eth master thesis proposal

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Department of Earth Sciences

Master's thesis in earth sciences.

The Master's programme in Earth Sciences is concluded with the Master's thesis. The subject of the thesis is in the major study area and represents either an applied or fundamental research project.

In most cases, the project will be integrated into one of the research groups at the Department of Earth Sciences. Students may contact the lecturers directly for a project or choose from the list of Master's thesis projects at the department .

If geological mapping or sampling are required, early planning of the project is essential to provide flexibility in scheduling time in the field.

Guidelines Master's thesis in Earth Sciences

Before starting the Master's thesis, students must:

• Have obtained their Bachelor's degree .
• Have fulfilled all additional requirements (if any).
• Have successful completed the MSc Project Proposal (651-4060-00).

The project is supervised by:

• Main supervisor (mandatory)
• Additional supervisor (optional)
• Examiner (if necessary )

Supervisors are involved in the Master's thesis. If the supervisor(s) belong to the same group an examiner belonging to another research group is necessary . The examiner will evaluate but not necessarily supervise the thesis. At least one supervisor or examiner must be a professor/PD of the Department of Earth Sciences, the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science or one of the department's authorised senior researchers . Exceptions must be approved by the Director of Studies.

Registration for “651-4062-00 Master’s Thesis”  in myStudies   "projects/papers/theses"

• Students starting their Master’s thesis between August and January register for Autumn Semester. Students starting between February and July register for Spring Semester.
• Please do not register twice if the start and the end of the Master’s thesis are not in the same semester, but choose the option “leave of absence” (Urlaubsemester) on myStudies for the subsequent semester.
• myStudies calculates the individual deadline automatically a t the time of registration  (plus six months).

The students present their Master’s thesis in a group seminar. At least one member of the supervising committee must be present. The time of the presentation can be selected individually in consultation with the supervisors/examiner.

The presentation counts towards the final grade.

Besides the individual deadline  (calculated automatically at the time of registration) there is an annual deadline  for each cohort, which is defined each year by the department depending on the date of the graduation ceremony.

Individual deadline

The individual deadline is calculated automatically in myStudies based on the start date (plus six months) of the Master's Thesis. This deadline is binding and the student must submit the Master's thesis no later than this date (by midnight). Students whose individual deadline is set before the annual deadline will be officially invited to the graduation ceremony.

Annual deadline

The annual deadline  or cohort deadline depends on the date of the graduation ceremony and is defined each year by the department. Only students whose individual deadline is set before the annual deadline will officially be invited to the graduation ceremony.

• Submission of Master's thesis: 26 August 2024
• Grading in eDoz: 13 September 2024
• Request for diploma: 16 September 2024
• Submission of Master's thesis The student hands in the Master’s thesis (physical copy or PDF) to the main supervisor (incl. the Download signed declaration of originality (PDF, 183 KB) vertical_align_bottom ) no later than midnight of the individual deadline. The main supervisor confirms the submission in eDoz.
• Grading in eDoz The main supervisor enters the final grade in eDoz based on the protected page Master’s Thesis - Assessment and Grading Form lock . A missed deadline results in a fail.
• Request for diploma The student must submit the request for diploma (Diplomantrag). He/she can only do so after the grade for his/her Master’s thesis is validated (verfügt) by the study administration.

If the Master's thesis is handed in after the annual deadline, the grades cannot be validated in time for the graduation ceremony. Thus the students will only be invited the following year.

The grades from all supervisors and examiner have equal weight for the final mark.

The main supervisor calculates the final grade ( protected page see assessment and grading form lock ) and enters the final grade in eDoz no later than four weeks after submission of the Master's thesis. A shorter submission of the grade applies to theses submitted by the annual deadline (see annual deadlines above) .

An excellent Master’s thesis (grade 6.0) can be suggested for the Silver Medal of ETH Zurich . The main supervisor must state reasons for the outstanding and excellent thesis by submitting a report.

The department encourages the publication of excellent Master's theses in the ETH Research Collection . Publcation of the Master's theses requires a letter of recommendation from the respective supervisor and a declaration of consent f rom the student.

The graduation ceremony takes place in late autumn (end of November). Only students who submit their work before the annual deadline are officially invited to the graduation ceremony.

Please contact the D-ERDW study administration in case of questions.

• Location location_on NO D 55
• Phone phone +41 44 632 64 83

Dep. Erdwissenschaften Sonneggstrasse 5 8092 Zürich Switzerland

Master in Space Systems

The Specialised Master in Space Systems starts in Autumn Semester 2024 and information about the Master's thesis in Space Systems is currently being prepared.

Master in Atmospheric and Climate Science

For information about the Master's thesis in Atmospheric and Climate Science visit the Institute of Atmospheric and Climate Science website.

Master in Applied Geophysics

For information about the Master's thesis in Applied Geophysics visit the external page Joint Master Programme page on the IDEA League website call_made .

Study grants

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Institute of Science, Technology and Policy

Master's thesis.

