Procedures

Stepwise approach

Phase 0 | Organizing a project

Check prerequisites
If you are interested in a thesis with us, please first check whether you fulfill the prerequisites.

Contact education.orl@wur.nl
As soon as you know you want to write a thesis with us, send an e-mail to education.orl@wur.nl and CC your study advisor. Your study advisor then checks if you indeed have met all requirements to start the thesis and will respond - CC-ing the education.orl@wur.nl - with approval or disapproval. If the latter is the case, the student first has to make an appointment with the study advisor.

In parellel, you fill out this intake form intake form so that we are informed on your study background and the period in wish you wish to start. Contact us at least 2 months before the start of your thesis. The sooner, the better! After we have received your form, you will be invited to our intake session.

Come to our intake meeting
We organize BSc thesis intake sessions bi-weekly. This is the moment where you meet the ORL thesis coordinator, students can ask questions, and the thesis coordinator will illustrate the main steps of the BSc thesis procedure.

State your preferences
Students can check our available thesis topic in our ORL Thesis Brightspace. This is a self-enrolment page (you can find us via the discover tab). Once you have made up your mind, you can state your top 3 via submitting this form. Within 10 working days, you can expect an e-mail from our thesis coordinator with an answer. Also, you will be assigned to your supervisor. It can be the case that you want to work on a slightly different topic within our group which is not exactly appearing in 'available thesis topics'. Feel free to contact education.orl@wur.nl to discuss those ideas.

Meet your supervisor
Students are in the lead for planning a first meeting with their supervisor. Please save one hour to get to know each other, discuss the thesis topic and set mutual expectations. We recommend to schedule a series of meetings on fixed timeslots (e.g. weekly). This will save some coordination, also regular meetings keep both sides informed on the process and progress. Agreements that are made between supervisor and student should be secured in the BSc thesis contract (or 'learning agreement). You can find this contract in the BSc thesis course guide of your program. Please send a signed copy of this learning agreement to your supervisor, study advisor, education.orl@wur.nl, and orl.office@wur.nl

Phase 1 | Proposal writing

Phase 2 | Performing the research

Phase 3 | Finalizing the report

Present your final results
The final results of the thesis are presented in one of our bi-weekly colloquia. Please sign up for a presentation here, at least two weeks before the respective date. Note: first come, first serve!

Final examination
After students have incorporated the feedback of the thesis ring and supervisor, they hand in a final version of the thesis, minimum 1 week before the final examination of the thesis.

Hand in your extended abstract
Every student should write an extended abstract for the thesis depot of Wageningen University that is accessible for everyone. Extended abstracts should be sent to education.orl@wur.nl.

FAQ

When can I start a BSc thesis?

At our group, students can start with their BSc thesis every period. By default, the starting date of the thesis is Monday week 1 of the respective period.

What is the duration of a BSc thesis?

BSc theses that consist of 12 ECTS correspond to 2 months full-time work.

Exceptions to this duration can only be made with the formal (written) approval of your study advisor. If this is the case, please arrange this approval a.s.a.p., but at least before you meet your supervisor for the first time.

Why do I need a contract (or 'learning agreement')?

The BSc thesis contract formalizes agreements between the student and the thesis supervisor. This secures rights and obligations of both individuals. An obligation for the student is, e.g., submitting drafts of (parts of) the thesis on agreed dates in order for the supervisor to have enough time to read. An obligation of the supervisor towards a student is, e.g., to provide feedback regarding writing and content of the draft in the successive agreed meeting. The contract is especially helpful if there is not enough progress within the agreed timeframe. After the contract is filled in completely and signed by both supervisor and student, the student should send a digital copy to education.orl@wur.nl, orl.office@wur.nl, and the study advisor.

What does the final examination look like?

The final examination is a meeting between student, supervisor and examiner ('second reader'), typically taking one hour. As a relative outsider the examiner typically has the lead in raising questions regarding the thesis report. The supervisor can raise additional questions, but can also steer the conversation, for example if he/she thinks important aspects of the thesis are given too little attention. After the final question, the student is asked to shortly leave the room in order for the supervisor and the examiner to deliberate the grading. After that, the student is informed about the grade, including the main considerations that led to the particular grade.