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 at the time of registration (plus six months).
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 Downloadsigned declaration of originality (PDF, 183 KB)) 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 pageMaster’s Thesis - Assessment and Grading Form. 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 pagesee assessment and grading form) 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 from the student.
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 pageJoint Master Programme page on the IDEA League website.