The following is a 9-step plan to graduate in the MSc Logic. This plan will take 8 to 12
months. You should start preparing at the beginning of your second year, or in case
you do the Fast Track, you should start thinking about this soon after arrival.
Please note that the thesis defense should be your last examination and although the date of
your last examination will be the date of graduation, the defense is not your graduation itself.
Actual graduation can only take place after the defense (your last examination) and will
at the very least cost you another three weeks to a month. But you must reckon with more time.
Step 1.
10 to 6 months before the thesis defense.
You start to discuss potential thesis supervisors with your mentor. You talk to these
potential supervisors and discuss possible topics.
For more details, see this page.
Step 2.
6 months before the thesis defense.
You reach an agreement with your supervisor. Together you write a short description
of the project and fill in the form called 'Approval of individual programme content MSc Logic'
(PDF file). The
form is signed by you and your supervisor.
Very Important (1). You can only fill in your 'approval' form if you
have finished all of your coursework except for at most 20 EC.
Very Important (2). The courses that you list on
your 'approval' form are FINAL, i.e., these will be the courses that
appear on your transcript. If you list courses on this form
that you don't finish, then you cannot graduate. If you forget to list a
course on that form, it will not be on your final transcript.
For more details, see this page.
Step 3.
6 to 1 month(s) before the thesis defense.
You write the thesis.
Step 4.
1 month before the thesis defense.
You discuss the thesis committee with your supervisor.
The committee must consist of at least three people. The supervisor, one of the members of
(the Board of Examiners)
and a third person, not involved in the supervision of your thesis.
All members of the committee must hold an MSc or equivalent degree. At least
three members of the committee must hold a PhD degree.
You contact the prospective committee members and discuss date and time of
the defense with them.
Please note that for a graduation date during the summer months, you have to plan your
graduation well in advance in discussion with all parties involved. Please mind that although
the Education Service Center is open all summer, your committee members might not be availalbe.
Until the last day of the first full week of September your graduation will be counted towards
the past academic year. After that you will have to pay tuition fee for the next academic year.
You will get a refund for the remainder of the year. For information about this refund
international students can contact the International Office.
Dutch students can contact the Service and Information Center (SIC).
Step 5.
1 month before the thesis defense.
You fill in the 'Arrangement of Thesis Defense' form
(PDF file) and you get the signatures of the
MSc Director and the Board of Examiners. The form is handed in to the MSc Administration
(Tanja Kassenaar). Tanja will arrange a room for the defense, announces the defense to
the members of the defense committee and adds the defense to the News and Events section
of the ILLC webpage.
Step 6.
3 weeks before the thesis defense.
At least three weeks before the defense date, you send the final version
of your thesis by e-mail in PDF format, including an abstract, to the committee members with a
copy to Tanja.
Very Important. This version of the thesis will be accepted for the online
series ILLC Publications after the defense and will be published online on the ILLC
webpage. You can object to the online publication (in this case, please contact Tanja about it),
and you can make final changes to your thesis within one month of your defense (not later).
Step 7.
The public thesis defense
You bring an electronic version of your thesis to the defense (memory stick or otherwise) and make
sure you have a UvAnetID (student ID number) and password in working order.
You present your thesis for 20 minutes and the committee asks questions for 30 minutes.
After that there is another 30 minutes in which the committee withdraws to discuss the grade,
returns to inform you of it's decision and hands you the signed 'Thesis grade report'.
After the defense you and your supervisor find an available computer and you file your thesis to
a webpage of the Faculty of Science. Your supervisor has to approve electronically that this version
of your thesis is the one the defense committee just graded. For the details of this procedure, see
this page.
Step 8.
The week after the thesis defense.
You go to the Education Service Center of the Faculty of Science to apply for your diploma, bringing:
- the thesis grade report,
- a copy of your passport or identity card (a drivers licence is not good enough),
- a copy of the diploma which allowed you to be admitted for the MSc Logic programme, (most of the time nobody will actually ask you to show this)
Step 9.
About 1 month after the thesis defense.
As soon as the diploma and the diploma supplement arrive at the ESC, you will be informed.
Very Important. You have to pick up your diploma at the ESC
in person (as you have to sign the diploma).
If there is absolutely no way that you can pick it up in person, the university now agrees
to send it to you by registered mail at your own risk, cost and initiative. If you are interested
in this, you can find more information here.
If you need a document to confirm your graduation before you receive the diploma
(for applications), please contact Tanja.
A LaTeX stylefile for the MoL titlepage:
