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Thesis writing guidelines – Master in International Security and Law

The Master thesis is the culmination of the Master’s degree programme. While you will effectively

start working on your thesis in the 4th semester of study, the preparation for the final product should

start earlier. This package is designed to assist you to plan your work and make sure you will

complete the programme successfully. The thesis guidelines include:

Start of dissertation

Selecting a supervisor

Supervisor agreement

Submission

Other formalities

Guidelines

Plagiarism

Procedure

Working plan template

Start of dissertation

Formally, your dissertation starts when you register for the “Dissertation” course during the general

registration for courses. This means that you have to register in November if you want to write your

dissertation in the spring semester and in May if you want to write it in the autumn semester.

The course registration also serves as an exam registration. The exam is compulsory. The date of

the exam (the deadline for submitting the dissertation) is six months after the start of the semester,

i.e. 31 July if you start on 1 February and 28 February if you start on 1 September. If these dates fall

in weekends or holidays, the thesis is due the first workday in the next month.

NOTE: As a result of the Study Progress Reform, the deadline for submitting dissertations will be

changed to around 1 June or 4 January for dissertations begun on or after 1 September 2016. Further

information will follow when the curriculum and course description are revised in autumn 2015.

If you have been registered for courses totalling 90 ECTS credits before a semester, you have to

register for the dissertation; you cannot postpone it.

Under special circumstances, the university may grant exemption from the rule that the thesis must

be the final element in the master’s programme, and/or grant exemption on the beginning and end

of the dissertation. Special circumstances include, for example, pregnancy, illness or illness among

your nearest relatives (all documented as appropriate).

Selecting a supervisor

Academically, the dissertation starts when you contact a lecturer who can provide supervision

within the dissertation’s subject area. The supervisor must be permanently employed at the

Department of Political Science and Public Management or the Department of Law. You can find

inspiration from the Department’s research groups’ page.

A good way to choose a topic is to review the syllabi of your core and elective courses for potential

ideas, but in addition, we also asked your teachers and members of SDU’s Center for War Studies

to briefly introduce themselves and their supervision philosophy and list topics, which they can

offer supervision. You can find the information here. There is a lot you can learn about potential

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supervisors also by looking up their profiles (focusing on their areas of research and work

experience) and talking to current students who are working under different supervisors.

Once you have made your choice you should contact the supervisor of your choice, briefly explain

your interest and initial thesis idea, and check if s/he is available, as there is a cap in the number of

students each researcher can supervise at one time and the supervisor of your choice might not be

able to respond positively to your request for supervision. In such a case, you don’t necessarily have

to change your idea for a topic, but only identify another researcher who may cover the topic you

have selected.

Most lecturers will be happy to act as supervisors. In some cases, however, the lecturer may be very

busy with other supervisions or projects, so that he or she is not able to take on more dissertations

for a period of time.

Read more about how to use your supervisor.

Supervisor agreement

When you and your supervisor have come to an agreement, you have to complete an electronic

dissertation contract. This form includes a field in which you have to enter a dissertation plan

prepared by you and your supervisor. When you have uploaded this form, it will be sent to your

supervisor for approval. It will then be sent to the head of studies, who has to approve the

dissertation proposal and make sure that a supervision plan is made.

If you wish to write your dissertation with another student, you each need to complete a dissertation

contract.

If you have registered for the dissertation and the head of studies has not yet received a completed

digital dissertation contract by 15 October (with a dissertation start date of 1 September) or by 15

March (with a dissertation start date of 1 February), the head of studies will assign a supervisor to

you. Therefore it is important to make sure your supervision terms are in place in good time.

Submission

Normally, the dissertation must be submitted no later than 31 July/28 February.

