When writing a project, always agree with your supervisor on how much you should read and write. Your supervisor has the final word on the workload, page limit and syllabus for your project, depending on the scope and distribution between research, production and writing in your work. On this page, you can find guidelines that can form the basis of your alignment of expectations with your supervisor.
Syllabus - How much should I read?
The rule of thumb for minimum syllabus in projects is 500 pages + 300 additional pages per 7.5 ECTS.
Examples:
- 7.5 ECTS project: 500 + (300 x 1) = 800 pages.
- 15 ECTS project: 500 + (300 x 2) = 1,100 pages.
This guideline is extremely flexible depending on the subject area and educational level. If your syllabus contains difficult literature (for example of a highly technical, philosophical or mathematical nature) which requires time to understand, your syllabus for a project can be reduced.
If you develop a product as part of your project, the teacher can reduce the syllabus as appropriate.
Especially for these programmes
The general syllabus guidelines are not suitable for the GAMES study programme. Because of the inherent interdisciplinarity of the programme, the syllabus is often a mix of technical papers, other academic articles and books. A suitable guideline is that all reports should cite at least as many sources as they have pages.
If students develop a product as part of a project or exam assignment, the supervisor can reduce the syllabus as appropriate.
The general syllabus guidelines are not suitable for SWU, DS, SD & CS study programmes. This is because syllabus on these programmes often contains a lot of coding and very little text. Coding has a very compressed nature compared to text. This applies for both courses, exam assignments and projects. Supervisor/course manager decide the syllabus for these study programmes.
Project size - How much should I write?
General rules
How much you need to write depends on the subject area and on the balance between text and the development of a product or other practical work. Therefore, you agree upon how much you need to write with the supervisor based on what is appropriate in your specific case.
Standard page and body size
A standard page is 2,400 units per page, including spaces and notes.
The standard page range indicated on this page refers to the body of the written work.
The body includes the preface and all original text that is part of the original argumentation and message plus citations.
The body does not include: front page, colophon, table of contents, abstract, bibliography, appendices and illustrations and charts
There is no upper or lower limit to the page span of the elements not included in the body.
Body versus appendices
The exact division can be tricky at times, but a general rule of thumb is that the body is the line of argumentation, while the appendix material serves to substantiate the argument(s).
Below are the recommended standard page spans for written work at ITU. Please note that there are different page spans, if you are a GAMES student.
| Number of students | 7.5 ECTS project | 15 ECTS project |
| 1 | 15-19 pages | 22-26 pages |
| 2 | 17-21 pages | 25-31 pages |
| 3 | 19-23 pages | 29-35 pages |
| 4 | 21-25 pages | 32-40 pages |
Especially for GAMES individual projects
| Number of students | 7.5 ECTS project | 15 ECTS project |
| 1 | 7.5-15 pages | 15-30 pages |
| 2 | 10-20 pages | 20-40 pages |
| 3 | 13-26 pages | 26-52 pages |
| 4 | 17-34 pages | 34-68 pages |
Bachelor project and thesis
When you write a bachelor or a thesis, there are other guidelines. How much you should write depends on the subject area and on the balance between text and the development of a product. Therefore, you agree upon how much you should write with your supervisor based on what is appropriate in your bachelor project/thesis. This becomes even more important if you develop a product as part of your bachelor project/thesis. In such cases, it is important that you have a dialogue with your supervisor about how much you should write. It is important that your supervisor approves any deviations from the guidelines below.
Guidelines for bachelor projects
The general project size guidelines are not suitable for Data Science bachelor projects, because Data Science bachelor projects often contain a lot of coding and very little text. Coding has a very compressed nature compared to text. Therefore, Data Science students agree upon the size of the project with the supervisor during the initial alignment of expectations in the supervision agreement.
1 student: 24-30 standard pages
2 students: 30-38 standard pages
3 students: 36-45 standard pages
4 students: 42-53 standard pages
Practical work
If the project includes practical work, up to 20 per cent may be deducted of the size that the project would otherwise have. The reduction in the number of pages submitted is agreed between the supervisor and the student(s).
1 student: 21-26 standard pages
2 students: 25-31 standard pages
3 students: 29-35 standard pages
4 students: 32-40 standard pages
The general project size guidelines are not suitable for SWU bachelor projects, because SWU bachelor projects often contain a lot of coding and very little text. Coding has a very compressed nature compared to text. Therefore, SWU students agree upon the size of the project with the supervisor during the initial alignment of expectations in the supervision agreement.
Guidelines for the master thesis
The general project size guidelines are not suitable for the Computer Science thesis, because they often contain a lot of coding and very little text. Coding has a very compressed nature compared to text. Therefore, students agree upon the size of the project with the supervisor during the initial alignment of expectations in the supervision agreement.
The general project size guidelines are not suitable for the Computer Science thesis, because they often contain a lot of coding and very little text. Coding has a very compressed nature compared to text. Therefore, students agree upon the size of the project with the supervisor during the initial alignment of expectations in the supervision agreement.
1 student: 50-75 standard pages
2 students: 63-94 standard pages
3 students: 75-113 standard pages
4 students: 88-131 standard pages
Practical work
If the project includes practical work, up to 20 per cent may be deducted of the size that the project would otherwise have. The reduction in the number of pages submitted is agreed between the supervisor and the student(s).
1 student: 54-66 standard pages
2 students: 72-88 standard pages
3 students: 90-110 standard pages
4 students: 108-132 standard pages
1 student: 50-75 standard pages
2 students: 75-100 standard pages
3 students: 100-125 standard pages
4 students: 125-150 standard pages
Practical work
If the project includes practical work, up to 20 per cent may be deducted of the size that the project would otherwise have. The reduction in the number of pages submitted is agreed between the supervisor and the student(s).
The general project size guidelines are not suitable for the Software Design Thesis, because they often contain a lot of coding and very little text. Coding has a very compressed nature compared to text. Therefore, Software Design students agree upon the size of the project with the supervisor during the initial alignment of expectations in the supervision agreement.