University of Jyväskylä LAGIC Master's Thesis Guide: LACS1002, Thesis Seminar, Thesis Forms and Vasara

Start with the current LAGIC thesis package

The University of Jyväskylä Language, Globalization and Intercultural Communication programme, usually called LAGIC, has a clearly defined research and thesis block in the current 2024–2028 Study Guide. The compulsory 45 ECTS Methodology and Research package contains KVVS012 Qualitative Research Methodology 5 ECTS, KVVS013 Quantitative Research Methodology 5 ECTS, LACS1000 Thesis Seminar 5 ECTS, LACS1002 Master’s Thesis 30 ECTS, and LACS9999 Maturity Test 0 ECTS.

These codes should anchor your thesis planning. The internship and project-work courses belong to Working Life Skills, not to the formal thesis. XENB0007 Master’s Thesis Support can provide useful writing support, but it is not part of the compulsory 45 ECTS LAGIC research block.

Programme, degree and department

LAGIC is a two-year English-language Master of Arts programme in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Its current degree object is LACMP2024, and the coordinating unit is the Department of Language and Communication Studies. The Finnish Study Guide independently confirms the Master of Arts qualification through the title Filosofian maisteri.

The advanced-studies module, LACSYV, contains 105+ ECTS and combines applied language studies, intercultural communication, globalization, working-life competence and a strong methodological component. For thesis purposes, however, use the exact LACS and KVVS research-course objects rather than importing rules from another Humanities programme.

Both qualitative and quantitative methodology courses are compulsory

LAGIC requires both KVVS012 Qualitative Research Methodology and KVVS013 Quantitative Research Methodology. Each is a 5 ECTS advanced course graded 0–5 and taught in English. This is an important feature of the programme because it gives students competence across methodological traditions before the thesis design is fixed.

It is equally important not to overread this requirement. Completing both courses does not mean that every LAGIC thesis must use mixed methods or collect two kinds of data. LACS1002 asks the student to choose and justify a method or perspective that fits the research question or work objective.

KVVS012: qualitative research competence

KVVS012 introduces the foundations of qualitative research, different methods of data collection and analysis, and the qualitative research process. Students learn connections between methods and their underlying paradigms, examine assumptions of qualitative research, evaluate ways of gathering and analysing data, and practise collecting, analysing and interpreting qualitative material.

The course also makes methodological justification and research ethics explicit. If your LAGIC thesis uses interviews, discourse material, observations, documents, online interaction or another qualitative source, the question is not merely which technique is convenient. You should explain what kind of knowledge the method produces and why that knowledge fits the research problem.

KVVS013: quantitative research competence

KVVS013 gives a basic-to-intermediate treatment of quantitative methods used in social scientific research. It covers descriptive and inferential statistical concepts, the use of quantitative methods to test hypotheses and answer research questions, and the collection, analysis and interpretation of quantitative data. Ethical and general methodological questions are also part of the course.

That competence can support survey, corpus, experimental or other numerical designs when the research question needs them. It does not make inferential statistics mandatory in every LAGIC thesis. A theoretical, qualitative, literature-review or multiform thesis can be valid when it fits the research task and satisfies the assessment criteria.

Do not invent a universal mixed-methods requirement

Because both methodology courses are compulsory, LAGIC students may be well positioned to evaluate mixed-method designs. But the current thesis rules do not say that every student must combine qualitative and quantitative evidence. They also do not make interviews, surveys, inferential statistics or one named software package universal requirements.

Start with the research problem. Decide what evidence is necessary, then choose the method that can answer the question credibly. If a mixed-method design is genuinely needed, explain the logic of integration. If one methodological tradition is sufficient, do not add a second method merely to make the thesis look more complex.

LACS1000 Thesis Seminar starts the formal thesis process

JYU’s LAGIC guidance says that students start the Master’s Thesis by attending LACS1000 Thesis Seminar. The seminar begins in period 4 of the first study year and continues in period 1 of the second study year. LACS1000 is 5 ECTS, advanced studies, taught in English and graded 0–5.

The seminar is designed to support the MA thesis process rather than function as an isolated presentation course. It develops scientific work, process writing, critical and theoretical thinking, argumentation, information searching, and the ability to give and receive constructive feedback.

