INFORMATION ABOUT THESIS SEMINARS, WHAT IS EXPECTED OF YOU AS AUTHOR AND DISCUSSANT, GRADING, ETC.

Several theses are normally examined during the same seminar. You are expected to attend also when you are not active as a discussant or author. Participating in the seminars is mandatory and your performance during the seminar influences your final grade. If you wish to take part in other thesis seminars (i.e., other than those in your seminar group) you are welcome to do so, they are open for all students. The seminars are usually very instructive and it is recommended that you take part in as many as you can. Attending seminars before or during writing your thesis may give you some good ideas and make you better prepared for your own thesis seminar. Thesis seminars are lead by the examiner. Supervisors usually do not attend.

Do you have questions? Get in touch with the Thesis Administrators:

uppsatsadministration@svet.lu.se

Before the seminars

The thesis seminars will address and examine several theses and as a student you are expected to actively participate in all the seminars in your group, even those where you are not the author or discussant. Participation in the seminars makes up part of the grade on the thesis course. It is therefore important that you have read all the theses that are being discussed within your seminar group (usually 4-6 theses) and that all students get the opportunity to comment on each thesis.

Schedules

The day of (or after) thesis submission, the schedule will be sent out via email, along with a list with information on which students are discussing what thesis and contact details for each student.

Students are expected to be available for the entire seminar week. The scheduling is a complicated process where many factors need to be taken into account. It is therefore difficult to accommodate requests from individual students about specific time and date. In order to make sure that you will be able to attend your seminar, please make sure that you are available during the whole period when the seminars take place. (Please note that the seminars are always scheduled according to Central European Time/Central European Summer Time - if you are participating from another time zone, you are expected to adjust accordingly). In case you have a very strong reason for not being able to attend a certain day during the seminar week (e.g. doctor’s appointment, funeral), please note this in your email to the thesis administrators when you submit your thesis. We will then do our best to accommodate your circumstances.

Downloading other students' theses

Log in to LUP Student Papers after you have received your seminar schedule. Select the relevant course in the upper right corner and the semester, eg STVM23, 20222 (autumn semester 2022). Download the papers included in your seminar group by clicking on the thesis titles.

Written Discussion Summary

The discussant(s) should send (by e-mail) a written summary of their discussion to the examiner before the seminar starts (at the latest). It should be concise, not exceeding one page (400 words) and present the most important points you will raise during the seminar. Co-discussants should write and submit this summary together.

During the seminars

Participation in the theses seminars is part of the grade on your thesis course. It is therefore important that you have read all the theses that are being discussed within your seminar group (usually 4-6 theses) and that all students get the opportunity to comment on each thesis.

The outline of the seminars

The examination of a Bachelor’s thesis and One Year Master’s thesis is 45 minutes long, including discussions with the author and other participants in the seminar. The examination of a Two Years Master’s thesis is 60 minutes long. At the examination of master’s theses, the author starts the seminar with a 15 minute presentation of their thesis. At other levels, the discussant(s) shortly present the main points of the thesis. The examiner decides when the other students in the seminar group (i.e., those who are neither author nor discussant) may ask the author(s) questions during the seminar.

Outline of seminars at different levels
Level	Length	Outline
Bachelor and One-Year Master	45 min	The discussant(s) summarise the thesis, present their comments and the author(s) answer queries and address the critique (about 30-35 minutes) The examiner presents their comments and the author(s) answer queries and address the critique (about 10-15 minutes)
Two-Year Master	60 min	The author introduces and summarises their thesis (about 15 minutes) The discussant presents their comments and the author answers queries and addresses the critique (about 30-35 minutes) The examiner presents their comments and the author answers queries and addresses the critique (about 10-15 minutes)

The role of the author during the seminar

The authors are expected to defend their work during the seminar and answer questions posed by the discussants, examiner and other participants. It is important to take constructive criticism to heart; it will aid you in your further academic studies and theses to come.

The role of the discussant(s) during the seminar

Normally, there are two discussants to each Bachelor’s thesis and One Year Master’s thesis while there is just one discussant to Two Years Master’s thesis. When in pairs, the discussants are required to coordinate their discussion before the seminar.

The discussant(s) should lead the discussion with the author(s) while the thesis is being examined. As a discussant, you should prepare to discuss the thesis for about 30-35 minutes, including answers from the author(s). It is important to provide constructive review of the thesis, which usually includes criticism as well as praise.

The discussant(s) should send (by e-mail) a written summary of their discussion to the examiner before the seminar starts (at the latest). It should be concise, not exceeding one page (400 words) and present the most important points you will raise during the seminar. Co-discussants should write and submit this summary together.

