For students > Thesis
Thesis
Choosing the subject and the supervisor
Theses are normally written in connection with a course subject followed by the student. However, it is also possible to write your thesis within another legal area if a supervisor can be found.
The thesis topic must be approved by a supervisor, who has been employed at the faculty within the last semester. Please note that assisting lecturers cannot be thesis supervisors. All other academic staff - incl. PhD students - may serve as thesis supervisors.
As a thesis student you are entitled to 3 x 45 minutes of supervision during the 6 month of the thesis period. In general, it is not possible to change supervisor after the contract is signed.
Registration
You register for the thesis by having the supervisor sign the thesis contract from the list of forms. The thesis contract is handed in to the Student Counselling Centre immediately after the signature of the supervisor and 6 weeks before handing in the thesis at the latest.
The topic of the thesis must be approved by the signature of the supervisor, who determines when the thesis should be started at the same time. After this you will have 6 months to complete your thesis and hand it in. The problem formulation is preliminary and determines your topic and overall delimitation of the topic. It is not possible to change the topic in the process, but you will be able to adjust your problem formulation, when you become absorbed in the topic.
Formalities
Requirements of form
There are a number of requirements of form in connection with the thesis, which you must considerate:
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Front page: Your thesis must be provided with the official thesis front page. Find the front page in the list of forms (under "Forms in English".
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English summary: All theses/written reports must be provided with an English summary, regardless of the language you have chosen. The summary must be no longer than a standard page (2,340 characters ex. spaces). This page is not included in the dimensions of the thesis. The summary is included in the total assessment of the thesis/written report.
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List of sources: It is very important that you remember to state your sources. If you do not, you may run the risk of being accused of exam cheating with the risk of expulsion from the university. Read more about exam cheating.
Extent
In addition to the requirements above, there are rules on how large your thesis may be. The thesis makes up for 30 ECTS in 2009 curriculum.
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1 student: A maximum of 140,400 characters ex. space
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2 students: A maximum of 187,200 characters ex. space
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3 or more students: A maximum of 234,000 characters ex. spaces at 30 ECTS.
Front page, list of contents, notes, bibliography, English summary and any enclosures of a documentary nature are not included in the number of characters.
Submission and assessment
Submission
You can hand in your thesis from 6 weeks after you have enrolled, and until the submission deadline.
The thesis must be handed in to the Student Counselling Centre. Please note that you can only hand in the thesis in the period from 10:00 to 12:30.
The assignment must be provided with the official thesis front page, where you must state the extent of the thesis (number of characters), and how many ECTS points it makes up for. The front page you can find on the list of forms.
The thesis must be bound with a glued or spiral spine. Theses in a plastic case, ring binder etc are not accepted.
When you hand it in, you must bring the following:
- A valid student ID
- A copy of the thesis in loose sheets incl. front page
- 3 bound copies of the thesis incl. front page if the thesis/written report may be used at the Faculty of Law Library
- 2 bound copies incl. front page if the thesis cannot be used at the Faculty of Law Library
- 2 additional loose front pages
If you do not have the above with you, you run the risk of not being able to hand in your thesis.
If you do not have the opportunity to visit the Student Counselling Centre, please send your thesis in the mail. Please note that this kind of submission is entirely at your own risk. If you wish to use this possibility, please contact the Student Counselling Centre in advance so that you are sure that you send all the necessary items, and your thesis is not rejected.
Assessment and pre-approval
You will receive your thesis grade by email on KUnet no later than two months from the date of submission. In the calculation of the two months neither the month of July nor Easter and Christmas are included. If you have handed in your thesis less than six weeks after the contract, the remaining part of the 6 weeks will be included in your assessment time.
If you complete your master’s programme with the thesis, remember to unenrol and order a master’s diploma. The Students Counselling Centre can help you, if you have questions in regard to this.
Special types of theses
Collective theses
To or more students can write the thesis together. However, the thesis is graded individually. Therefore it must be clearly stated, who has written what. However, the introduction, conclusion, and summary can be joint.
You must state in the thesis contract that you wish to write a group thesis. Each group member must fill in a thesis contract including the same problem formulation and information as the other group members.
If you and your thesis partner decide that you cannot continue to write together, you may carry on individually. This requires that both the supervisor and the faculty are informed about this by email to studieinformation@jur.ku.dk from both of you. Please note that you cannot change the topic or the supervisor or set a new deadline for the thesis.
English thesis
It is possible to write the thesis in English. If you write the thesis in connection with an English course subject it requires no special permission.
If you write the thesis in connection with a Danish course subject you must seek a special permission, if you wish to write the thesis in English. You must apply no later than at the same time as the supervisor approves the topic by sending in an application to the Student Counselling Centre.
Tips and tools for the thesis process
Here you can find a variety of services and tools for the thesis writing process.
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Thesis guide: Professor at the Faculty of Law, Jørn Vestergaard, has written a thesis guide (PDF), which we recommend you read before starting the thesis writing. Here you will find good advice on the whole process from idea to ready product.
- Thesis seminar: Every semester the faculty organizes a thesis seminar where you can get advice on choice of topic and supervisor, but also receive input to the writing process and introduction to the library’s information retrieval. It is an advantage to participate in the thesis seminar already on the semester before you plan to write your thesis.
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Thesis adviser: The Board of Studies has appointed a specialist consultant, who can give you advice and guidance in the event that you have difficulty finding a topic or a supervisor. Consult the Student Counselling Centre, if you wish to use this scheme.
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The library’s courses in information retrieval: Each semester the library holds various courses targeted for thesis writers’ information retrieval. The courses will be announced at the Faculty of Law Library website. Please note that these courses are also held only in Danish.
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Group rooms for thesis writers: The Study and Career Counselling have created a group on KUnet for upcoming and ongoing thesis writers. In the group room you can find other thesis writers to spar with, exchange tips, find a writing buddy or a thesis writing group. It is a closed forum only for thesis writers and you can access it by writing an email to studievejledning@jur.ku.dk. The mail must be sent from your UCPH mail.
If you do not hand in your thesis on time
If you do not hand in your thesis within the period of the 6 months, you have used one of your three exam attempts. You must, however, now make a new thesis contract, and then with a slightly different problem formulation within the same general topic and with the same supervisor you will get 3 more months to complete your thesis. You must use the contract "Registration for thesis for 2nd and 3rd attempt" that you will find on the list of forms.
Please note that the thesis contract must be approved by both the supervisor and head of studies before you can submit your thesis. The 3 months run from the approval of the head of studies.
Within 3 months you are entitled to 1 x 45 minutes of supervision.
The above rules also apply in the event that you do not hand in you thesis on time at your second thesis attempt, and thus have to use the third and final exam attempt.
Written reports
A written report replaces ECTS credits in your master’s programme. I.e. you may choose to make a written report of 30 ECTS credits instead of taking 3 course subjects.
However, please note that you can only replace ECTS points, which are not already bound to the course subjects. If you have one or several course subjects that you have been enrolled in, and not taken the exam in, you cannot avoid the exam by writing a written report instead.
To approve a written report the supervisor signs a registration form, which you can find on the list of forms. A deadline for the making of written reports is not set, but you must specify when you expect to hand in your report.
The rules for writing written reports are the same as the above rules for the thesis. However, the deadline is not binding on the written reports. If you are unable to hand in your report on time, simply contact the faculty with information about when you expect to hand in your report.