The Master’s thesis concludes the Master’s degree programme in Science, Technology and Policy. With the Master’s thesis, students demonstrate their ability to conduct scientific research based on the theoretical and methodological knowledge acquired during the MSc programme.

The thesis addresses a particular policy issue chosen by the student and does so in an interdisciplinary manner. Policy analysis plays a significant role in the research and the resulting thesis. Writing the Master’s thesis involves a full-time semester workload (six calendar months full-time, 30 ECTS). Because the thesis must be completed within six months, students are advised to refrain from taking additional courses and/or, as far as financially possible, from pursuing paid employment during this time.

Master's Thesis in short

On this page you can find a short overview of the features and requirements of the Master's thesis.

The complete regulation can be found in the documents below:

• Please check the Download Master's Thesis Guidelines (PDF, 228 KB) vertical_align_bottom .
• Please download the Master’s Thesis Download Assessment Form (PDF, 253 KB) vertical_align_bottom (fillable PDF document).

Students can commence work on the Master's thesis when both of the following conditions are met:

• They have completed their Bachelor's degree.
• They have acquired the number of ECTS points required for the Master's degree in all categories, with the except for credits for electives and the Master's thesis itself.  

The minimum number of credits required in each category is:

• Courses in social sciences: 27 credits
• Minor in natural sciences and engineering: 27 credits
• Case studies: 12 credits

The Master's thesis must be completed within 28 weeks. These 28 weeks include 26 weeks of work and 2 weeks for holidays, sick leave, and other brief absences.

Students are free to choose a start date in agreement with both supervisors. The start date is then registered in myStudies, subject to approval by the supervisor.

This binding deadline for each student is displayed on myStudies. If it is missed without notification, the Master's thesis will be graded as ' failed ' . The Director of Studies can extend the deadline under exceptional circumstances. The reasons must be stated in a written request by the student and the request must be approved by the Studies Director.

There is no required or maximum length. A rule of thumb is 40 - 50 pages, excluding appendices.

• Front-page layout

The front page must contain the following information:

• ETH and ISTP Logo.
• Thesis type (Master's thesis).
• Name of the student.
• Student ID number.
• Master’s degree programme in Science, Technology and Policy.
• Title of the Master's thesis.
• Supervisor and Co-Supervisor, with their academic title and institution.
• Date of submission (dd/mm/yyyy).
• Declaration of originality

Students must submit a signed declaration of originality when they submit their Master's thesis. Each copy needs to contain a Download declaration of originality (PDF, 183 KB) vertical_align_bottom .

If this student uses AI tools for language editing, this is acceptable but must be declared in the declaration of originality. Using AI tools for the substantive content of the thesis is not allowed.  

• Citation etiquette

All students are required to follow the guidelines Download 'Citation etiquette' (PDF, 67 KB) vertical_align_bottom .

Please also visit the webpage on plagiarism on the ETH student portal.

Please be aware that supervisors will normally run Master's theses through PlagScan or a similar platform to identify plagiarism problems before assessing the content of the thesis.

The Master's thesis should be supervised by two professors, who serve as supervisor and co-supervisor, respectively. One of these professors must be from the social sciences. The other professor should be from the natural or engineering sciences or the social sciences. The supervisor must be an ETH Zurich professor. She or he has the lead role in supervising and mentoring the student and grading the thesis. The co-supervisor can be from ETH or another academic institution. Subject to approval by the ISTP studies director, the co-supervisor (whether from within ETH Zurich or another academic institution) can also be a postdoctoral researcher or senior researcher/scientist with demonstrated experience in advising Master's and doctoral students. Such a co-advisor must be independent of the supervisor, i.e., she or he should not be a staff member of the supervisor.

Subject to approval by the supervisor and the ISTP studies director, the Master's thesis research can also be undertaken outside ETH Zurich under the co-supervision of a professor or postdoc/senior researcher at that institution (meeting the same conditions as for the co-supervisor within ETH Zurich, see above). In such cases, the supervisor (who must be an ETH Zurich professor) should assess the submitted Master's thesis independently of the ETH-external co-supervisor and provide a separate assessment and grading proposal. If both supervisor and co-supervisor are from within ETH Zurich, they may provide a jointly agreed assessment.

The supervisor and co-supervisor must, under any conditions, have full access to data and other material when assessing and grading the thesis, if necessary, under a non-disclosure agreement with the external institution. Research findings reported in a Master’s thesis must be replicable by third parties, normally by everyone in the respective scientific field and, in exceptional cases, at least by the supervisor and co-supervisor. Students are also responsible for determining where their research requires approval by the ETH Ethics Committee and, if applicable, secure approval with support from their supervisor.

According to a directive by the rector of ETH Zurich, research for the Master's thesis as such cannot be paid for. That is, paid work time (e.g., in the context of an internship or as a research assistant) cannot be used for work on the Master's thesis. Reimbursements (e.g., for travel costs, additional charges for food or accommodation) are permitted.

