1. The master thesis process – an overview
Janicke Rasmussen Dean MSc and course coordinator Master Thesis 
Most of you have received numerous overviews of the new master thesis process, but in this presentation I will go through it briefly to make sure we are all on the same page.
In 2017, a new thesis process was implemented.

2. Why is it important to communicate a common picture across departments and programmes, for instance through a supervisor seminar?
First: the thesis is a quarter of a MSc – both a common and a high level of quality is crucial
Secondly: What does a thesis at BI mean? We need common grounds, before we add any additional specifications for each programme
Third and last – but not the least: Who has the greatest impact on the thesis – it’s you, the supervisors – you are our most important asset to achieve high quality

3. Timeline – master thesis process
1st semester
September: Thesis seminar 1
2nd semester
February: Thesis seminar 2
April: Thesis seminar 3
Supervisor allocation
(Supervision)
1 June: Thesis Proposal
3rd semester
August: Thesis seminar 4
Supervision
4th semester
15 January: Preliminary Thesis Report
(January/February: Thesis seminar 5)
1 July: Final Thesis
This is the overall timeline for master thesis. As you can see, it starts already in the first semester, and ends by the hand-in of the final thesis on the 1st of July after the 4th semester.
In the 1st semester – the students have their first thesis seminar. We want them to start thinking about their thesis as early as possible, to be able to finish by the 1st of July. The departments also start to check availability to supervise, possible restrictions to number groups, remote supervision etc.
In the 2nd semester, the students will have two thesis seminars. They we also be informed about how to find a supervisor, and we expect students might begin to contact you in February. From mid-March, supervisors from some departments may be asked to make an informal agreement, “Agreement in principle to supervise”, before the supervisor allocation process takes place at the end of March. The final allocation is done by the AD/AC and the departments, and the proposed topic and overall capacity considerations determine whether students receive their 1st choice supervisor.
On June 1st, they have their first delivery, the Thesis Proposal, which is a pass/fail element that will be graded by you. We encourage students to get in touch with their supervisor before this hand-in, but that is no requirement.
In their 3rd semester, there are 6 ECTS dedicated to working with the master thesis. We encourage the AD/AC to deliver a thesis seminar in some format, to support the students in the journey from a Thesis Proposal to a Preliminary Thesis Report. We know that the students are scattered around, both on internship and on exchange, but it is important that they have some kind of progression through this semester as well.
In august – you may also be asked to take on additional groups if there are incoming double degree students/ students returning after leave of absence.
In the 4th semester, the second thesis hand-in comes up right away, with the Preliminary thesis report on the 15th of January. This element is also pass/fail, and graded by you. During this semester, the supervision will probably increase. Some AD/Acs offer a last thesis seminar, but that is up to the separate programmes.
On July 1st, their final thesis is due, if everything works out as it should.

4. Hand in deadlines Normal BI student 1 June 15 January 1 July
Thesis Proposal 2 semester
PTR 4 semester
Final thesis 4 Semester
Normal BI student
1 June
15 January
1 July
Outgoing DD
Incoming DD
Outgoing QTEM
Exchange 3rd semester
Business Analytics
30 September
15 February 15 January
Fail/ Retake
1 December
Postponement (Sickness)
15 February
All deadlines are at in the middle of the day. If a deadline falls on a weekend or a holiday, it will be postponed to the next working day.
If students have to retake or postpone the ‘thesis proposal’ until 30 September, they can still deliver the PTR on 15 January
If students have to retake or postpone PTR until 1 June, they have to deliver their ‘final thesis’ on 1 December.
If students due to sickness have to postpone PTR until 15 February, they can still deliver their ‘final thesis’ on 1 July.
Double Degree students who can document an exceptionally heavy workload may apply by latest 15 December for an extended deadline for PTR delivery until 15 February. No early grading on this. They can still deliver their final thesis on 1 July.
So far, I have presented the deadlines for a «normal BI student». There are of course special cases, and in a course as large as the master thesis, those cases need to be clearly specified. This overview has been presented to the students throughout the process, but we recommend that you familiarize yourself with it as well.
One thing worth noting, is again if the students fail the PTR, they won’t be able to deliver their final thesis until December 1st.
Please be aware that there will be no additional deadlines – so you can’t promise anything to the students.

5. Thesis seminars – timing and topics
Alf Ole will make compulsory and schedule
Semester
Suggested dates
Content required
Thesis seminar 1
1-2 hours 1
September (could be combined with Meet and Greet)
Thesis deadlines and hand in dates
Explanation of what a thesis is
Content of each delivery (Thesis Proposal, Preliminary Thesis Report, Thesis)
Ethics, Plagiarism, NSD
Start thinking about thesis writing partners
What make s a good thesis group
Thesis seminar 2
3 hours very important 2
February (prior to the supervisor allocation)
Introduce topics and supervisors
Bring in faculty to present their areas of research (or have an overview)
Introduce the supervisor allocation process
Examples of theses
Thesis seminar 3
More variation here – 1-2
April (after the supervisor allocation)
How to write the thesis proposal (TP)- examples – process focus
More Q&A about writing
Make sure thesis partner found
(Optional) have second years in to give advice
Thesis seminar 4
2-3 hours more important with new schedule 3
September (if physical meeting, before the exchange students leave)
Criteria and explanation of Preliminary Thesis Report (PTR) and thesis – reviewing the process
Make more concrete and give examples
Make sure they have a plan and strategy for research and supervision
Plan for completion
Recap previous
Thesis seminar 5 4
After 15 Jan - Optional
Presentation of Preliminary Thesis Report for supervisors
The ADs and ACs have identified timing and topics for thesis seminars, and you can see that GDPR and NSD are amongst those.
Even though you are not involved in the seminars, it may be good to know what’s been addressed when.

6. Finally – good to know:
Students are required to ask for written confirmation from you and to register where they wish to make changes to topic or group composition.
When they want to change supervisor, they also need to involve their Associate Dean/ Academic Coordinator
Any student questions regarding administrative issues: get in touch with Nick Moe-Pryce, the master thesis coordinator.
From this slide, the most important thing to remember is – if there are any student questions related to administration, such as how to switch supervisor etc, get in touch with Nick at the master administration.
Any other quesitons or comments, just get in touch with me!