What you must do in LACS1000

Students draft a research proposal or work plan for a topic agreed with the supervisor, work on the MA thesis according to that plan, present the project at different stages and give feedback on peers’ projects. Passing requires active participation with at least 80 percent attendance, the proposal or work plan, and keeping to the agreed schedule.

Use the seminar to test decisions while they can still be changed: scope, research question, theoretical frame, evidence, method, ethics, data management and timetable. A strong seminar process should reduce major redesign late in the thesis.

LACS1002 is the formal 30 ECTS thesis

The formal LAGIC thesis is LACS1002 Master’s Thesis, 30 ECTS. It is advanced studies, graded 0–5, completed in English, and carried out through independent work with supervision. The current 2026–2027 implementation runs from 1 August 2026 to 31 July 2027.

The learning outcomes require a relevant and delimited topic, research questions or work objectives, independent information retrieval, critical use of previous research, defined concepts, appropriate data or work sample, an appropriate method or perspective, structured results, critical relation to the theoretical framework, scientific writing, professional reporting, process management and research ethics.

Choose a topic that connects to the department’s research

LAGIC gives students freedom to choose a thesis topic, but JYU says it should connect to the research focus areas of the Department of Language and Communication Studies. The supervisor guides and supports the student throughout the process.

A broad interest such as multilingualism, migration, discourse, media, intercultural interaction or globalization is not yet a thesis topic. Narrow it to a researchable problem with a defined context, evidence source and analytical perspective, then use the seminar and supervisor to test whether the scope is realistic.

Thesis form 1: research-oriented report

The first explicitly recognised LAGIC thesis form is a research-oriented report, corresponding to a traditional thesis based on a limited research project. It investigates a research problem or question using the concepts and methods of the field. The assignment may be theoretical or empirical, and it may build from earlier course work or connect to a larger departmental research project.

The form still requires expertise in the field, a clearly defined research question and an appropriate scientific method. “Traditional” therefore does not mean generic or formulaic; the research design still has to be justified.

Thesis form 2: literature review

LAGIC also explicitly permits a literature review as the master’s thesis. The programme describes this as a critical evaluation and summary of written or other relevant sources around a field or a defined research problem. It requires familiarity with the field’s theories and methods plus the ability to analyse and evaluate research information from a particular point of view.

A literature-review thesis is therefore not a descriptive list of articles. It needs a defined question, a defensible way of identifying and evaluating relevant literature, analytical organisation and a critical synthesis that produces an answer or scholarly position.

Thesis form 3: multiform thesis

The third explicit option is the multiform thesis. JYU says it may contain texts, artistic productions, translation assignments, professional texts, pedagogical material, a teaching experiment, the development of teaching material, or the evaluation and development of professional practices. LACS1002 similarly allows an appropriate work sample and research perspective in place of conventional data/method wording where the thesis is multi-format.

A multiform thesis is still academic research work. It contains a theoretical component, a report of the justified practical task and reflection on the work process, and it requires the theoretical framework and previous research to be applied to the practical task.

A practical artefact is not compulsory

The availability of a multiform thesis does not make a practical artefact mandatory for all LAGIC students. Research-oriented reports and literature reviews are equally explicit options. Likewise, KVVS802 Internship and LACS1016 Project Work are separate Working Life Skills courses, not substitutes for LACS1002.

Choose the form that best answers the intellectual problem and matches your evidence and professional objectives. Do not choose a multiform thesis simply because it appears less writing-intensive; it still requires theory, research, justification and reflection.

No universal word count or page count is stated

The current registered LAGIC sources do not establish one universal thesis word count or page count across the three permitted thesis forms. That is especially important because a conventional empirical report, literature review and multiform thesis can have different structural needs.

Use the current faculty template, seminar and supervisor guidance for practical formatting and scale. Do not present an unofficial number from another university or programme as a LAGIC rule.

HYTK assessment matrix controls grading

LAGIC uses the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences master’s-thesis evaluation matrix effective from 1 August 2024. It assesses the thesis as a whole across the research topic, research design and questions, research framework, data and methods, analysis, presentation of results and reflection, thesis as a text, and process management/independent work.

Accepted theses are graded 1–5 and must meet at least the thesis learning outcomes and grade-1 criteria. The matrix also requires good scientific practice and research ethics throughout the research process.