The supervisor and co-supervisor have the following duties:

• Define the theme of the Master's thesis in consultation with the student.
• Define the tasks in writing.
• Determine the date on which the student can begin the Master's thesis and the date on which the student can submit the thesis.
• Define the criteria for assessment of the Master's thesis.
• Assess and grade the thesis.
• Finding a topic, supervisors and preparation of the thesis proposal

Students are free to develop their own thesis topic or to select a topic suggested by a prospective supervisor and/or co-supervisor, and they are free to choose a supervisor and a co-supervisor whose interest aligns with a particular topic, subject to the above rules. The thesis must focus on a policy-relevant issue, and policy analysis should play a significant role in the research and resulting thesis. Once a topic is identified and agreed upon by both the student and the supervisor, the student will draft a thesis proposal of around 2 - 5 pages. This proposal must be approved by the supervisor before the research starts. The proposal should cover the following points:

• Supervisor and co-supervisor.
• Research question and its relevance.
• References and relevant scientific literature.
• Potential theoretical arguments addressing this question.
• Empirical research strategy and timeline.

On the following sites, you can find inspiration for potential thesis topics. 

• Student Theses Energy and Technology Policy Group  
• Abschlussarbeiten Institut für Raum- und Landschaftsentwicklung (D-BAUG) (German only)
• external page SiROP call_made
• Registration in myStudies

After the students and supervisors have agreed on a topic and a start date, students need to register for lecture number '860-0900-00 Master's Thesis' on myStudies .

The latest starting date can be 3 months after the end of the semester of registration.

To register the thesis in myStudies, students need to submit:

• Title of the thesis (the title can be changed later on).
• Start date.
• Names of the supervisors.
• Thesis proposal.

The duration of the Master's thesis is set to maximum 28 weeks (6 months plus 2 weeks), and the submission date will be displayed on myStudies .

• The main supervisor must confirm the thesis in myStudies.

The supervisor must confirm the thesis in myStudies for the student to be able to formally begin the Master's thesis. The student office approves the registration in myStudies. Students can start the Master's Thesis only when the status in myStudies is 'Definite'.

• Submission and evaluation

The supervisor will, subject to the consent of the co-supervisor, communicate the grade and the grading sheet(s) for a thesis to the Study Administration within eight weeks after submission, and preferably sooner. The supervisor and co-supervisor must send the grading sheet(s) to the student. They will commonly meet with the student in person or online to provide more detailed feedback.

• Awarding credit points

Students will be awarded 30 ECTS credit points upon successfully completing the thesis.

• Publication in the ETH Research Collection

Students have the opportunity to publish their Master's thesis in the ETH Research Collection. To publish Master's theses in the Research Collection, a letter of recommendation from the main supervisor is required.

• Degree request

Once the Master's thesis is successfully completed and all credits are obtained, students may request their diploma .

The Master's thesis will be graded, and this grade will serve as the student's performance assessment for the lecture unit. Theses are graded on a scale from 1 - 6. Students must earn a 4 or higher in order to pass.

Only the written Master's thesis is evaluated. Presentation of the Master's thesis is not compulsory; however, the ISTP encourages students to present their thesis in a seminar or a poster presentation.

The Master's thesis Download assessment form (PDF, 253 KB) vertical_align_bottom will state the criteria that will be used to evaluate the thesis.

The supervisor  and co-supervisor will evaluate a student's thesis separately. The scores for each criterion are averaged. The average of all of these scores will constitute the final grade. The main supervisor will be responsible for coordinating the grading process and for submitting the student's final grade to the Study Administration.

A Master's thesis that receives a grade lower than 4 may only be repeated once. If repeated, it must address a new theme. The repetition may proceed under a different supervisor and/or co-​supervisor. Repeating a Master's thesis that has received a grade of 4 or higher is not possible.

Master's Thesis Interviews

To gain deeper insight into how the Master's thesis process could look like, check out our interviews with previous Master's students:

• A thesis abroad: Bridging technology decision making and local engagement in Laos

Outstanding Master’s theses are honored with the Silver Medal of ETH Zurich and a financial sum. Please find the directives here. Past STP programme medal recipients include:

• Felix  Zaussinger,  MSc 2021 ( 2022 Medal Recipient)

Since the number of medals awarded is capped, the D-GESS is typically allocated with one medal over the three MA programs (MA CIS, MA GPW and MSc STP) each year. The directors of study will nominate the candidates and take a joint decision. The ETH Medal will be awarded at the Master's degree graduation ceremony.

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Master in Comparative and International Studies (MACIS)

Master's thesis guidelines.

You may write your MA thesis in either during the spring or fall semester. The registration deadline is March and September respectively. The exact dates will be released a few weeks prior to the deadline with the 'MA Thesis Guidelines'.

MA Thesis Colloquium : you must attend the MA thesis colloquium, present your initial proposal and (later in the semester) the full research design, and actively participate in the discussions. Typically, there are around 5 meetings. You will need to register for the colloquium in myStudies. 

MA Thesis Workshop: you must attend the MA thesis workshop and present the results of your MA thesis research in front of all MACIS students. This workshop usually takes place March and July respectively.

Download MA Thesis Guidelines Fall 2024 (PDF, 619 KB) vertical_align_bottom Download MA Thesis Guidelines Spring 2024 (PDF, 624 KB) vertical_align_bottom

ETH Medal Outstanding Master’s theses are honoured with the Silver Medal of ETH Zurich and a financial sum. Please find the directives here Since the number of medals awarded is capped, the D-GESS is typically allocated with one medal over the three MA programs (MA CIS, MA GPW and MSc STP) each year. The directors of study will nominate the candidates and take a joint decision. The ETH Medal will be awarded at the Master's degree graduation ceremony.

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Chair of Strategic Management and Innovation

Master thesis supervision.

Research and education at the chair of Strategic Management and Innovation is mainly focused on competitive strategy, open innovation, and knowledge management.

If you are interested in carrying out a Master Thesis at our group, please take a look at the following documents:

• protected page Student's Guide lock
• protected page Thesis Template lock
• protected page Thesis Template (.docx) lock
• protected page Application Form lock

If you do not have your own thesis topic and would like to work on current ongoing projects of our Chair, please drop a short email to Cyrille Grumbach simply with your CV and transcripts. When they have thesis topics, our members will put it on their personal website. Check the profiles of our members, and you will find some with super fascinating ongoing projects.

Please understand that due to our limited availability, we will not reply to emails asking questions for which the answer can be found in the Q&A below.

We are very much looking forward to working with you! :)

The MAS and MSc students are welcome to define and propose their own theses topics within our core areas. If you are not sure about the topic, you can have a look at our tutors' personal webpage (people's sections: Senior Researchers and Ph.D Students ) and apply with a research proposal that satisfies your interests, and also theirs. Sometimes, our tutors have pre-defined thesis topics on their personal webpage to which you can directly apply.

Usually, we recommend to write an empirical Master Thesis, based on qualitative or quantitative data. Indeed, it is very challenging to offer new insights with a conceptual or purely theoretical thesis. The data analyzed could be focused on a particular industry, a specific phenomenon, or oriented to solving a practical problem in a company.

Please refer to this link for answers:

https://mtec.ethz.ch/studies/programme-elements/master-thesis.html

Here are some tips for a successful proposal:

• It is important that your proposal bases itself not only on company-specific problems, but also has a  theoretical base, especially on  competitive strategy, open innovation, and knowledge management.  Try to frame your proposal on theories we use, such as the knowledge-based view of the firm. Understanding and then referencing academic papers in the proposal is very important. 
• Try using company-specific or practical wording as little as possible.
• Answers, one by one, all the questions asked in the proposal with details (i.e. not just 5 words per answer). We appreciate detailed analysis, as it shows you are a very motivated and curious student.
• Look at the profiles of our tutors ( people's sections: Senior Researchers  and PhD Students ) and apply with a research proposal that satisfies your interests, and also theirs.

Once you submit your application to the coordinator, we will review it with the team. If a tutor of our Chair is interested by your profile and interests, the coordinator will let you know. Then, you will be able to start the Master Thesis at our Chair under the tutor's supervision.

Please note, that it is of primary importance that there is a constructive synergy between the interests of the student applicants and of the tutors. There needs to be a good fit.

Our Chair is quite competitive, we receive an enormous amount of applications, and we unfortunately cannot accept all of them due to capacity limit. In case you do not receive any email from the coordinator within two weeks, it means we decided to not proceed with your application, either because our capacity limit has been reached, or because no tutor feels knowledgeable enough on the research topic you are submitting.

We usually prefer if you submit only one application. If your first application was not accepted, you can try again with a better proposal, but we favor first-time candidates. Therefore, we strongly recommend to make your first proposal as good as possible.  

Please find an example of successful protected page Master Thesis proposal here lock . Please note that your own proposal's topic must be developed independently, the example given here is purely for guidance purpose.

Unfortunately, we do not publicly state whether we have remaining capacity or not. We recommend applying 2-3 months in advance to boost your chance, especially if you wish to do your Master Thesis during the Spring Semester ( safer to apply in October-November). If you wish to conduct your thesis in the Autumn semester, it is usually okay to apply a few weeks before starting.

We usually supervise around 30 Master Theses per year.

Yes, you can do your Master Thesis with a company, and this is very common for MAS students. Additionally to the supervisor and tutor at our Chair, you will need a supervisor from your company. The responsibilites of the supervisor in the company are very variable, from just being the company's contact person, to someone involved in the thesis actively.

Usually, our professor and the company sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). For a smooth process with ETH Zürich administration, we strongly recommend to sign the existing NDA of our Chair, instead of a company-specific NDA. Please request this NDA only after your application for a Master Thesis has been accepted by our Chair.

