Master's Dissertation

Regulations

The procedure below is valid for students of the international Master programmes of the Faculty of Bioscience Engineering (FBE) that defend their master dissertation at Ghent University.

Students registered in:

the international joint programmes 'International MSc in Health Management in Aquaculture', 'International MSc in Rural Development', 'International MSc in Sustainable and Innovative Natural Resource Management' and 'International MSc in Soils and Global Change' have to comply both with the regulations of the FBE and the regulations of the international consortium as described in their programme specific master dissertation guidelines.

IMPORTANT!
The master dissertation and the internship need to be strictly separated in time and subject. A master dissertation includes mainly research; an internship is day-to-day work at a company. Results or data gathered during the internship cannot partially nor completely be used for the master dissertation.

The Master's dissertation is scheduled during the final year of the standard learning track of the Master programme. The master dissertation is domain-related to the study programme of the student (Exam and Examination Code EEC, Art. 59).

For more programme specific information of the master dissertation:

The UGent Study Guide
For the international joint programmes : the master's dissertation guidelines, provided by the programme coordinator

Timeline

The timelines for the international joint programmes 'International MSc in Health Management in Aquaculture', 'International MSc in Rural Development', 'International MSc in Sustainable and Innovative Natural Resource Management' and 'International MSc in Soils and Global Change' are different. See the specific programme master dissertation guidelines.

During your first master year: Select your subject

Students get all necessary information through the International Training Center or the programme coordinator(s) on:

availability of master dissertation topics through website or lists of topics proposed by the programme;
explanation on the research topics and projects in the departments involved in the master programme;
explanation on the possibility to propose one's own subject.

After approval of your subject, the student has to discuss and reach an agreement with the promoter(s) and/or the tutor(s) on the following topics:

availability: the starting date of the experimental work, working schedule during the week, availability during the first term first examination period, final date of the experimental work
practical arrangements concerning the literature
going abroad and/or collecting data (if applicable)
possibility for scholarship (if applicable)

During your second master year:

In order to complete all necessary administration , students will receive instructions from the Faculty Student Administration (FSA) in due time.

Master's dissertation of two students with the same subject

A Master's dissertation by two students with the same subject is possible under following conditions:

The work must be submitted in separate volumes.
The defense is individual, so separated in space and time.
For each Master's dissertation, a separate Board of Examiners is appointed, so a separate written assessment is required.
If a common title is used, this has to be complemented with a separate and different subtitle.
In the introduction of each Masters dissertation, the cooperation should be mentioned and the similarities and specificity of the work have to be described.

IMPORTANT! This may not apply to international joint master programmes.

Going abroad for master's dissertation

In case you go abroad in the framework of your master dissertation: check out all the information on this webpage about possible mobility grants and registration of your mobility in Oasis.

Counseling and feedback

The student is entitled to get the necessary supervision and guidance, by means of a number of counselling talks during which all aspects of the work can be discussed. These talks can be organized at fixed points of time or after making an appointment. The promoter coaches the student actively during these counselling talks, during which both the scientific aspects and the learning process can be discussed. feedback: the student is entitled to receive an interim evaluation based on the final competences to be obtained (as listed on the assessment form used by your promotor).

For master dissertation projects in collaboration with third parties (companies, not-for-profit organisations, …), a master dissertation contract needs to be signed by the UGent Promotor and the Director of education FBE.

Problems concerning the availability of the student or concerning the availability of and the guidance by the tutor(s) or promoter(s) can be reported to the ombudsperson. The ombudsperson formally lays down the complaint in writing and tries to find a solution.

The student is ultimately responsible for the content of the Master dissertation.

Written dissertation

Size: A4
Lay-out: there are no specific requirements regarding font type, font size, spacing or citation style at FBE. However, the typographic choices must give the text a neat and well-organized look.
For the international joint programmes specific lay-out rules may apply at your current institution. Check and comply specific rules, as well as specific master dissertation programme guidelines!
Include the copyright clause
Include the confidentiality notification (if applicable)
Cover page: print appropriate version (listed below) on white slightly thicker paper, do not add or delete logos

For more programme specific information of the master dissertation: please check the UGent Study Guide .

Submission procedure and deadlines

Submission deadlines 2021-2022

After first semester: Friday 21 January 2022 before 5 pm (only for students who can graduate after the first semester; these students will be informed by the student administration on the possibility to submit and defend in January)
After second-term examination: Friday 10 June 2022 before 5 pm
Resit period: Friday 26 August 2022 before 5 pm

How to submit

Upload an electronic version to Ufora: read the instructions.
In case of confidentiality: please indicate in Ufora
E-mail a pdf of your dissertation to each member of your jury (find your jury members in the UGent Master Dissertation website). If a paper copy is requested, print on both sides.
Note that between UGent e-mail accounts attachments have a size limit of 25Mb (8Mb to non-UGent accounts). For files exceeding that size, use preferentially FileSender to send your file.

Master's dissertations submitted beyond the due date for a given examination period, cannot be defended in that examination period anymore.

Defense dates 2021-2022

The defenses of the master dissertations take place on the following dates:

First term examination period	Thursday 3 February 2022 Friday 4 February 2022
Second term examination period	Wednesday 29 June 2022 Thursday 30 June 2022 Friday 1 July 2022
Resit examination period*	Monday 5 September 2022 Tuesday 6 September 2022

The detailed time schedules of the defenses are announced on the Master thesis website by the FSA after the deadline of submission.

Info

Questions about the master's dissertation procedure international master programmes: contact the International Training Centre at Students.itc@ugent.be

Awards and prizes

View all awards and prizes you can win with your master's dissertation.