Thesis preparation (MSc)

Before the official thesis period starts, make sure you complete the required administrative tasks (typically in Portflow/Canvas). If you miss prerequisites, you can delay your start date.

This page gives a practical overview. The IEM Canvas pages remain the authoritative source.

Checklist

  • Confirm you meet the formal start requirements (typically: the Thesis Preparation course is completed and you have at least 80 EC, including that course).
  • Confirm you have completed all required Portflow/Canvas activities.
  • Confirm your supervisory team and company contact details are correct.
  • Confirm the agreement and confidentiality status (see the confidentiality section in Thesis Guidelines if relevant).

Uploading portfolio evidence in Portflow

In Portflow, your Thesis Preparation portfolio is organized in collections. You will typically see collections such as:

  • Project Plan
  • Motivation Letter
  • Reflection on Testimonial
  • Article Review

Upload the correct file to the correct collection, and request feedback from the right person (supervisor, lecturer, or coordinator) as required by the course.

Ethical review (if applicable)

If your research involves human participants, personal data, or sensitive topics, you may need ethical approval before you start collecting data.

  • Submit the ethical review request about 6 weeks before you expect to start data collection.
  • Allow time for revision because supervisors may need to review or approve the submission.
  • Use the official UT process for BMS/HSS ethical review.

If you are unsure whether your project requires ethical review, ask early. Administrative processes often take longer than expected.

Article review (MSc)

The article review is a training exercise in academic reading and writing. In practice, you will fill in an article review form in Portflow.

Choose an article from the predetermined list on Canvas. The assessors know these papers well and can give targeted feedback. If the listed papers do not fit your topic, we can choose a seminal article or one that is central to your work.