To complete your thesis work, you must submit to your supervisor:

• One copy of your report electronically (PDF), which must be submitted before the MTEC department's deadline.
• One or two copies,  as per your supervisor's preference, of the printed hardcopy.

Hand-in via email the PDF (or share a drive link via email if the file is too heavy) , and physically the printed hardcopy to your supervisor. Please include all relevant results such as transcripts, calculations, or other data that your thesis builds upon, which allows us to verify your results/findings/conclusions/propositions/etc.

The exact design or template (latex, MS word etc.) you use does not matter, as long as it fits the professional and quality standards of ETH Zürich. Although, we favor concised and well-written Master Theses, t here is no requirement on the minimum (or maximum) number of pages (or number of references) of your Master Thesis. Please discuss that with your supervisor for specific guidance on these issues.

Relevant Academic Journals

• Management Science
• Long Range Planning
• Strategic Management Journal
• Organization Science
• Organization Studies
• Academy of Management Journal
• Academy of Management Review
• Research Policy
• Journal of Strategic Information Systems
• Administrative Science Quarterly
• Journal of Management Studies
• European Management Review
• MIS Quarterly
• Information Systems Research

Relevant Practitioner  Journal

• MIT Sloan Management Review
• Harvard Business Review
• California Management Review
• European Management Journal

Relevant Conference

• Academy of Management
• Strategic Management Society Conference

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Department of Health Sciences and Technology

Master's thesis.

According to the Study Regulations, a Master's Thesis is only admissible to those who

a) have fully completed their Bachelor studies and b) have fulfilled any extra requirements needed for admission to the Master Programme HST.

protected page Postings for Master's Thesis projects lock (nethz login required)

Guidelines for conducting a Master's Thesis see Documents .

The ETH Zurich library offers the course " Ready for take-off: how to start your Bachelor's and Master's thesis " (login reqired)

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Department of Environmental Systems Science

Master’s thesis.

The Master’s thesis is a scientific thesis written independently by the student. In his / her thesis, the student specialises and elaborates on the chosen subject during six months.

Permission to write the Master’s thesis is only granted to students who

• have successfully completed their Bachelor's studies,
• have fulfilled all prerequisites for admission to the programme,
• have completed at least 32 of the required 40 CP in the core subjects of their specialisation.
• The Master’s thesis shall closely reference to the scientific field of the chosen specialisation subject or be linked to another interdisciplinary field.

Online you will find a list of available Master’s thesis topics in the field of Environmental Sciences.

• Various projects on different subjects and from different institutions, on both the national and international level, can be found on external page sirop call_made
• You have the option to create your own subject in agreement with your supervisor.
• The Master’s thesis can be executed as a group work, provided that the supervisors approves it.
• Writing the Master’s thesis is a full-time semester workload (30 CP). It is advised to restrain from gaining other credit points or working during this time.
• Ready for take-off: how to start your Bachelor's and Master's thesis . This course was developed by the ETH Library. In case of uncertainty the UMNW documents apply.
• The supervisor as well as at least one more co-supervisor (an expert in the topic) will grade the Master’s thesis.
• All names of authorised supervisors for Master’s theses can be found on the List of Authorized Supervisors on Moodle.
• If the Study Administration agrees, the Master’s thesis can also be executed outside of the D-USYS (national and international scope). In these cases, an authorized ETH-supervisor will be responsible for the supervision.
• External supervisors must be entered as co-supervisors on myStudies.
• Choose a supervisor and agree subject and form of thesis with him / her.
• Register online on myStudies > Functions > Register for, view and edit research projects/papers and Master's theses > Master's Thesis.
• Enter the name of your main supervisor, the name of co-supervisor, and the title of your thesis.
• The duration of the Master’s thesis is set to maximum 28 weeks (6 months plus 2 weeks) and will be displayed on myStudies.
• The Director of Studies can extend the deadline under exceptional circumstances. The reasons must be stated in a written request (post or e-mail). Medical reports must be sent to the Study Administration.
• In consultation with the supervisor, the Master's thesis can be written in a national language or in English.

There is no layout restriction e.g. order, picture, Logo (not ETH) but the front page must contain the following information:

• Thesis type (Master's thesis)
• Name of the student
• Student ID no.
• Degree Programme Environmental Sciences
• Title of the Master's thesis
• Supervisor and Co-Supervisor, with their academic institution note : both grade the thesis
• Advisor, with academic institution note : only if applicable; doesn't grade the thesis
• Date of submission (dd/mm/yyyy)
• Note "Confidential" note: only if asked
• Example: Download Front Page (PDF, 173 KB) vertical_align_bottom
• On the day of submission, the final written thesis must be in the supervisors’ possession. Any corrections afterwards will not be taken into consideration.
• All supervisors will evaluate the final version of the master’s thesis. The declaration of originality , signed by the student, is a necessary component.
• The form of submission (printed, bound, PDF, etc.) of the Master’s thesis needs to be agreed with the supervisor.
• With the agreement of the main supervisor, an excellent Master ’s thesis can be published in the Research Collection ETH . You can find further information on the webpage: https://documentation.library.ethz.ch/display/RC/Theses

A failed Master's thesis can be repeated only once. In this case, the student choses a new subject within his / her chosen scientific field. The student is free to choose another supervisor for the second attempt.

Here you find all documents in the overview .

• Phone phone +41 44 633 60 82

Study administration Universitätsstrasse 16 8092 Zürich Schweiz

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Masters in Biomedical Engineering

Master project.

The Master thesis project requires 6 months of full time study and is awarded 30 credit points upon completion. The project may only be started when all other requirements have been completed. This applies in particular to the semester project as well as to industry /research internships (see Download Art. 35 of the study regulations (PDF, 648 KB) vertical_align_bottom ). The project should demonstrate innovative, independent scientific work and culminates with a written thesis.

The Master project can be carried out in an industrial setting or laboratory outside of the ETH. The Master project cannot be done at the same place as the research project, or internship (Exceptions can be granted by the tutor, or in case the tutor is involved, the study coordinator).

Consult the individual websites under Research for available Master thesis topics . Alternatively, go through the external page SiROP website call_made to find a suitable project.

The Master project should not be performed in the same laboratory as the semester project or the group- and research projects.

Master projects can be supervised by ETH professors from the field of Biomedical Engineering ( Download see list (PDF, 166 KB) vertical_align_bottom ) . Find a professor, and discuss with him/her your project using the following form. This must be done BEFORE the start of the project. Semester/Master Download Project Plan (DOC, 64 KB) vertical_align_bottom (example)

Register for the Master project on mystudies

When submitting the written document for your Master project, include the plagiarism Form (in German) . All documents (Project Plan, Written Report and Plagiarism Plan) are not submitted to study administration - this remains between you the the host group.

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Infrastructure Management

Master thesis, proposals for fall semester 2024 .

MASTER THESES AND MASTER PROJECTS TOPICS Fall Semester 2024

Download Download Topics and Topic Descripton (PDF, 2.2 MB) vertical_align_bottom  

More information on Master's thesis at D-BAUG

Completed Master Thesis

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Chairs of Urban Water Management

Master's project.

Students can find on this page the general requirements and evaluation system for a Master's Project at the Chairs of Urban Water Management at ETH Zurich. They can also find a list of currently offered topics.

Supervisors can find on this page information about the requirements the students must fulfil to complete a Master's Project at  the Chairs of Urban Water Management  at ETH Zurich, organizational and didactical information and the templates for the proposal of new Master's Projects.

Information for Students

Would you like to start a Master's Project Work with the Chairs of Urban Water Management ? The schematic provides an overview of the necessary steps.  Please read the Guidance PDFs below. Communicate your intention to the responsible teaching coordinator and contact them for any additional information. 

• Download vertical_align_bottom Guidance MSc Project at SWW  (PDF, 161 KB)
• Download vertical_align_bottom Guidance for BSc and MSc Theses and Projects in Environmental Engineering  (PDF, 160 KB)
• Download vertical_align_bottom Guidance MSc Project in Environmental Engineering  (PDF, 197 KB)
• Download vertical_align_bottom Citation etiquette  (PDF, 67 KB)
• Download vertical_align_bottom Guide to report writing  (PDF, 68 KB)
• Download vertical_align_bottom Evaluation criteria  (PDF, 64 KB)
• chevron_right Plagiarism
• chevron_right Prevention of plagiarism

Information for Supervisors

Would you like to supervise a thesis for the Chairs of Urban Water Management ? Please read the Guidance  PDFs below and use the Project Work Proposal Template to submit a topic to the responsible teaching coordinator. A professor will have to approve the topic before it will be uploaded on this page.

To promote your topic further, you are welcome to send us a short slide deck about your proposed topic(s). Our professors can then publicize your thesis topic during their lectures.

• Download vertical_align_bottom Grading system at ETH Zurich  (PDF, 54 KB)
• Download vertical_align_bottom Checklist for supervisors  (PDF, 60 KB)

For inquiries or to submit a proposal, please check the Teaching Coordinators webpage and contact the coordinator responsible for Master's Projects.

Currently Offered Topics

Below you can see the topics currently offered by EAWAG researchers and private partners. If you are interested in one of the offered topics, contact the person indicated. Once you agree you will do your Master's Project with them, contact the responsible teaching coordinator to obtain the documentation form. You can also independently find a supervisor to develop your own topic. In this case, inform the responsible teaching coordinator  from the beginning  and a potential supervising professor of your intention. Be aware that the professor will have to approve a certain topic as the subject of a Master's Project. 

Traditionell wurden die Schweizer Kläranlagen so konzipiert, dass sie bei Regenwetter den zweifachen Trockenwetterfluss behandeln. Angesichts neu verfügbarer, hochauflösender Kläranlagen-Zuflussdaten sowie zukünftiger Herausforderungen hinsichtlich der Auswirkungen von Regenwasser, z.B. durch Mikroverunreinigungen oder Mikrokunststoffe, und des integrierten Betriebs von Kanalisation, Kläranlage und Vorflutern, wurden die Auslegungsrichtlinien in Frage gestellt. In dieser Arbeit soll eine Datenanalyse-Methode entwickelt werden, um die aktuelle Behandlungskapazität von Kläranlagen bei Regenwetter möglichst automatisiert zu ermitteln. Ziel ist es, ... Download Read More (PDF, 752 KB) vertical_align_bottom

Die ARA Limmattal in Dietikon reinigt den Grossteil des Abwassers im Limmattal. Als biologische Stufe ist die ARA mit einem Festbettverfahren ausgerüstet. Aufgrund des anhaltenden Wachstums im Einzugsgebiet muss die ARA ihre biologische Kapazität erhöhen.  Aus Platzgründen kann in einer ersten Phase die biologische Kapazitätssteigerung kurzfristig nur mittels ... Download Read more (PDF, 108 KB) vertical_align_bottom

Nitrite accumulation is a common problem in wastewater treatment, especially in sequencing batch reactors (SBR) and in the treatment of high-strength wastewater such as digester supernatant or urine. A novel amperometric sensor has been successfully applied for measuring and controlling nitrite build-up in urine treatment. In this master's project, the student or students shall determine whether the sensor can also be used for nitrite measurement and control in SBRs or other ... Download Read more (PDF, 123 KB) vertical_align_bottom

In Switzerland, sewer networks are the most expensive infrastructure of municipalities and cities. Sewer networks are designed to fail once in 5 to 20 years. This means that proper design and operation fundamentally depends on adequate rainfall information.  In this thesis, available rainfall generators will be applied to produce synthetic rainfall series for the entire CH, based on available rainfall information from MeteoSwiss, e.g. from rain gauges, weather radar and statistical analysis and other sources. It will thus basically improve ... Download Read more (PDF, 775 KB) vertical_align_bottom

Help us to make urban water flows more visible! The water sector is missing an intuitive and easy to understand visualization and communication tool of urban water flows linking the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM), the Human Right to Water and Sanitation (HRWS), and circular economy (CE). Together with HEKS, Helvetas and the Swiss Development Cooperation, Eawag is working on  ... Download Read more (PDF, 101 KB) vertical_align_bottom

Swiss wastewater treatment plants may require nitrogen removal efficiencies of 70-80% or more in the future. This poses a significant challenge for denitrification in the biological treatment processes of many WWTPs. Capacity expansions, retrofitting, and operational optimizations will be necessary in many cases. In this master project, a case study ... ( Download Read more (PDF, 68 KB) vertical_align_bottom )

Hybridwirbelbettanlagen (IFAS) haben in der Biologie zwei Verfahren kombiniert. Im Belebtschlamm sollen heterotrophe Bakterien den Kohlenstoff abbauen, auf der integrierten Trägerbiologie sollen Nitrifikanten das Ammonium abbauen. Dies erlaubt eine Reduktion des Schlammalters und somit eine Kapazitätssteigerung der ARA in der bestehenden Bausubstanz. Beim Betrieb von Hybridwirbelbettanlagen ist ein essenzielles Ziel  die Unterdrückung der Nitrifikation im Belebtschlamm  ... ( Download Read more (PDF, 349 KB) vertical_align_bottom )

Due to urbanization, cities and urban areas around the world are rapidly expanding, replacing natural habitat with anthropogenic landscape (Seto et al., 2012). This leads to several environmental issues, for example urban heat, which strongly reduces human well-being (Grimm et al., 2008). To optimize the implementation of infrastructure that mitigate urban heat, microclimate modeling is key to understand the impact of ...   Download Read more (PDF, 522 KB) vertical_align_bottom

This Master's Thesis can also be adapted to the conditions of a Master's Project. 

This work is part of an effort to optimize a novel treatment technology that reduces the nitrogen load of N-enriched side-streamt from municpal wastewater plants and produces a valuable fertilizer. Improvements in specific steps of the process can be made to facilitate continuous operation and reduce the capital and operational costs. This work will look deepeter into chemical processes occurring during the pretreatment step ... Download Read more (PDF, 174 KB) vertical_align_bottom

Im Rahmen der Gesamtrevision der Nutzungsplanung wurde in der Gemeinde Rupperswil das Gebiet im Bereich des Bahnhofs umgezont und mit einer Gestaltungsplanpflicht belegt.  Gestaltungsplanpflichten werden hauptsächlich in Gebieten festgelegt, in welchen Potential zur Entwicklung besteht.  Im Zusammenhang damit besteht die Chance, ein klimaangepasstes Wassermanagement im Siedlungsgebiet gemäss dem Prinzip «Schwammstadt» auszuarbeiten... ( Download Read more... (PDF, 443 KB) vertical_align_bottom )