The quality of the constructive review and critique will be taken into account when the examiner determines the final grade for the thesis course. More detailed instructions for how to carry out the discussion is found in chapter 6 in The Art of Writing and Speaking (pdf, 1,01 MB, new window) We recommend a careful reading of this chapter before the seminar.

Grading

At the seminar, your examiner will let you know whether the thesis has passed or not. The final, specific grade will be decided on by the examiner as soon as possible after all the theses seminars are completed. This is usually a fairly quick process, but it depends on the examiner's workload. However, three weeks after the thesis seminar, at the latest, grading should be completed and the grade should be available in LADOK.

When grading, the examiner takes the following issues into account:

Are the research problem and question(s) clearly defined and well chosen?
Is the chosen theory relevant, explicitly declared and does it underpin the analysis?
Is the thesis methodologically sound?
Is the analysis of a consistent, high level?
Does the author reach conclusions? In other words, can and does the author answer their research question(s)?
Is there a clear line of argument throughout the thesis? In other words, does the entire thesis address the research question(s)/problem?
Is the outline of the thesis coherent and easy to grasp?
Is the analysis based on a satisfactory amount and selection of material?
Is the material correctly referenced in footnotes/parentheses and a reference list?
Is the thesis well written (not just grammatically correct)?
Does the abstract correctly summarise the thesis?

To receive a higher grade, students must show proficiency in regards to many of these issues. Originality, independence, creativity and critical reflection are all deemed as positive attributes of a thesis. Some consideration will also be given to a bold and ambitious piece of work with a high degree of complexity.

The grade will be negatively affected if: the work effort has been low; the material is too thin; the research problem/question is unclear; the thesis addresses many different issues and is unfocused; parts of the thesis does not address the research problem/question; there are serious methodological deficiencies; the chosen theoretical framework is not used to analyse the material; the language used is characterized by grammatical errors or repeated ambiguities; the account includes errors and inaccuracies; and if the thesis is not properly edited and proof-read.

Active participation in the seminars is valued, in addition to a well performed critical review (for discussants) and a well defended thesis (for authors).

After the seminars

When the thesis seminars have been completed, students have the possibility to upload a revised version (only minor revisions such as spelling mistakes or layout issues) of their thesis to LUP. This has to be done within 5 working days of the seminar. As last time, go to https://lup.lub.lu.se/luur/ and use your Student Account to log in. Delete the old version (ie. the PDF file not the whole thesis post) of the thesis and upload the new one (again as a pdf!). This time you DO NOT have to click on "Submit" as the thesis has already been submitted. If you experience any technical problems, please contact the thesis administrators (see top of page for contact details).

In addition to this, you also have to submit a new printed copy of your thesis to the reception desk (room 231) at the Department of Political Science, for the univeristy archives. If you are unable to come to the Department to submit, you may mail us a printed copy instead. Please add a note to your envelope stating "New archive copy" and send it to:

Statsvetenskapliga institutionen
ATT: Jessica Blom Larsson
Box 52
221 00 Lund

If the examiner fails your thesis, this means you will have to write/edit/compile a new version of your thesis or parts of your thesis. The examiner will decide if it is necessary to have a new thesis seminar or if you can just submit a copy of the new version to them (as a supplementary assignment).

Grading and further measures
Scenario	Necessary measure
Passed	If you are completely satisfied with your thesis, you do not need to do anything. If you wish to make minor revisions (such as spelling mistakes or layout issues), you have to do so within 5 working days and upload the new version to LUP by deleting the old PDF-file and uploading the new one. You also have to submit a printed copy of your thesis to the reception desk (room 231) at the Department of Political Science for the university archive. If you are unable to come to the Department to submit, you may mail us a printed copy instead (see mailing adress above).
Failed & supplementary assignment	A supplementary assignment should be clearly defined by the examiner. After completing the assignment, the new version of the thesis should be submitted to the examiner. This should be done within a time frame defined by the examiner and the student, however, no longer than 10 working days. In such cases, you do not have the right to any further supervision. If you fail to submit the assignment on time, or if the assignment has not been executed in a manner that allows a passing grade, you will have to participate in a thesis seminar again. Submit (via e-mail) the new version of your thesis to your examiner within the defined time-frame (no longer than 10 working days) Upload a new version of your thesis in LUP by replacing the old PDF-file with the new one. Print a copy of the new version and submit it to the reception desk (room 231). If you are unable to come to the Department to submit, you may mail us a printed copy instead (see mailing adress above).
Failed & new thesis seminar	If the thesis fails and a new thesis seminar is required, the author will have to re-submit their thesis and participate in a new set of thesis seminars as discussant and author. The examiner will give advice on what needs to be corrected/changed in the thesis in order for it to receive a passing grade. In exceptional cases, the supervisor can be consulted. The new version of the thesis should then be submitted at the next submission date and will be scheduled for a new thesis seminar. Follow the submission instructions for regular submissions.