Thesis projects / independent projects

Guide to Bachelor & Master projects at SLU

See here for a complete guide and more information relating to food science projects

Overall aim of the projects:

An independent project is a project where you will apply your in-depth knowledge, skills and approach to an issue in the field of the education. Often, the independent project is at the end of your education where you will plan, conduct and present an academic study.

Rules on publishing:

Independent projects (degree projects) that have received a pass grade are deposited and published in Epsilon, SLU’s electronic publishing tool. The student owns the copyright to their independent project and equivalent work. According to the Copyright Act, SLU must obtain the permission of all authors involved to publish their work. The department must document and archive this permission. If an author does not agree to publishing, the work must still be deposited to register metadata and archiving

Overall guidelines to the projects can be found in the handbook:

Education planning and administration handbook | Studentwebben

Independent project (degree project)

Useful information about independent projects such as grading criteria and other regulations at the NJ faculty are found using this link:

Independent project at the NJ faculty | Medarbetarwebben

Expectations of the different roles:

Specific detail can be found using this link: guidance-independent-project_eng-v2022-02-28.pdf

Who is responsible for what?

Student

The student is responsible for writing a work plan and schedule in consultation with their supervisor. The student carries out their independent project with the aim to meet the intended learning outcomes. The student initiates meetings with their supervisor in accordance with the stipulated supervision hours (10 hours/15 credits or 20 hours/30 credits). A student’s right to supervision only concerns a specific course instance.

Supervisor

The supervisor’s function is to supervise the student to help them meet the intended learning outcomes. The supervisor should inform the student of the available number of supervision hours, help them plan their independent project and co-write their work plan. A supervisor can supervise several students within the same course instance. In certain cases, a student is allowed several supervisors – one must act as the principal supervisor, the others as assistant supervisors. A supervisor can discourage students from submitting the final version of their independent project for defence if it risks receiving a fail grade. However, it is ultimately up to the student to decide what to do.

If necessary, the supervisor must submit bases for assessment to the examiner. If a student did not achieve a pass grade, occasional supervision may be offered after the course ends.

Head of department

The head of department at the department where the principal supervisor works is responsible for ensuring that there are supervision resources.

Examiner

The examiner and supervisor cannot be the same person. There may be several examiners in one course instance; however, there may only be one per student project. The examiner assesses and grades a student’s independent project, using the intended course learning outcomes and grading criteria as the starting point. The examiner must make the grading decision without any influence from the supervisor. If necessary, the examiner can require bases for assessment from the supervisor. If several students have written an independent project, the assessment of student performance must be individual. If necessary, the examiner may request that each student provides a report of their individual work on an independent project.

Students who do not receive a pass grade for the course instance in question have the right to be reassessed in the same manner as for other courses.

Course coordinator

The course coordinator has a general role and coordinating function at department level, and they approve the work plan. The course coordinator is contacted if, for example, there are cooperation problems or if the student wishes to change subject or supervisor. The course coordinator is also responsible for applying course evaluation procedures on independent projects.

External partners

Agreements with external partners are made through separate agreements, and between SLU and the partner in question, not the student (any remuneration exempted). In cases where the student carries out their project externally and has an external supervisor, they must also have a principal supervisor at SLU who is responsible for ensuring that the project is carried out in accordance with SLU guidelines and a course syllabus.