30 ECTS credits
800 h study time
Offer 1 with catalog number 4012893ENR for all students in the 1st and 2nd semester at a (E) Master - advanced level.
The master thesis is an independently made original scientific work, publicly defended by the student. It consists of a manuscript in the form of a scientific paper + maximum 20 pages of supplementary information, according to the guidelines available on Canvas (https://canvas.vub.be). The thesis subject is defined in dialogue with a team’s principal investigator (typically a professor) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel or another research institute (another university, museum, hospital), either in Belgium or abroad. An additional co-promotor or (co-)supervisor, (typically a PhD student or a postdoctoral researcher) may be assigned. If you plan to prepare your thesis in a team outside the VUB, one of the lecturers of the VUB’s Biology Master program has to agree on acting as (co-)promotor of your thesis.
IMPORTANT: Before starting your thesis work, you must describe your thesis research in a document called a ‘thesis proposal’. Your thesis proposal needs to be signed by your supervisor and yourself and sent as a pdf to the Biology department’s secretariat (secrdbio@vub.be) as well as the chairman of the exam committee (kim.roelants@vub.be).
There is no deadline for submission of this proposal but it needs to be approved by the exam committee before you start any thesis-related research (you will receive an email with the approval or with additional questions/comments shortly after submission).
The purpose of this document is: (1) to make sure you understand the scope and objectives of your thesis, (2) to ensure to the exam committee of the scientific level and feasibility of the proposed research and (3), to make sure that your supervisor and you agree on the publication and financial aspects of the thesis. Its purpose is not to evaluate you yet (no marks are given for the proposal). Writing guidelines for this thesis proposal are available on Canvas.
NOTE: For students of the graduation option ‘Tropimundo’, the thesis proposal is an actual course unit (‘Thesis proposal’, 3 ECTs). You will be graded for the quality of this proposal and passing this course unit is required to start your thesis research.
Detailed advice and guidelines regarding the process of choosing a thesis topic and preparing your thesis manuscript can be found in the document Master_thesis_guidelines.pdf on the Canvas page ‘BaMa Biologie’ and on the Canvas pages of the courses ‘Master thesis Biology’ and ‘Master thesis in Human Ecology’ (https://canvas.vub.be). Three examples of previously submitted theses can be downloaded as well.
In addition, you will need to read scientific literature (text books, review papers and research papers) related to your thesis subject.
After successful completion of the Master Thesis, the student is expected to
- be able to understand and critically interpret scientific literature
- be able to work independently, formulate research questions and make an appropriate research design
- be able to deal with unexpected situations and think in a problem solving context
- be able to collaborate with others
- be able to evaluate the social and scientific relevance of a certain topic
- be able to communicate his/her scientific work (writing and presenting)
The final grade is composed based on the following categories:
Master Thesis determines 100% of the final mark.
Within the Master Thesis category, the following assignments need to be completed:
After submitting your Master thesis, you will do a public thesis defence, composed of an oral presentation followed by a discussion with the jury (and possibly with the audience). The evaluation is done by the jury, composed of your promotor (in dialogue with co-supervisors) and two readers assigned by the exam committee.
Your final grade will be a weighted average of their individual scores:
40 % (Promoter (+ co-promoter(s)) + 30 % (Reader 1) + 30 % (Reader 2)
The deadline for thesis submission is always 4pm of the first Monday of the exam session in which you plan to defend your thesis. Please check the VUB’s online academic calendar for the specific date. The exact date will also be announced through a Canvas announcement.
Submission happens electronically, through the course’s Canvas page (you will be invited to submit the pdf of your thesis as an assignment). After submission, your thesis will be automatically screened for plagiarism through the Turnitin database.
Note: This deadline is very strict; if you submit your thesis late, you will be marked as ‘Absent’ for the Course ‘Master Thesis Biology’ for this exam session.
Details regarding the criteria of evaluation are listed in the guidelines on Canvas.
This offer is part of the following study plans:
Master of Biology: Molecular and Cellular Life sciences
Master of Biology: Ecology and Biodiversity