Your master thesis supervisor must be a member of the department's permanent teaching staff, although PhD students do not supervise master theses. You can request a specific supervisor by completing the online formula within the deadlines below. It is a good idea to contact the supervisor before the deadline to clarify whether it is good match, but your request is not registered until you complete the online formula.
It is not necessary to have a detailed thesis problem or research question in advance, but you must indicate the broader field or topic that your thesis will likely fall within in order to give the supervisor a chance to consider the right match. This topic is not binding and can be changed later.
The supervisor request formula also enables you to indicate 1-2 alternative choices for supervisor. Adding alternative choices is optional and there is no guarantee that alternative choices can be accommodated.
If unsure about who can supervise on your topic, you can search in the catalogue of supervisor competencies in the right column of this page and you can also contact several possible supervisors for a short talk about your thesis idea. If you are more students writing together, please also contact supervisors and fill out the formula together.
The role of supervisor
Before choosing a supervisor for your Master’s thesis, you should consider the purpose of the supervision. Should your supervisor primarily be:
Often, the supervisor will offer a combination of the above, but it is important that you reflect on your core supervision needs to succeed with your thesis. The chemistry between the student and the supervisor is important, but it is also very much about balancing expectations.
That is why it may be a good idea to write down what you expect from a supervisor during the Master’s thesis process. It is your own responsibility to find a supervisor among the permanent lecturers at the Department of Political Science. In this connection, it’s common practice to contact a few potential supervisors before you make the final decision. To actually “shop around” for a supervisor by contacting several lecturers - perhaps even several times - before you make up your mind, is not advisable. However, making introductory contact to two or three lecturers about the possibility of Master’s thesis supervision can be a good way of finding a supervisor.
The Degree Programme Order specifies that the university is responsible for setting up a Master’s thesis supervision plan for the student.
When you have found a supervisor, the two of you need to balance your expectations and plan the process.
The division of roles between the thesis writer and the supervisor:
The thesis writer Makes the decisions, does the work | Supervisor Acts as consultant, assessor |
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Remember that the thesis will always be “work in progress”, and that a good thesis process is concluded with a thesis which is handed in on time.
The form to request a supervisor will available again at the time of information meeting about the Master's thesis in the autumn semester 2024.
Deadline for completing and submitting the form:
If you have not submitted your request for a supervisor within the deadline, please contact Susanne Vang by writing to: susanne@ps.au.dk.
Your supervisor must formally approve of your preliminary title and thesis statement. This means that immediately before you begin writing your Master’s thesis, you will be asked to upload your preliminary title and thesis statement to WISEflow, where it will await formal approval from your supervisor. You can find the relevant deadline in the table under 'Deadlines'.
It is perfectly acceptable for the preliminary title and thesis statement to be identical to the description you submitted via the online form in connection with your request for / choice of supervisor, and you may change your title and thesis statement in collaboration with your supervisor on an ongoing basis while writing your Master’s thesis.