What stronger HYTK work looks like

Higher-quality work aligns the research problem, framework, evidence and method rather than treating them as separate chapters. The matrix expects methodological choices to be justified and methods to fit the research objectives. Analysis should be systematic, and the results should be related critically to the questions, theoretical frame and earlier studies.

For a multiform thesis, the practical task still needs an academically defensible relationship to theory and previous research. For a literature review, the analytical and evaluative logic must be visible. The form changes, but the demand for scholarly coherence does not.

LAGIC has a mandatory preliminary review before final review

LAGIC has a programme-specific two-stage review workflow. Before a thesis can be submitted for final review, it must undergo a preliminary review. JYU says the manuscript is ready for preliminary review when all main and subchapters are complete and it includes the title page, abstract, table of contents, bibliography and any appendices. The programme recommends 3–5 keywords on the abstract page.

This is not the same as final Vasara submission. The preliminary review is a controlled revision stage before the thesis is frozen for formal examination.

What happens during preliminary review

For preliminary review, the student sends the manuscript to the advisor according to the instructions received. The thesis also undergoes the Turnitin plagiarism check at this stage. The supervisor reads the work and provides feedback, and in some cases a second supervisor or future examiner may also read it.

After that feedback, the student can continue revising until both student and supervisor agree that the thesis is ready for final review. This is the last major revision window in the formal LAGIC process, so use it to resolve argument, method, analysis, referencing, structure and presentation problems.

Final review happens in Vasara

Once preliminary review is complete and the thesis is ready, final review is submitted through Vasara. In addition to the student’s supervisor, a second examiner reviews the thesis. Examiners are officially assigned in Vasara and prepare an evaluation statement with grade recommendations within one month of submission. The HYTK common evaluation matrix controls the assessment.

The general JYU submission rules also require the final version, correct thesis and maturity registrations in Sisu, and an accessible PDF/A. Confidential background material must be removed from the public thesis before submission.

You have up to 14 days to react to the examiner report

When the examiner report is ready, the student receives an email notification and has up to 14 days to accept the assessment statement and proposed grade in Vasara. Instead of accepting, the student may submit a response or ask for the assessment process to be aborted. After submitting a response, there is also an option to request rectification.

If the student accepts the assessment, the LAGIC operational workflow states that the department’s deputy director responsible for education approves the thesis and assigns the grade. The University Degree Regulations place formal grading authority with the dean; the department page describes how that authority is operationalised in this workflow.

Maturity test LACS9999: default abstract route

LACS9999 Maturity Test is 0 ECTS and graded Pass/Fail. It is offered in English, Finnish and Swedish. In the default LAGIC route, the abstract at the beginning of the master’s thesis acts as the maturity examination and no separate language evaluation is needed. When the thesis grade is registered in Sisu, the maturity PASS is normally registered with the same date.

This is the standard route for students whose required language proficiency has already been demonstrated.

Maturity language exception

LACS9999 also defines an exception for students whose school education was in Finnish or Swedish and who have not previously demonstrated the required language competence through the earlier maturity process. In that situation the student follows an actual-exam and language-checking route, and successful completion requires passing both content and language.

Do not copy another student’s maturity route without checking your own language-history situation and current LACS9999 implementation.

Supervisor and examiner rights under JYU regulations

JYU Degree Regulations require the supervisor-in-charge to hold a doctoral degree and have an employment relationship with JYU. The dean nominates two examiners; at least one must hold a doctoral degree, and the second examiner may be the thesis supervisor. A master’s thesis may be written individually or by two authors if each person’s contribution remains independently assessable.

The student is responsible for originality and has rights to respond before final grading and to interrupt the assessment process once. These regulation-level rights sit alongside the more detailed LAGIC preliminary/final review workflow.

Plan personal data before collection

LAGIC research frequently involves interviews, recordings, online communication, multilingual interaction, institutional documents or other material connected to living people. JYU treats information about an identifiable living person as personal data, and pseudonymised material can still be personal data when re-identification remains possible.

Decide before collection what personal data are necessary, the legal and ethical basis for processing, how participants will be informed, where data will be stored, who can access them, and when identifiers will be removed or data destroyed.

