Bachelor's thesis no longer a given for Humanities students

Everybody knows there is always a chance these days that a student's thesis might have been written by a chatbot such as ChatGPT. Some degree programmes are taking action in this regard, but Eleni Braat and Erik de Lange can't understand why the Faculty of Humanities is suggesting that students could obtain their bachelor's degree without writing a thesis at all. Both are lecturers at the History programme and coordinators of the bachelor's theses.

Braat: "It is only when writing a bachelor's thesis that students really learn how to apply the fundamentals of academic research. For the first time, they make their own plans, search for sources themselves, and relate to the literature. If this is no longer compulsory, the programme's academic level will decline."

De Lange: "For many students, writing a thesis is a struggle, but it is also a unique and educational experience. Many say so afterwards. It would be a shame to take that away from them. To be honest, it's also one of the best things about my job as a lecturer. You really get to know the students better."

The programmes offered by the Faculty of Humanities are undergoing major changes due to budget cuts. At the same time, the faculty board wants to make the programmes more attractive to prospective students, so a proposal for a new study programme structure has been put forward. The proposal also raises the question of whether Bachelor's students must necessarily write a thesis to graduate, and whether other forms of graduation that test students' research skills could be introduced.

Writing a thesis on a subject of their own choosing is by far the most common way for students to complete their studies nowadays. However, the faculty board believes that students could also conduct other types of research. For example, they could write a recommendation for a social organisation, set up an exhibition or work in groups on an assignment defined by a lecturer. A specific graduation component could even be made redundant if programmes were structured differently.

Some people believe that a new approach could help curb the AI threat. Another factor that might be influencing this situation is the fact that the Education Inspectorate and the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO) are concerned about degree programmes. Lastly, such a change would offer programmes the opportunity to make smarter use of teaching hours and give more substance to cooperation with social partners.

The idea is for lecturers to discuss with their own programmes this spring whether they want to explore alternatives to the Bachelor's thesis. This proposal has sparked a heated debate.

Critics fear that important skills will no longer be assessed. They also point out that many lecturers are completely unequipped to assess other graduation projects, such as policy documents or podcasts. Therefore, adjustments could increase their workloads.

Moreover, some people question whether this is simply a cost-cutting measure. After all, students often take a long time to write a thesis, and courses focusing on theses have had a low performance for years. The longer a student takes to complete their Bachelor's programme, the more money it costs the faculty.

Katja Rakow and Pieter Huistra are familiar with lecturers' objections and the idea of the Bachelor's thesis being a "rite of passage". They are the education directors of the Department of Philosophy & Religious Studies and History & Art History, respectively, and bothj part of the project group that initiated the discussion about the obligatoriness of the bachelor's thesis.

The two point out that they simply want to give programmes the option of choosing an alternative method. Programmes will not be required to abolish the thesis. Rakow: "For some programs, the thesis is part of their identity. If that's the case, they should definitely continue doing it. For other programs, however, a thesis isn't the most obvious way to graduate. Why shouldn't they be allowed to consider innovation?"

She observes that the bachelor's thesis isn't as common in other countries. "Even in Utrecht, Humanities programmes have always had different graduation methods. Fifteen years ago, Philosophy used a portfolio."

The education directors also aim to help programmes align with the principles of the new education model, which stipulates, among other things, that students should be able to familiarise themselves with their future professional field. Therefore, Humanities programmes are increasingly seeking collaboration with social organisations, through so-called Community Engaged Learning projects, in which students collaborate with partner organisations on a specific issue.

Rakow: "You can imagine that this social engagement will also be reflected in the graduation program. This could, for example, be something in the field of science communication or policy advice. Students will probably no longer need to write a traditional thesis during their working lives."

Rakow and Huistra also hope that the plan will give programmes more flexibility. While they emphasise that there is no budgetary objective behind the search for alternatives, they believe it could help the faculty organise its education more efficiently.

According to Huistra, thesis supervision currently requires a significant number of teaching hours, which could potentially be deployed earlier in the programme. In addition, credits currently reserved for the graduation programme could be used to maintain subject-specific courses. Some of these are at risk of disappearing in the new curriculum, which is more interdisciplinary. "That could give programs some breathing room."

Regarding lecturers who fear they will have more work to do, Rakow says: "The discussion is sometimes reduced to 'now I have to ask my students to make a podcast, even though I know nothing about podcasts.' That's not what we're proposing at all. You do need to connect teaching methods to lecturers' expertise."