In the spring semester of 2016 you will have the opportunity to submit your dissertation two months

before the official deadline of 31 July 2016 (i.e. 31 May 2016) in order to have it graded earlier. If

you wish to make use of this option, you must inform the Student Information Point by 2 May

2016. This choice is binding.

NOTE: As a result of the Study Progress Reform, the normal deadline for submitting dissertations

will be changed to around 1 June and 4 January for dissertations begun on or after 1 September

2016. The deadlines for early submission may also be changed or be cancelled altogether. Further

information will follow when the curriculum and course description are revised in autumn 2015.

The dissertation must be submitted in both digital and hardcopy formats. Digital submission takes

place via SDU Assignment. In addition, you must submit three hardcopies to the Student

Information Point. Whether the dissertation is allowed to be lent to others or not, you have to fill in

and sign a form in the Student Information Point.

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If you do not submit your dissertation before the deadline, you will have used one exam attempt and

you will automatically be registered for a re-examination three months after the missed deadline. In

addition, a new dissertation contract must be submitted within 14 days of the missed deadline –

otherwise the head of studies will assign a supervisor to you. When the head of studies approves the

new contract, you must have a conversation about the reasons for the delay and how the University

can help you to complete your dissertation. The same will happen if you do not submit by the

second deadline.

If your dissertation is given a fail grade, you will be registered for a re-examination three months

after your grade is posted in the self-service system. You must submit a new dissertation contract to

the head of studies within 14 days. If the head of studies approves the new contract, you must have

a conversation with him or her about the reasons for the delay and how the University can help you

complete your dissertation. The same will happen if you do not pass the re-examination or do not

submit.

More information is available in the dissertation contract, the Act on Universities and the Executive

Order on University Degree Programmes.

You can only receive a deadline extension if you become ill, experience a serious personal problem

that results in a documented inability to meet the deadline, or if you become a parent during the

contract period and wish to take parental leave. In all these cases you should contact the Study

Board to apply for an extension. Apply as early as possible and always remember to provide

documentation.

Apart from parental leave, you may not take a leave during the dissertation writing period except in

exceptional circumstances.

Other formalities

The dissertation’s cover page must include the following: your name and civil registration number,

the submission date, the name of the Department, the name(s) of your supervisor(s), the number of

characters and the title of the dissertation in both Danish and English. The maximum number of

characters includes spaces in the text, but not annexes, notes, the table of contents or the

bibliography. If the number of characters in the dissertation is not indicated or if it is exceeded, the

dissertation will be rejected.

For information about the scope and language of the dissertation, as well as group work, see the

curriculum. You can find the curriculum for the master’s programme in International Security and

Law here.

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Guidelines

The Master Thesis is the result of independent research that you as a student shall perform as part of

MOISL. This can be an extremely exciting and at the same time challenging task. In the following

you can find guidelines that should help you to complete your thesis successfully.

1. Purpose

The obvious purpose of writing a thesis is to gain in-depth and specialist knowledge of and insight

into a particular area of international relations, law, or ethics. In so doing, you are also requested to

demonstrate that you can apply knowledge, insight, and skills acquired during the programme. The

thesis should demonstrate your ability to:

1) Independently identify a theoretical or empirical puzzle;

2) Formulate a coherent and fruitful research question (or a set of questions) within the general field

of international security and law;

3) Identify and explain the fundamental legal, political and/or normative issues pertaining to the

chosen subject;

4) Describe, apply and discuss as appropriate legal, political and/or normative theories as well as

methodologies that are relevant for answering the research question;

5) Define, as appropriate, a research strategy and design, which (in theses with an empirical

research question) includes methods of data collection and analysis;

6) Systematically analyse the chosen subject by making use of relevant data/material;

7) Synthesise, develop, and/or contribute to knowledge within the general field of international

security and law;

8) Critically discuss and assess the conducted research, including the research process;

9) Draw conclusions and make assessment, policy recommendations (if relevant) or suggestions for

future research;

10) Report the findings in a coherent and appropriate academic form with emphasis on clarity,

structure, documentation, analysis and synthesis.

