The topic of your Master project AND your advisor must be approved by the SPL before you start working on your project!
Guidelines for registration of the Master thesis project
1. Progress in the Master program
We strongly recommend the beging working on your Master project once you have accumulated around 45-50 ECTS credits in your Master study program and completed additional prescribed courses (Auflagen/Ergänzungsprüfungen).
2. External Master theses
Your Master project can be supervised either by “internal” or “external” advisors. Group leaders affiliated with the University of Vienna, Max Perutz Labs, Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Institute of Molecular Biology (IMBA), the Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI) or Center for Molecular Medicine (CeMM) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences are considered as “internal” advisors. They should sign the Master project registration form and are mentioned as the advisors on the Master thesis cover page.
2.1. Supervisors from another University or Research institution in Vienna
The student should not consent to participate in a research group before submitting all necessary forms (forms Übernahme Masterthema, Regeln der guten wissenschaftlichen Praxis, Beiblatt zur Übernahme Masterthema). The supervisor from the external institution must be habilitated. An expert from Max Perutz Labs familiar with the research field of the submitted thesis topic has to approve a project exposé.
2.2. Supervisors of Master thesis from an institution outside Vienna (including universities and institutions abroad)
In such case, a student needs a supervisor from Max Perutz Labs or the University of Vienna. Please inform such external supervisors that their name will only be mentioned in the Acknowledgements (not on the cover page of the thesis).
3. Formal submission of the thesis topic
The thesis topic has to be registered and approved by the SPL before the practical work on the Master thesis project starts. The student has to hand over all necessary forms to SPL Yudushkin (MMB) or SPL Witte (MGE, MMEI).
Required forms:
- Form Übernahme des Masterarbeitsthemas
- Beiblatt (in case of external supervisor)
- A co-supervisor (Mitbetreuer) may be appointed, provided that such personal is an emplyee of the University of Vienna; an additional form (Meldung des Mitbetreuers) must be submitted
If the Master project is done in cooperation with external partners (commercial partners, research centers, public institutions, etc), please inform the partners about the University theses embargo policies. Please inform the Directorate of Studies (SPL) about any non-disclosure agreements or other contracts with the third parties (commercial partners, external research centers, publishers, etc) prior to registration of the Master thesis topic!
IMPORTANT!
Make sure your exposé includes an explicitly formulated working hypothesis, which you will be testing during your Master project.
Failure to formulate a specific research goal or working hypothesis or choice of the Master thesis topic outside of the subject areas described in the corresponding curriculum may prevent an SPL or MPL expert to approve your exposé or Master thesis topic!