"Some lecturers currently have a lot on their plates because they know nothing about the self-chosen thesis topic of a student they are supervising."

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"Theses are no longer properly assessed"
One of the programmes that has been considering a new graduation method is Artificial Intelligence. In this programme, humanities scholars collaborate with psychologists and computer scientists. According to Associate Professor Leendert van Maanen, the advent of generative AI was the main reason behind the desire to switch methods. "it is simply no longer possible to accurately assess whether students have sufficient knowledge of the subject matter based on a written thesis."

Currently, students write about a self-chosen topic for their graduation research. In the future, they will likely graduate with a group project on a specific theme. An individually written thesis on a subtopic within the project will remain part of the graduation process, but according to Van Maanen, "it will no longer be the most important part."

The associate professor believes this approach will reduce the amount of work lying on lecturers' desks. "Soon, supervision will be partly group-based, and students will be able to collaborate extensively. That is probably more efficient, although that's not why we want to make this transition."

Van Maanen understands that something might be lost if students no longer write a bachelor's thesis. "However, I see that same struggle that people are talking about, sinking your teeth into something on your own, in master's theses. Many bachelor's students aren't quite ready for that yet."

The thesis coordinators of the History programme, Braat and De Lange, say they are pleased that students are not being forced to adopting new formats from above. Nevertheless, they are keeping a close eye on how things evolve.

De Lange finds the project group's principle, namely that the bachelor's thesis should be retained for students preparing for a research master's degree and possibly an academic career, particularly telling. "In my opinion, the thesis, as a test of competence, is extremely relevant for all students. You learn things that matter even if you don't end up in academia. Now, there's a risk of us creating a kind of research elite for whom this test is apparently suitable, while the rest will soon be given some sort of light version."

Braat also comments on the attention being paid to the relationship between UU programmes and society. "As far as I am concerned, that social relevance lies in the fact that we offer a good academic education to students who are entering the labour market. We should not begin to disparage or despise ourselves because we are providing academic education. There is nothing wrong with making a podcast or writing a popular science article. On the contrary! But only after the academic groundwork has been done.”

Education directors Rakow and Huistra emphasise that what currently happens in "the traditional thesis" must be reflected in the new graduation formats. Students will have to prove that they can apply and justify research methods, as well as process professional literature and construct a narrative.

Huistra: "What we want to say above all is that the thesis is not an end in itself. It is a means to an end. As a programme, you work on those academic skills for three years, not just in the graduation phase. And that also applies to those 'hidden' benefits that people mention. You can also test students' perseverance in other ways."

Rakow and Huistra will discuss the plans with administrators and programme coordinators this month. Teaching teams will then discuss them over the next few months. Changes to the programmes cannot be incorporated into the Education and Examination Regulations until 2027-2028. It will take at least three years before Humanities students can graduate without writing a thesis.

Rakow: "We are curious to see what the reactions will be. Perhaps other programmes will say: 'This is what we have been waiting for, we want to experiment with it.' If three programmes start a pilot, that could serve as an example for others."

What do students think?
Bo Kroes, a second-year Language & Culture Studies student, can imagine that some students would be interested in recording a podcast or creating an exhibition as a graduation project, but she is not keen on that idea, she tells DUB in the canteen of the city centre library. "I don't know how they plan to implement this, but I wonder if you can go deep enough that way. To be honest, it reminds me of what I had to do at the university of applied sciences. I chose an academic programme for a reason."

A little further on, a Master's student in Religious Studies and a recently graduated historian also draw comparisons with higher professional education. "I don't think academia should become more practical," says the historian. "But you're talking to two people who really enjoy doing research and writing," the Master's student adds. "It's not for nothing that we both chose a Research Master's programme after our Bachelor's," she says. "But I would still say that all students should at least have done the short thesis variant of 7.5 EC."

Matthijs Brinkhuis, chair of the student section of the faculty council, also thinks that many students are keen on “more public or society-oriented” graduation formats. Although the student section recognises that the plans for certain programmes could be beneficial, there is still a lot of hesitation.

Student members are also wondering whether the new graduation formats will pay sufficient attention to academic skills and the connection to master's programmes. They are also concerned about additional work pressure for lecturers. "We also learn here how to conduct good academic research, and we wonder how this will be properly safeguarded in the new format."