As a supervisor, you are responsible for coaching the student and helping them during the whole process of the writing assignment. You make sure that the student clearly defines the scope of the assignment. Part of the supervisor’s job is also making sure the rules and guidelines are followed and the necessary agreements are made. Students however are responsible for their own learning process. 

Definitions and responsibilities

The examiner: 

• is affiliated to UU, UMC Utrecht, Princess Maxima Centre, or the Hubrecht Institute as a full, associate (UHD) or assistant (UD) professor with a tenured (track) position. Professors on a UU/UMC Utrecht special chair (bijzonder hoogleraar), but in daily life affiliated to a non-UU or UMC Utrecht institute, can also act as examiner. 
• cannot be a postdoc or PhD candidate.
• has final responsibility for the grade of the writing assignment. 
• can only assess a maximum of two of the following components for the same student: writing assignment, major research project, profile project, and business internship. 
• in case of a writing assignment inside UU or UMC Utrecht, the UU/UMC Utrecht examiner and second reviewer both grade the assignment. The examiner decides on the final mark in close consultation with the daily supervisor (if applicable) and the second reviewer. 
• in case of a writing assignment outside UU and UMC Utrecht, the UU/UMC Utrecht examiner and the supervisor host institute both grade the assignment. The examiner decides on the final mark in close consultation with the supervisor host institute.
• monitors the proposed end date and, if necessary, checks in with the student to review planning and progress to prevent delays.

Supervisor host institute (only applicable for writing assignments outside UU and UMC Utrecht): 

• works at the host institute (outside UU, UMC Utrecht, Princess Maxima Centre, or the Hubrecht Institute) where the writing assignment is carried out. 
• is an expert in the field (cannot be a PhD candidate or postdoc) 
• is responsible for the daily supervision of the student during the assignment. 
• grades the writing assignment. 

The daily supervisor (in case of writing assignments at UU or UMC Utrecht): 

• works at the institute where the writing assignment is carried out. 
• is responsible for the daily supervision of the student during the assignment. 
• Advises on grade to examiner. 

The second reviewer (only applicable for writing assignments at UU or UMC Utrecht*): 

• is an expert in the field (cannot be a PhD candidate or postdoc) and is not directly involved in the supervision of the student or the project the student has been working on. Ideally, the second reviewer is a staff member from a different group than the examiner and daily supervisor. 
• provides grades for the writing assignment. 

*For writing assignments outside UU and UMC Utrecht both examiner and supervisor host institute grade the writing assignment, therefore a second reviewer is not required. 

The student can either write a literature review or a research proposal (using the NWO/ALW grant application format). The specific format of the assignment should be discussed with the supervisor before the student starts their writing assignment. 

Content and process

• The assignment should be written in English. 
• The body of the text (excl. legends, tables, footnotes, references, etc.) should typically be 6000 to 8000 words long. It should be emphasised that the content is more important than the number of words. The assignment should include minimally 25 and maximally 60 references.  
• The assignment should include a plain language summary: a ~500-word summary specifically aimed at informing laymen about the content of the project. The target audience is able to understand biology at high school level.  

When writing, the student should start with a writing plan in which an overview of recent literature on their topic is presented. The assignment should have an in-depth discussion, in which the student demonstrates their ability to critically evaluate hypotheses and results, present their own views, and draw conclusions that point towards new research opportunities. This often requires the student to read additional literature. 

Data needs to be presented in one manageable graph or figure that tells the story. This requires the student to select, order, interpret and clearly present data. 

Five weeks of full-time study (7.5 EC) are scheduled for the writing assignment. The student cannot extend their writing assignment for more credits. 

The maximal duration is 3 months from the first meeting with the supervisor to discuss the assignment until submission of the final version. However, we urge students to finish the assignment within the allotted five weeks, giving them the opportunity to practice working under a tight deadline and experiencing the pressure that goes with it. 

To meet the deadline, the scope of the assignment should be limited and clearly defined, the student should work diligently, and the agreements between supervisor and student about the content and scope of the assignment should be clear. During the first meeting with the student, dates should be set for discussion of the writing plan, discussion of the first draft, and feedback on the final version.   

After finishing the writing assignment, the student is capable of independently: 

• Conducting literature research, using scientific secure literature databases (e.g. PubMed); 
• Using scientific literature and insights in a critical manner; 
• Summarising literature using own words; 
• Integrating results and models of papers read into new models; 
• Formulating hypothesis for future research. 

A student can start the writing assignment only after both the supervisor and the student have received an approval email from the Board of Examiners. 

Application forms

Since September 2022 the whole application procedure is digitalised in Osiris Case. You can access Osiris Case via Osiris Supervisor. The application forms contain information about the assignment (including a research proposal), agreements between the student and supervisor, and contact information of the examiner and second reviewer/supervisor host institute. This information allow the programme coordinator and the Board of Examiners to review the content and level of the writing assignment.