In sum, the thesis shall demonstrate that you have acquired theoretical and methodological skills

enabling the independent and original formulation, analysis and presentation of academic issues

relating to your chosen subject. Therefore, the thesis may not incorporate the student’s previous

written work.

2. Editing

A thesis must be typewritten on A4 metric size paper (21 cm x 29.7 cm) in a clear and legible font

(e.g., Times 12 or Arial 10) and with 1.5 lines spacing. If you wish, you may use larger size type for

the title of the thesis and for chapter headings. Reduced type may be used within tables, figures, and

appendices. Every page in the thesis, including those with tables and figures, must be numbered.

Printed material should be typed on both sides of the paper. The manuscript is to be neat in

appearance and without error.

References must be inserted in a consistent way: either in footnotes or in the body of the text

according to one of the following referencing styles:

1. Harvard referencing style (pdf)

2. Chicago referencing style

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3. Use of electronic databases

The Internet is an immense pool of resources and information that you can use for your research,

but it can also be overwhelming. In particular, it can be difficult to evaluate the academic rigour of

internet publications. Google Scholar is of course a good starting point, but we strongly advise

students to focus on academic databases where you can search across journals and disciplines.

For academic journal articles, you can use JSTOR, IngentaConnect, and Web of Knowledge. For

newspapers, magazines and legal records you can also use LexisNexis. You can access all above-

mentioned databases from SDU library catalogue. Other relevant databases are listed here for

international relations: http://libguides.gwu.edu/intreldatabases; and here for international law:

http://www.asil.org/resources/electronic-resource-guide-erg and http://research.un.org/en/docs/law.

SDU’s online catalogue is also an important resource to find out about books, databases and other

publications relevant to your topic. In particular, the electronic journal database is an excellent point

of entry to look for journals in international relations or international law.

SDU librarians are also always available to assist you in your research: don’t hesitate to ask them to

help you! They also have a page with interesting tips and they organize courses to improve your

information retrieval skills

4. Form of instruction:

Students are supervised individually by their supervisors.

A three-day thesis writing seminar is organised in February and April and students are highly

recommended to attend it. The seminar leader, Assistant Professor Jon Rahbeck-Clemmensen, is

one of the two faculty contact persons for potential student queries regarding questions on the thesis

writing process. The other contact person is Professor Frederik Harhoff. The faculty contact persons

provide students, if necessary, with an opportunity to discuss thesis-related questions with a person

who will not be grading their final thesis.

The faculty contact persons can give advice regarding various issues, but they will always fully

respect the authority of the student’s supervisor and cannot comment on matters regarding the

substance of an individual thesis.

5. Thesis Supervision

Supervisors are available to help their students at every stage, from formulation of their research

projects through establishing methodologies and discussing results, to presentation and possible

publication of dissertations. Supervisors also ensure that their students’ work meets the standards of

the University and the academic discipline. Thus, your supervisor will offer guidance on selecting

and demarcating your subject and discuss your progress with you, but s/he will also assess the final

product with a second reviewer.

Supervision may take the form of email correspondence, telephone, webcam and/or meetings. The

extent of supervision depends on individual needs but cannot exceed 5 hours of face-to-face, verbal

or electronic communication in total (that is not including the supervisor’s time for preparation). If

the thesis has more than one author 1½ hours will be added for each additional author. Given these

time constraints you need to carefully consider how you want to make use of your supervision

hours.

It is recommended that supervision is focused on methodological and theoretical issues and

particularly relevant discussions.

The frequency of contact with your supervisor will have to be agreed with your supervisor and

presented in a work plan that includes a minimum number of meetings and tentatively define how

they will be scheduled. Such a work-plan is drafted on the basis of a template (see below) and

copied into the online supervision agreement form.

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Make sure you prepare well for the meetings with your supervisor. In such meetings your

supervisor will assess your progress and provide you with feedback, and it is important that you

prepare well for those discussions so that you can benefit from them as much as possible.

