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Written dissertation

The master’s dissertation is a written report of the scientific research the student has conducted.

Go through the UFORA learning path ‘Generative AI for Students: From concepts to creation’ so that you are well-informed about what you can, may, and want to do with generative artificial intelligence (GAI) in your master’s dissertation.

General guidelines

  • The report should aim for a length of 60 pages / 20,000 words (from the introduction to the reference list).

  • The A4 format report should include the following standard sections:

    • White title page: Title page of the master’s dissertation
    • Copyright statement if the master’s dissertation is not confidential.
    • Confidentiality statement if the master’s dissertation is confidential.
    • Preface: subjective introduction to the work, e.g., acknowledgments to individuals and/or institutions that contributed to the master’s dissertation.
    • Table of contents
    • Use of generative AI tools: AI usage template
    • List of abbreviations: if applicable.
    • Abstract: concise summary of the research problem, method, results, discussion, and conclusions in the language of the master’s dissertation and a Dutch translation if applicable. An abstract should be a maximum of 250 words.
    • Introduction: description of the context and framing of the problem, clarification and delineation of the problem statement, and introduction of the research questions related to the problem statement. The introduction should not exceed 3 pages.
    • Literature review: based on relevant literature, the problem statement and research questions are described and critically analyzed. The literature review clarifies the focus of the master’s thesis and builds towards the research questions. New perspectives, connections, conclusions, and answers are sought. The literature review consists of maximum 20 pages.
    • Materials and methods: description of how the experiment (or observation) was conducted and which materials, reagents, and equipment were used. The student provides sufficient details to allow another scientist to replicate the experiment.
    • Results: description of the findings.
    • Discussion: interpretation and possible explanations for the results in response to the research questions.
    • Conclusion: overview of the main findings in a broader context. Discussion of the implications of the results for theory, practice, and/or policy, the limitations of the research, and relevant suggestions for further research. The general conclusion should not exceed 3 pages.
    • Reference list
    • Appendices: if applicable.
  • Academic writing style and language, logically structured text and clean layout
  • Language: see art. 59 §1 5° of the Education and Examination Code
  • Lay-out: there are no specific requirements regarding font type, font size, spacing or citation style at FBE. However, the typographic choices must give the text a neat and well-organized look. Appropriate font types are Arial, Calibri, UGent Panno Text, Times New Roman; appropriate font size is 11 or 12 pt.
    For the international joint programmes specific lay-out rules may apply at your current institution. Check and comply specific rules, as well as specific master dissertation programme guidelines!
  • Responsible use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) is permitted. What does that mean?
    • As a student, you are and remain responsible for the content of the submitted text and your use of the source material;
    • The basic literature must remain known;
    • You are obligated to search for a reliable, unambiguous source (which can still be consulted months, years later for verification by others) and to read references if 'ideas/inspiration' for topics are provided by GAI;
    • You are responsible for the correct use of the source material and the references in the text to that source material;
    • You can and may use GAI to generate a better written formal grammatical text than the text you would write entirely on your own; 
    • You must honestly and clearly indicate that you have used GAI (ChatGPT and others) as a tool. ChatGPT (or other GAI) should not be included in the references. Questions posed to ChatGPT are not traceable. Even if the same question is asked, the answer may be different.
    • Be careful with confidential and personal privacy-sensitive information: you should not import it into open source AI!
  • You upload your Master's dissertation in the application.

Cover page per programme

Print appropriate version (listed below) on white slightly thicker paper, do not add or delete logos

Master's dissertation of two students with the same subject

A Master's dissertation by two students with the same subject is possible under following conditions:

  • The work must be submitted in separate volumes.
  • The defense is individual, so separated in space and time.
  • For each master's dissertation, a separate Board of Examiners is appointed, so a separate written assessment is required.
  • If a common title is used, this has to be complemented with a separate and different subtitle.
  • In the introduction of each masters dissertation, the cooperation should be mentioned and the similarities and specificity of the work have to be described.