesis have to read the information on this form. They are required to turn in their signed thesis proposal to the Board of Examiners: examenciealas@hum.leidenuniv.nl
Student Repository
The Student Repository forms an independent part of the Leiden Repository and offers an online archive that makes Leiden University student thesis easily searchable and publicly available (if desired). Students have to fill in the form of consent for the publication of a thesis and hand the form in at the student administration (Huizinga-building/Room 0.01).
More information about the Student Repository
Evaluation
The evaluation form below is used in the grading of the Master’s Thesis. It lists the specific criteria teachers used in the evaluation of your Thesis. As a student you have the right to consult the forms completed by the first reader/supervisor and the second reader. Before the student is assigned a final grade for the Thesis, a personal discussion about the Thesis takes place with the supervisor and second reader to evaluate the research project.
Click here for the evaluation form.