Every Master’s programme is completed with a master’s thesis work. The overall goal of the concluding degree project, which is an important part of the education programme, is to display knowledge and capability required for independent work as a Master of Science in Engineering, Architecture or Master of Science.

The master’s thesis must be reported openly, in the form of a written report with an oral presentation and comprises 30 credits. The learning objectives for a master’s thesis are formulated in the policy document “Instructions for Degree projects at Chalmers”

The degree project is carried out at a company/organization
Responsibility for arranging degree work lies with the students
The degree work is carried out in pairs (individually - only in exceptional cases)
The degree project comprises 30 credits and is mainly carried out during sp 3 and sp 4
(a minority of students perform their thesis work during sp 1 and sp 2)
In order to start work on the thesis, students on the Engineering/Architecture programmes must have earned at least 225 credits on the programme
Students who have only been enrolled on the Master’s programme must have earned at least 45 credits within the programme
Necessary courses for the specific subject area of the degree project must be completed
Eligibility is checked by the department
The examiner checks that the students have completed the courses that provide the necessary prerequisites prior knowledge for the specific thesis.

Overview of the process

The students write their thesis in pairs and apply for supervision at TME no later than the last week of November (May). The department processes the applications and allocates supervisors and examiners.

The administrative coordinator (representing TME) gives feedback to the students whether they have been accepted for supervision at the department or not.

Before the start of the semester, the students receive an e-mail from an administrative assistant with necessary information and the name of the assigned supervisor and examiner. The students make the initial contact with the supervisor and the examiner at the start of the semester.

The administrative assistant also provides information on how the student proceeds with the course registration (at the latest before the start of sp 3/sp 1).

In addition to registration via the form, sent by the administrative assistant, the student must register for the course via Ladok. Information is available on Chalmers' external website under "Your studies".

Responsibility

The student group owns the process:
Suggesting and defining the topic, finding, and reading literature, finding empirical examples and companies, setting up meetings, booking interviews, setting deadlines, formulating questions, writing drafts, presenting method and tentative results, checking out formalities, and continuously keep the supervisor informed about the progression of the work.

The supervisors support the process:
Answering questions, reading, and commenting drafts, participating in meetings.

The examiner:
Approves the master’s thesis.

A detailed check list for roles and responsibility can be found at the policy document "Instructions for Degree projects at Chalmers”

Implementation

Mandatory

An approved planning report
An approved thesis
An approved presentation and defense of the thesis
Approved opposition during the presentation of other degree project
Attendance of the presentation and defense of two other theses

Planning

The students must write a planning report providing a detailed description of the problem/task. The planning report must contain the background, purpose, objective, scope, method, and timetable for completion of the thesis. The planning report is submitted to the examiner for approval.

Information about the planning report can be found at Chalmers website under "Your studies" and “Master thesis”.

Written report

The thesis must be written in English.
The cover, etc., of the thesis must be formulated according to the instruction and templates at "Design and Publish master Thesis" at Chalmers.
A specific TME department cover template can be found at the course page in Canvas.
The thesis must be parsed using anti-plagiarism software – Ouriginal.
Chalmers' policies regarding open access and confidentiality apply to the work on the thesis.
The thesis must be published electronically in Chalmers Open Digital Repository (ODR) according to the applicable rules for electronic publication of theses at Chalmers.
In the thesis, the division of work between the two students must be stated clearly.

Oral presentation – Organised by the supervisor/examiner and the students

At the end of the semester it is time for presentation and opposition of your master’s thesis. Read more in the policy document "Instructions for Degree projects at Chalmers"

The presentation and opposition of the thesis is something the students organize together with the examiner (and supervisor) when the students are close to finalizing the work. Students, companies, relatives, and friends are welcome to attend the presentations.

The students are responsible of finding opponents for their own work.

In order to be able to present the students need to get an approval by the examiner.

To set a date, time and to book a room please contact the examiner.

The students are responsible for submitting information about the presentation via a webform. The webform will be published at the course page in Canvas.

The students need the examiners approval to defend their thesis. This approval should not be based on time but on quality of the thesis.
The oral presentation begins with the students describing their work. This is followed by a defense of their findings, guided by the opposing examiners (other students), and a discussion.
The oral presentation must be made in English. This presentation may not take more than 60 minutes, of which approximately 1/3 of the time should be devoted to a defense of the thesis and discussion.
After the discussions, examiners give their feedback and comments.
At the time of the oral presentation, the written thesis should be completed but not yet published. This is to make it possible to include viewpoints that arise during the oral presentation to be incorporated into the thesis.
The oral presentation, including a defense of the thesis, should take place at Chalmers. Any additional presentations can be held at a company or other external organization, if necessary. In exceptional cases, for example, if thesis research has been conducted abroad, the examiner may grant a dispensation from the requirement for an oral presentation, defense of the findings in the thesis and presence at other presentations at Chalmers.
The presentation of the thesis should be announced at the department at least two weeks prior to the date of the presentation.

Work card master’s thesis projects at TME

The work card is the receipt stating that the student has done all parts of the thesis work.
At TME the work card will be digital and created in an ePortfolio in Canvas.
The work card needs several signatures from mandatory activities during your thesis work.
At the end of the process, it is to be returned to division administrative assistant with all signatures completed.

More information about how to create a digital work card in Canvas and its content can be found on the course page in Canvas.
NB: no PDF-form will be accepted at TME.

Examination

For a thesis to be approved, the following stages must be completed:

An approved planning report
An approved thesis
An approved presentation and defense of the thesis
Approved opposition during the presentation of other degree project
Attendance of the presentation and defense of two other thesis

Final phase

The students upload their finished report at the course page in Canvas where it is checked for plagiarism (Ouriginal).

The examiner reviews the report and analysis from Ouriginal via the course page in Canvas and Speedgrader.
When the report is approved, the examiner marks it as complete in Speedgrader.
The examiner also approves the plagiarism check on the work card.

When the thesis is approved by the examiner and the student has submitted a complete work card to the administrative assistant the result will be reported into Ladok. The administrative assistant will upload the report into Chalmers Open Digital Repository (ODR).

Important dates

The end of May – beginning of June: the presentation and opposition. This is organized together with the examiner (and supervisor) when the students are close to finalizing the work.

The end of May - beginning of June: time to submit the thesis at the course page in Canvas for plagiarism check. This should be approved and communicated with the examiner and the supervisor.

June 15: Last day possible of the term for presentation and opposition.

Canvas

A course page is created at Canvas called "TEKX08 [termYY] Master's thesis in Technology management and economics Spring YYYY" where all students, supervisors and examiners are added.

Information from the department will be posted as announcements at the course page in Canvas.