If you experience any problem with your supervisor, please discuss this directly with him/her.

Should the problem persist you can address the Academic Student Advisors, the Faculty contact

persons or the Academic Study Board.

6. Structure

A MA thesis typically includes an introduction, a literature review (not mandatory for international

law), a section discussing your own approach and methodology, a section presenting the empirical

analysis, and the conclusions. However, you should aim at tailoring the structure of your thesis

according to your research question and the specific (theoretical and empirical) elements that are

necessary to answer that question. You should also discuss the structure of your thesis with your

supervisor to find the best possible fit for your thesis.

7. Length and group work

The thesis must not exceed 192.000 keystrokes (80 pages of 2.400 keystrokes, including spaces but

excluding table of contents, footnotes/endnotes, appendices and bibliography). The number of

keystrokes must be indicated on the front page.

Theses written by two students must not exceed 336.000 keystrokes (140 pages of 2.400

keystrokes).

If the thesis has more than one author, the students are individually responsible for an explicitly

specified part of the thesis. All authors share responsibility for the introduction, the summaries and

the conclusion.

8. Language

The thesis must be written in English. The linguistic clarity of the thesis can affect the evaluation of

the thesis both if it is conspicuously bad or remarkably good. If a student has a documented

linguistic or physical disability the Study Board can dispense from this provision. Every student

should run a spell-check and re-read the thesis for clarity and language issues before handing it in.

9. Evaluation

When you have submitted your dissertation, your supervisor and the external examiner will grade it

according to the seven-point grading scale. The grade will be given within one month.

NOTE: For all dissertations registered on and after 1 February 2016, grading will begin

immediately after the submission deadline. The grade will be available within a month.

At the student’s request, and at an agreed time, the supervisor can give the student detailed oral

feedback on the strengths and weaknesses of the dissertation and justify the grade.

The student can also mark the occasion with a glass of wine or something else festive.

If the student would like oral feedback from the supervisor, this should take place within one month

of the grading.

Prior approval of dissertations has been abolished, since grades will now be available within one

month after submission.

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The final assessment of the thesis will be conducted jointly by the supervisor and a second

reviewer. Your final grade will always be decided in consultation between the two and according to

the Danish grade scale. The second reviewer is chosen from an official list of authorised co-

examiners. They have academic qualifications equal to university teachers. The objective of

involving second reviewers is to strengthen the assessment of each individual master thesis and to

safeguard the quality of the study programme as a whole.

The linguistic clarity of the thesis can affect the evaluation of the thesis both if it is conspicuously

bad or remarkably good. If a student has a documented linguistic or physical disability the Study

Board can dispense from this provision.

The criteria to assess your master thesis are described below. They indicate the elements students

can develop in order to improve their work but they are also an ‘aide-memoire’ for markers.

However, they are not equally weighted, nor weighted the same for each dissertation. Reviewers

may also judge other aspects such as innovation, effort, idiosyncrasy, flow, misunderstandings,

repetition, verbosity, well-argued opinions and so forth, so the same grid references may not result

in the same overall mark either between students or between pieces of work.

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10. Assessment Criteria

12 10 7 4 2 0 -3

Overall An excellent

performance

displaying a high

level of command

of all aspects of

the relevant

material, with no

or only a few

minor

weaknesses.

A very good

performance

displaying a

high level of

command of

most aspects

of the relevant

material, with

only minor

weaknesses.

A good

performance

displaying

good command

of the relevant

material but

also some

weaknesses.

A fair

performance

displaying

some command

of the relevant

material but

also

some major

weaknesses.

A performance

meeting only

the minimum

requirements

for acceptance.

A performance

which does not

meet the

minimum

requirements

for

acceptance.

A performance

which is

unacceptable in

all respects.

Research

&

Content

Independent

research showing

great research

skill/s and

originality in

conceptual

understanding.