Ethics review is conditional, ethical responsibility is continuous

JYU’s Human Sciences Ethics Committee follows TENK principles. Prior committee review is not automatic for every study involving people. When a TENK criterion requiring ethical review is met, the committee must be asked for review. The thesis author remains responsible for the ethics of the work even when no prior committee statement is required.

For LAGIC, think carefully about power relations, vulnerable participants, sensitive identity or migration information, multilingual consent, recording, online communities and the risk of exposing people through quoted discourse.

Use a living Data Management Plan

JYU requires a Data Management Plan for research projects carried out at the university. The DMP covers collection or creation, processing, storage, documentation, publication, archiving or disposal, as well as legal and ethical issues, rights, metadata, integrity, roles and resources.

Update the DMP when the actual project changes. For example, a planned interview study may later include platform data, translation files or collaborative coding. The data plan should describe what you really do, not only what you expected to do at proposal stage.

AI: check both JYU and department instructions

JYU’s university-wide rules permit AI-based applications in studies subject to teacher and unit instructions, but AI output is not a scientific source. Students remain responsible for submitted content, scholarly claims must be checked against original sources, and relevant generative-AI use must be disclosed. AI cannot be used where linguistic presentation itself is being assessed.

The current LAGIC thesis page also links a separate Department of Language and Communication Studies AI guidance PDF. Because that department guidance is part of the current official routing, check both the current JYU rules and the department guidance before using AI in thesis work.

Citation: consistency is required, APA is not universal

JYU requires citation when paraphrasing another person’s ideas and when using direct quotations, and it requires consistent use of one citation style. The current citation page routes the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, the Department of Language and Communication Studies and LAGIC itself to the general instructions.

That current source does not establish one universal APA requirement for every LAGIC thesis. Confirm the style expected by the supervisor, seminar or current programme materials, then use it consistently.

Accessibility and the final PDF/A

The final Vasara submission should be an accessible PDF/A, and JYU’s accessibility guidance applies to public online theses. Build accessibility into the document while writing: use true heading styles, meaningful link text, readable tables, alternative text where appropriate and logical document structure.

The faculty thesis template can help maintain structural consistency, but accessibility still needs to be checked before final submission.

Public thesis and confidential background material

Master’s theses are public documents at JYU and approved work is stored in JYX. If a partner organisation provides confidential background material, it must be removed from the thesis submitted for evaluation. A private collaboration agreement cannot make the assessed thesis itself confidential.

Plan this boundary before writing. Where necessary, keep protected background material outside the public thesis and report only information that can lawfully and ethically be published.

After approval, JYX is the durable public record

After the LAGIC thesis is approved and evaluated, the grade is recorded in Sisu and the approved thesis is automatically saved in JYX. JYU’s publication guidance says an approved thesis stored in JYX cannot simply be replaced with a new version. Post-approval corrections use an approved errata process.

This makes final checking important before Vasara: title, abstract, keywords, references, tables, appendices, confidentiality boundary, accessibility and metadata should all be reviewed carefully.

A practical LAGIC thesis sequence

A practical sequence is to build qualitative competence through KVVS012 and quantitative competence through KVVS013, then use LACS1000 to narrow the topic, develop the research proposal or work plan, identify a supervisor and test the thesis design. Select the appropriate thesis form: research-oriented report, literature review or multiform thesis. Resolve ethics, personal data and DMP requirements before collecting material.

Develop LACS1002 with seminar and supervisor feedback. When all chapters and required front/back matter are complete, enter the preliminary review and Turnitin stage. Revise until the supervisor agrees the work is ready. Only then complete the final accessible PDF/A and submit to Vasara for formal examination.

Final LAGIC submission checklist

Before final submission, confirm that the formal thesis is LACS1002 30 ECTS, the seminar is LACS1000 5 ECTS, the maturity code is LACS9999 0 ECTS Pass/Fail, and both KVVS012 and KVVS013 have been handled according to your study plan. Confirm that your chosen thesis form is one of the supported forms and that its method or perspective is justified.

Also verify the preliminary review is complete, Turnitin has been handled, the supervisor considers the manuscript ready, Sisu registrations are correct, the PDF/A is accessible, confidential material has been removed, citation is consistent, AI use follows both JYU and department guidance, and ethics/data-management obligations are satisfied. Do not import another programme’s thesis codes or review rules simply because they look similar.