Leiden University · Faculty of Humanities

Thesis & Research Supervision

Thesis supervision at Leiden University

Thesis & Research Supervision

Guidance for turning a topic into a research question and carrying the project through to submission.

Start with your program Browse the methods library
Dr. Steven Denney · Faculty of Humanities s.c.denney@hum.leidenuniv.nl View on GitHub

Your first stop

Choose your program

Your program page lists the rules and deadlines for your thesis and links the official documents.

BAIS BA International Studies 10,000 (±10%) · due June 4, 2027 Open program guide
BAKS BA Korean Studies 10,000 (±10%) · due June 1, 2027 Open program guide
MAAS MA Asian Studies 15,000 max · due June 15, 2027 Open program guide
MAIR MA International Relations 15,000 max · due June 2027 (date TBD) Open program guide

The thesis journey

Plan your research

These are the five steps in Getting Started. Use them alongside the rules on your program page, and follow the Ethics and Working with AI pages throughout.

  1. Developing Your Research Question

    Turn your topic into a puzzle and a working question.

    Step 1Puzzles and questions

  2. Data and Sources

    Work out where your evidence will come from and how you will manage it.

    Step 2Build a corpus

  3. Conducting a Literature Review

    Group the literature by answer and weigh the strengths and weaknesses of each.

    Step 3Literature review

  4. Building Your Analytical Framework

    Link your question to your findings and choose methods that fit your data.

    Step 4Analytical framework

  5. Writing and Reporting Findings

    Structure your findings and conclusion, then check the draft against the assessment criteria.

    Step 5How work is graded

At a glance

Program snapshot

RequirementBAISBAKSMAASMAIR
LevelBABAMAMA
Word count10,000 (±10%)10,000 (±10%)15,000 max15,000 max
Citation styleChicagoChicago Notes-BibliographyConsistent, recognized styleConsistent, recognized style
Final deadlineJune 4, 2027June 1, 2027June 15, 2027June 2027 (date TBD)

BAIS

BA
Word count
10,000 (±10%)
Citation style
Chicago
Final deadline
June 4, 2027

BAKS

BA
Word count
10,000 (±10%)
Citation style
Chicago Notes-Bibliography
Final deadline
June 1, 2027

MAAS

MA
Word count
15,000 max
Citation style
Consistent, recognized style
Final deadline
June 15, 2027

MAIR

MA
Word count
15,000 max
Citation style
Consistent, recognized style
Final deadline
June 2027 (date TBD)

All dates are for the 2026-2027 academic year. Confirm deadlines with your supervisor and program coordinator. This site will be updated as new AY2026-2027 deadlines are published. Dates not yet announced are marked TBD.

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