Great breadth of

sources.

Sophisticated

content

elaborated

academically.

Interdisciplinary

approach (but not

necessary to give

a 12). Worthy of

retaining for

future reference.

Relevant,

independent

research.

Sources used

with very good

skill to support

thorough

content. Very

good

achievement of

stated

objectives and

awareness of

shortcomings.

Good evidence

of relevant

research,

mostly

effectively used

to support good

content.

Demonstrates a

clear

programme of

research

supported by

evidence of

hard work in

pursuit of

worthwhile

objectives.

.

Evidence of

research and

reading.

Diligent

execution and

sound outcome.

Some

omissions or

inaccuracies in

content.

Satisfactory

piece of work,

but with

identifiable

unfulfilled

potential.

Relatively un-

ambitious and

not innovative.

Limited

evidence of

research and

reading. Some

omissions or

inaccuracies in

content.

Objectives not

fully achieved.

Un-ambitious

work, of

limited scope.

Lacking

sufficient,

properly used

or accurate

research. Some

essential

content missing

or wrong.

Programme of

work unclear,

incomplete or

absent

objectives

inadequately

framed. Over

reliance on few

references.

Little

discernible use

of research or

misuse or

abuse of

research. Weak

or irrelevant

content.

Minimal

knowledge of

the subject.

Does not

acknowledge

its sources.

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Structure

&

Focus

Clear and precise

development of

research question,

hypotheses, and

main argument.

Innovative,

coherent, and

well organised.

Structurally

and

argumentativel

y coherent

response to the

question.

Shows mature

skills.

Fairly well

structured.

Argument

relevant to the

question.

Fair attempt at

a developed

argument but

not always

focused on the

question and/or

lacking clarity.

Sufficiently

structured

argument but

not always

focused on the

question and/or

lacking clarity.

Structure

illogical,

disorganised,

and/or drifts off

the question.

Lacks

academic

approach.

Unstructured,

disorganised

and/or doesn’t

relate to the

question.

Overall

structure

characterized

by unsupported

Critical

Ability

Rigorous. Deeply

interrogative.

Offers (as

appropriate)

critical analysis;

critical evaluation

of current

research;

understanding of

methods;

problem-solving;

management of

significant body

of data; new

queries. Excellent

management of

significant body

of data. Doctoral

potential.

Sophisticated,

mature critical

analysis with

intellectual

rigour and

original insight.

Shows good

evidence of (as

appropriate):

critical

analysis;

critical

evaluation of

current

research;

understanding

of methods;

problem-

solving; very

good

management of

significant

body of data.

Sufficiently

critical

reasoning,

evident

understanding

but little

originality.

Shows fair

evidence of (as

appropriate):

critical

analysis;

critical

evaluation of

current

research;

understanding

of methods;

problem-

solving; good

management of

a significant

body of data.

More

descriptive than

analytic.

Showing some

understanding.

Limited

evidence of

attainment in

the following

as appropriate:

critical

analysis:

evaluation of

current

research:

understanding

of research

methodology;

fair

management of

a significant

body of data.

Mainly

descriptive and

showing lack

of confidence

and clarity.

Anecdotal,

descriptive and

uncritical.

Understanding

too superficial

or limited for a

Masters thesis.

Hearsay,

subjective

opinion or just

wrong with

little evidence

of

understanding.

Lacks critical

appraisal of

material.

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Style

&

References

A pleasure to

read and

professionally

referenced.

Lucid, stylish and

appropriate for

formal published

academic work.

Clear, accurate

and appropriate

style. Effective

communication

. Accurate

referencing.

Appropriate

style with only

occasional

spelling and/or

grammatical

errors.

References

mostly done to

Masters

standard.

Attempts

academic style

but needs

editing or with

errors of

spelling,

grammar

and/or missing/

inaccurate

references.

Errors of

spelling,

grammar

and/or missing/

inaccurate

references.

