Master Theses

Thesis proposal

The first step of any MSc thesis project is to write a thesis proposal. This document serves as a guide during and as a reference for your thesis project. A thesis proposal should contain

• Brief introduction into the subject field
• Scientific motivation for the project (why is it relevant?)
• Research goal and list of (initial) research question(s) that will be addressed
• Initial planning and staging of the project – what are the expected deliverables and milestones to reach them, when will you start/end. Deliverables are a prototype of a piece of software, an algorithm, an advice on how to treat a particular problem, a documented architecture, etc.
• Risk analysis, or those (external) events that could have an impact on your planning
• Contact details for the participants (student, supervisor, and when appropriate also the company supervisor)
• Supervision details: generally an n-weekly schedule for meetings to discuss findings and progress that you’ve established togerther with your university (and company) supervisor(s).
• When appropriate details regarding intellectual property and allowance (sometimes these are arranged in a separate legal contract)
• List of courses that still need to be followed and/or final exams that need to be taken (not so much as guard for entering the thesis phase but to document a potential impact on the planning)

The proposal is written in English so international students can read, and build on, your work. It is important to note that the details and planning are not cast in stone for the complete duration of the thesis project. If initial results show that there are good reasons to improve on the initial ideas, then plans can be changed. In such a case, the proposal can be updated and serve as a track record that documents and motivates such changes.

How to write a Thesis?

Concerning structure and contents you might follow the guideline by Prof. John W. Chinneck’s web site.

Regarding the style of writing a Diploma Thesis we refer the student to the books:

• “The Elements of Style”, Strunk and White.
• “Writing for Computer Science” of Justin Zobel.

The web site of Prof. Henning Schulzrinne contains further useful hints that should be considered.