Writing assignment outside UU and UMC Utrecht

Writing assignments outside UU and UMC Utrecht also require a GSLS internship contract, signed by the student, research project coordinator, and supervisor host institute. The student can upload the internship contract in Osiris Case. The research project coordinator will be notified and sign the contract. If your student is asked to sign a (non-disclosure) contract from the host institute, they can consult the research project coordinators. 

Internship account UMC Utrecht

For writing assignments at the UMC Utrecht, students need an UMC Utrecht internship account and UMC Utrecht card. The students will automatically get this account after approval of their writing assignment.

An interim assessment is not compulsory, but it is important to evaluate the work and progress of the student on a regular basis. To discuss the progress the rubrics for literature reviews or research proposals can be used. 

The examiner has to provide a motivation for the final grades. We strongly advise to use the rubrics for literature review or the research proposal.  

If the grades of the examiner and second reviewer/supervisor host institute differ by 2 or more points, the examiner should notify the Board of Examiners. 

The examiner and second reviewer/supervisor host institute must complete the final writing assignment. To make sure there are no delays, make agreements with your student beforehand about the dates for handing in the writing assignment. 

Project within UU or UMC Utrecht

The assessment is performed by the examiner and second reviewer.  

Project outside UU and UMC Utrecht

The supervisor host institute provides a grade for the writing assignment in consultation with the examiner. The examiner also grades the written report and determines the final grade (in consultation with supervisor host institute). 

The examiner and the supervisor host institute should contact each other in order to make sure that the assessment is performed according to the guidelines of the GSLS. 

The supervisor host institute determines the grades according to their own marking system (e.g. Anglo/Saxon marking (F-A⁺)) and then consult the examiner. The examiner converts the grade according to the Dutch marking system if necessary. You can use the UU credit conversion table.

Grading tool

For guidance regarding the grading of a writing assignment, you can use the flowchart on the Registering course results page.

Registration of grades

For the specifics about grading check out section 5 in the EER. For 2024-2025: 

• Marks are awarded on a scale of 1 to 10. A mark of 5.5 (not rounded off) or higher is satisfactory, and lower is unsatisfactory. The examiner determines the final grade expressed with one decimal figure, which will be rounded off mathematically. Marks will be rounded off as follows: If the second decimal is a 5 or higher, the first decimal will be rounded up. If the second decimal is a 4 or lower, the first decimal will be rounded down. This does not apply to grades between 5.45 and 5.50 and between 3.95 and 4.00: these will be rounded off to 5.4 and 3.9, respectively. In Osiris final grades between 5.0 and 5.4 will be rounded down to 5.0, grades from 5.5 to 5.9 will be rounded up to 6.0. Other grades will not be rounded off in Osiris. 
• If the average final grade is sufficient, the sufficient grade will be registered in Osiris. If the average final grade is insufficient, the insufficient grade will be registered in Osiris.  
• The student has the right to do a resit when the average final grade is higher than 4.0 (also in case of a NVD). 
• In order to meet the cum laude requirements, students should receive a 8.5 or higher for their writing assignment.

Please login to Osiris Supervisor to register the final assessment in Osiris Case (for more information check the Osiris Case manual) and the motivation of the grades (preferably via the rubrics). Make sure to also perform the plagiarism check that is included in this process. The second reviewer or supervisor host institute receives a notification from Osiris Case once the form has been completed and is asked to approve the final assessment. After the approval, the student receives an email with instructions to upload their final report for the Osiris Thesis Archive and the grade is registered in Osiris. 

Osiris Thesis Archive

All written reports will be archived in Osiris Thesis Archive.  

Additionally, students can choose to publish their thesis/report, including the timing and version to publish. The theses/reports become open access after the publication date and can be found through search engines like Google and WorldCat. Together with the examiner and supervisor, they agree upon and decide if, when and how their thesis/report will be published. 

More information on Osiris Thesis Archive can be found here. 

Assessment in case of confidentiality

In case of confidentiality, the following applies: 

• The examiner should be allowed to have access to the final report at all times. In addition, the student should be able to give the final presentation at the research group of the examiner.   
• The Board of Examiners should be allowed to have access to the final report upon request, as well as third parties concerned with the evaluation and accreditation of the Master’s Degrees. 
• The final report should be checked via the plagiarism checker Turnitin. 
• Reports are archived in Osiris Thesis Archive. In case of confidentiality, the examiner can indicate via the assessment form (PDF or via Osiris Case) whether (a version of) the report should be published. If a formal confidentiality agreement does not allow archiving, the student may upload a title page only including contact details of the supervisor, examiner, and institute as well as their own name and student ID.