Uneven style,

with spelling,

grammar and

syntax errors.

Showing lack

of care.

Missing or

inaccurate

referencing.

Mostly

unintelligible.

Poor

style/presentati

on and/or much

too brief.

Sparse or

wrong

references.

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Plagiarism

You are not permitted to use or copy all or part of another person’s work or paraphrase such

work without proper acknowledgement of the source(s) through appropriate references. Failing

to do this is considered plagiarism. In such a case your supervisor will notify the Study Board,

which may impose sanctions including to grade the thesis as “failed”. Your thesis will be

checked for plagiarism by means of the ‘Safe Assign’ function on Blackboard.

Procedure

1. Selection of topic and thesis supervisor: When it is about time to write your Master's thesis,

you are required to contact a MOISL/CWS researcher to find a supervisor.

2. Registration: In cooperation with your supervisor you fill in an online supervisory agreement

form which includes a work plan (see template below). When the supervisory agreement has

been co-signed by your supervisor, it is passed on to the Head of the Study Board. Approval by

the Head of the Study Board is a requirement. The supervision agreement must be submitted by

March 15 (spring semester) or October 15 (fall semester). If no contract is submitted in due time,

the Head of Studies assigns the student a supervisor. Entering into a supervisory agreement

means you at the same time register for the examination. Cancellation is not possible. If the

Master's thesis is not handed in on time, this will be registered as an examination attempt.

3. Hand in: The thesis must be handed in at the end of the fourth semester of the Master’s

program (31st of July) if the student lacks no ECTS from previous semesters. If lacking ECTS,

the student has to apply to the Study Board for a later hand in in the fall semester (28 February).

The Master's thesis must be handed in via SDU-assignment on blackboard and in 3 copies

(external examiner, supervisor and archives; 4 copies if you would like to grant access to your

Master Thesis via the library) to the Student Information Point. When you hand in the Master's

thesis via SDU-assignment you will automatically receive a receipt. This receipt must be handed

in with the paper version of the Master's thesis. On the cover page please state: a) Your name and

civil registration number (cpr.no.); b) Name of your supervisor and his/her department; c) The

title of your Master’s Thesis.

4. Thesis Form: With the Master’s thesis, you have to hand in a Lending out of thesis form,

where you state, whether you want to grant open access to the thesis via the library at SDU or

not. Please print the form in advance and bring it when you submit the thesis, signed by your

supervisor.

5. Failed attempts: A thesis which is not handed in within the indicated timeframe counts as one

failed attempt. In this case, the student will automatically be registered for the re-exam.

Cancellation of registration for the re-exam is not possible. If the student does not pass the first

attempt, a new thesis contract must be signed no later than 14 days after the student either failed

to participate in the exam (i.e. did not hand in the thesis) or was notified about a non-pass grade.

It is not necessary to apply to the Study Board. By the signing of a new

contract the student has three months until the thesis must be resubmitted. This new date will be

the deadline for the 2nd examination attempt. A 3rd examination attempt must be granted

according to the same procedures as for the 2nd examination attempt, if the Master’s thesis is not

handed in before the new deadline.

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6. Possibilities for exemption: In special situations, the Study Board may dispense from the

indicated deadlines. Extension of the deadline can only be granted in the case of extraordinary

reasons that differ from normal conditions. This could be illness (documented by a doctor’s note)

or illness among your nearest relatives. This kind of extension requires an application to the

Study Board.

Work plan template

* Please note the right-hand column contains only examples.

Supervisor’s holidays / absence Christmas, Easter, July, conferences

Student’s holidays / absence Christmas, summer break

Meeting schedule (tentative) and required

material

e.g. Meeting 1: week 8 – abstract and table

of contents

Meeting 2: week 12 – Introduction and

tentative Chapter 1

Meeting 3: week 20 – Chapter 1, 2 and 3

Meeting 4: week 26 – Chapter 4 and

Conclusions