The one-year research phase (usually the 3rd and 4th Master's semester), i.e. your Master's research project, begins in the 3rd semester with the two modules "Master's Seminar" and "Master's Practical". These usually take place at the planned supervisor of your Master's thesis. It is not necessary to register at the ZPA, passing the two modules is confirmed when you register for the Master's thesis. Within the framework of these two modules, you will learn about the state of the art in research (Master's Seminar) as well as special research methods (Master's Practical) in the research area of your future Master's thesis. Usually the two modules are finished by a presentation on the status of the Master's research project.

After successful completion of the two modules (usually at the end of the 3rd Master's semester), the supervisor enters a "passed" on the registration form for the Master's thesis. The topic and the issue date of the Master's thesis are also noted on this form. The master's thesis is considered as registered when it is returned to the ZPA. The master's thesis must be submitted no later than 6 months after the issue date. You finde the latest date of submission in your records in RWTHonline. The topic of the theses must be determined at the time of the assignment. The title of the submitted thesis may deviate from the topic of the assignment in agreement with the supervisor as long as the original assignment is still covered by it.

A final thesis (bachelor's or master's thesis) can also be written at an RWTH institute outside physics or at any of the Jülich Research Center (FZ Jülich) institutes. The supervisor must be a university professor at RWTH Aachen University and a lecturer from the physics institutes must agree to act as a second reviewer. Note that exceptions are possible within the framework of Jülich-Aachen Research Alliance (JARA). An informal application for the issue of the final thesis must be submitted by the applicant to the chairman of the Physics Examination Board. This should contain the approximate content of the planned thesis.  There is a maximum contingent for external institutes, therefore an early application is recommended. The approved application must be submitted to the ZPA when the final thesis is registered. A thesis topic can only be given by a RWTH lecturer. In this respect, theses outside the RWTH (e.g. foreign country or industry) are only possible in the sense that the respective research activity takes place at the foreign institution, however, the supervision and evaluation of the thesis is carried out by the RWTH's supervisor.