Frequently Asked Questions

At the beginning of the one-year research phase (usually 3rd and 4th Master semesters) you should personally register the two modules "Master's Seminar" and "Master's Practical" at the ZPA (Zentrales Prüfungsamt),  specifying the future supervisor of your Master's thesis as the examiner. During these two modules, you will learn the state of the art (Master's Seminar) and special methods (Master's Practical) in the research area of ​​your future Master's thesis. The prerequisite for the registration of these two modules is at least 30 credit points (CP) from the first year of study of the Master's program. After successfull completion of the two modules (usually at the end of the 3rd Master semester) the future supervisor fills a "passed" on the registration form for the Master's thesis. On this form the topic and the date of issue of the thesis work are stated. By returning the form to the ZPA, the thesis is considered as registered. The thesis must be submitted no later than 6 months after the date of issue. The topic of the thesis must be finalized on the date of issue. The final title of the thesis submitted may deviate from the topic of the initial task as long as the original task is still covered by it, in agreement with the task applicant.

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.