Die ARA Altenrhein möchte die diversen Themen der Abwasserreinigung (Energie, Lachgas, Stickstoffelimination, Kreislaufwirtschaft) meistern. Altersbedingt müssen diverse Einrichtungen der Belebtschlammbiologie ersetzt werden.  Für die Steigerung der Stickstoffelimination soll die Biologie zusätzlich kaskadiert werden. Das Ziel der Arbeit ist der Aufbau und die Kalibrierung eines Modells für die ARA Altenrhein in SIMBA#... ( Download Read more (PDF, 251 KB) vertical_align_bottom )

Der energieintensivste Posten auf einer ARA ist die Belüftung, welche von der CSB-Fracht im Zulauf abhängig ist. Mehr als 50–60 % der CSB-Gewässeremissionen in Einzugsgebieten mit Mischwasserkanalisation stammen aus Entlastungsbauwerken. Im Einzugsgebiet zur ARA Bachwis befindet sich ein Entlastungsbauwerk, welches Mischwasser in den Greifensee entlastet. Im Rahmen der Arbeit soll die Polstofffiltration auf ihre Eignung als Rohwasserfiltration getestet werden (erhöhte CSB-Ausschleusung, Ersatz/Entlastung Vorklärung)... ( Download Read more (PDF, 379 KB) vertical_align_bottom )

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Department of Computer Science

Bachelor's and master's theses.

Below is a list of the research groups of the department with hyperlinks to their available theses.

Institute for Computing Platforms

• Prof. G. Alonso, Information and Communication Systems Research Group
• Prof. A. Klimovic,  Efficient Architectures and Systems Lab
• Prof. T. Roscoe, Network and Operating Systems
• Prof. Ce Zhang, Data Sciences, Data Systems and Data Services

Institute for High Performance Computing Systems

• Prof. T. Hoefler, Scalable Parallel Computing Lab

Institute of Information Security

• Prof. D. Basin, Information Security Group
• Prof. S. Capkun, System Security Group
• Prof. K. Paterson, Applied Cryptography Group
• Prof. A. Perrig, Network Security Group
• Prof. S. Shinde,  Secure & Trustworthy Systems Group
• Prof. F. Tramèr,  Computer Security and Privacy Group

Institute for Intelligent Interactive Systems

• Prof. S. Coros, Computational Robotics Lab
• Prof. O. Hilliges, Advanced Interactive Technologies Lab
• Prof. C. Holz, external page Sensing, Interaction & Perception Lab call_made
• Prof. A. Wang,  external page Programming, Education, and Computer-Human Interaction Lab call_made

Institute for Machine Learning

• Prof. V. Boeva, Computational Genetics and Epigenetics of Cancer
• Prof. J. Buhmann, Information Science & Engineering
• Prof. N. He,  Optimization and Decision Intelligence Group
• Prof. T. Hofmann, Data Analytics Lab
• Prof. A. Krause, Learning & Adaptive Systems Group
• Prof. F. Perez-Cruz, external page Swiss Data Science Center call_made
• Prof. G. Rätsch, Biomedical Informatics Group
• Prof. M. Sachan, external page Mrinmaya's Lab call_made
• Prof. J. Vogt, Medical Data Science
• Prof. F. Yang,  Statistical Machine Learning Group

Institute for Programming Languages and Systems

• Prof. R. Jung,  Programming Language Foundations Lab
• Prof. P. Müller, Programming Methodology Group
• Prof. M. Püschel, Advanced Computing Lab
• Prof. Z. Su, Advanced Software Technologies Lab
• Prof. M. Vechev, Secure, Reliable and Intelligent Systems Lab

Institute of Theoretical Computer Science

• Prof. B. Gärtner, Theory of Combinatorial Algorithms
• Prof. D. Hofheinz, Foundations of Cryptography
• Prof. D. Komm,  Algorithms and Didactics Group
• Prof. R. Kyng,  Algorithms and Optimization Group
• Prof. U. Maurer, Information Security and Cryptography
• Prof. A. Steger, Combinatorial Structures and Algorithms
• Prof. D. Steurer, external page Computational Complexity, Optimisation and Estimation call_made
• Prof E. Welzl, Theory of Combinatorial Algorithms

Institute of Visual Computing

• Prof. M. Gross, Computer Graphics Laboratory
• Prof. M. Pollefeys, Computer Vision and Geometry Group
• Prof. O. Sorkine-Hornung, Interactive Geometry Lab
• Prof. R. Sumner, Game Technology Center
• Prof. S. Tang, Computer Vision and Learning Group

Chair of Information Technology and Education

• Prof. J. Hromkovic, Information Technology and Education

Computer Engineering and Networks Laboratory

• Prof. R. Wattenhofer,  Distributed Computing Group

Research Centers

• Dr. Fabio Zünd, Game Technology Center
• Dr. Fabio Zünd, Media Technology Center