MSc Thesis and Exam

Students can choose where to conduct their Master's Thesis Research among the participating PI labs of the program.

The MSc thesis involves independent research carried out in one of the PI laboratory associated with the IDB program. 

Students are required to work full time on their thesis, but have the freedom to pre-negotiate with their thesis supervisor to attend other curricular activities to facilitate timely completion of the MSc degree requirements. Thesis duration total work time must sum up to 6 months full time (including the write up).

As soon as a supervisor for the thesis has been identified and the starting / ending dates have been decided, students are requested to fill out the thesis registration form (provided by the IDB Scientific Coordinator) and have it signed by their thesis supervisor / host lab PI and their mentor (who may be a different person than the host lab PI). The completed and signed thesis registration form must be sent to the IDB Scientific Coordinator prior to the start of the thesis. The thesis starting date cannot precede the date on which the form is signed.

The MSc thesis is graded by the thesis supervisor / host lab PI and the assigned mentor. The final approved thesis report must be sent as a PDF version at least 2 weeks before the exam to the examiners and the IDB Scientific Coordinator. The MSc thesis must be dated and signed by both the student and thesis supervisor / host lab PI. 

The master's examination is an oral examination.

The MSc final thesis must be approved and sent to the examiners and the IDB Scientific Coordinator before the oral examination can take place. Supervisor / host lab PI need to check that all data are original and that no plagiarism has occurred.

The duration of the oral exam is half an hour. During 10 minutes the student presents a concise summary of his/her thesis work to the supervisor / host lab PI and the assigned mentor. The oral exam usually takes place 2 weeks after thesis submission and is a closed exam. A time slot for the exam must be scheduled directly with the examiners.

Make sure to book a room for your exam.

The oral exam and thesis are graded together by the supervisor / host lab PI and the assigned mentor.