Regl. 2017: Master's thesis and graduation ceremony
The Master's Thesis is a scientific and independent work. It concludes the Master programme.
A Professor or Privatdozent of the Department of Health Sciences and Technology or of the Department of Environmental Systems Science (Agricultural Science area) is responsible for the topic and the supervision of the thesis.
If a thesis is not carried out in the field of the selected Major, authorization by the Study Director is required.
Scientific communication
See the comprehensive guidelines for scientific communication on Polybook.
The ETH Zurich library offers the course "Ready for take-off: how to start your Bachelor's and Master's thesis" (login reqired)
Instruction Sheet
Please see the explanatory Download instruction sheet (PDF, 142 KB) (January 2025 edition) for execution of the Master's Thesis.
Scientific communication
See the comprehensive guidelines for scientific communication on Polybook.
The ETH Zurich library offers the course "Ready for take-off: how to start your Bachelor's and Master's thesis" (login reqired)
According to regulations, the following criteria must be fulfilled before commencing the Master's Thesis:
- Completed Bachelor studies
- Matriculation for the Master's study program
- Fulfillment of any further requirements for admission to the Master programme
- Attainment of at least 30 CP in the Master program
The Master's Thesis has to be registered in advance with the Study Administration who will submit it to the Department Conference according to the Regulations of the Master study programme and confirms it after approval by the Department Conference.
For the registration, the Download registration form (PDF, 202 KB) has to be filled out, signed, and handed in by e-mail (PDF) at the Study Administration (foodscience@hest.ethz.ch).
Students register the thesis electronically on myStudies after submitting the registration form. If a master’s thesis is carried out across two semesters, the registration must be made in the semester in which the major part of the work is completed. The thesis has to be registered only once. The study administration office will confirm the registration after the Department Conference has approved the master’s thesis.
Also see information on the student portal (tab "Registering for Bachelor's or Master's thesis, project and semester papers")
- The duration of a Master's thesis is 28 weeks (full time). Prolongations have to be approved by the Director of Studies following a well-justified written request by the student. The appropriate form has to be used. The form is published in the Documents section.
- 30 CP are acquired after successful completion of the thesis.
Duration and assessment: A time slot of max. 30 minutes (of which the presentation is 15 to max. 20 minutes, followed by questions) is assigned to the presentation. After the question and answer session, the presentation is assessed by the examiner and co-examiner. The grade for the presentation counts for 20% of the overall grade for the Master's thesis.
The presentation usually takes place before the thesis is submitted, but no later than four weeks after submission. The presentation can take place as part of an internal group colloquium. The students arrange the presentation date with the examiner and co-examiner and notify the Study Administration of the date.
The Study Administration prepares the evaluation forms for the grading and sends these to the examiner and co-examiner.
Please submit your thesis only digitally as PDF.
Please send the PDF by e-mail to foodscience@hest.ethz.ch.
Notes:
- The paper must contain the project description.
- The work must include the signed declaration of originality.
- If sending by e-mail is not possible, please use the Polybox.
Prolongations have to be approved by the Director of Studies following a well-justified written request by the student. The appropriate form has to be used. It can be found in the Documents section.
The Master's Thesis is an independently written work. It is compulsory for each student to sign a Declaration of Originality and to include it with the Master's Thesis. The Declaration of Originality must be bound into the work. The Declaration of Originality form and further information can be found on the Student portal.
The supervisor and co-supervisor grade the presentation and the written work. Weighting: presentation 20%, written work 80%.
After the written work has been submitted, the Study Administration sends it to the examiner and co-examiner for grading. As a general rule grading takes place 4-6 weeks after submission.
The grades are passed on to the Study Administration who calculates the end grade from the presentation and written work.
The theses are not archived in the Study Administration.
If the Master's thesis is carried out abroad, an application for a contribution towards travel, visa, vaccination and accommodation costs can be submitted to the Hochstrasser-Stiftung. Conditions:
- Swiss citizenship
- An application to the Hochstrasser Foundation can be submitted only once during the entire duration of studies
Download Application form (PDF, 254 KB)
Contact
Institut für Agrarwissenschaften
Universitätstrasse 2
8092 Zürich
Switzerland
Requests for certificates can be submitted through myStudies at any time. The application will be examined. The Study Administration finalizes the requests, and Academic Services issues the degree documents.
In the case that a final academic record has not yet been issued, on request the Study Administration can give a transcript of records in German or English, which can be used for applications for employment.
The legal basis is founded on Art. 31 of the Regulations 2017 for the Master study programme Food Science (in German)