eth biology master thesis

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Computational Biology Group

Master theses.

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Masters in Biomedical Engineering

Master project.

The Master thesis project requires 6 months of full time study and is awarded 30 credit points upon completion. The project may only be started when all other requirements have been completed. This applies in particular to the semester project as well as to industry /research internships (see Download Art. 35 of the study regulations (PDF, 648 KB) vertical_align_bottom ). The project should demonstrate innovative, independent scientific work and culminates with a written thesis.

The Master project can be carried out in an industrial setting or laboratory outside of the ETH. The Master project cannot be done at the same place as the research project, or internship (Exceptions can be granted by the tutor, or in case the tutor is involved, the study coordinator).

Consult the individual websites under Research for available Master thesis topics . Alternatively, go through the external page SiROP website call_made to find a suitable project.

The Master project should not be performed in the same laboratory as the semester project or the group- and research projects.

Master projects can be supervised by ETH professors from the field of Biomedical Engineering ( Download see list (PDF, 166 KB) vertical_align_bottom ) . Find a professor, and discuss with him/her your project using the following form. This must be done BEFORE the start of the project. Semester/Master Download Project Plan (DOC, 64 KB) vertical_align_bottom (example)

Register for the Master project on mystudies

When submitting the written document for your Master project, include the plagiarism Form (in German) . All documents (Project Plan, Written Report and Plagiarism Plan) are not submitted to study administration - this remains between you the the host group.

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Computational Science and Engineering

 REMEMBER: each project for a Term, BSc-, or MSc-Thesis must be approved via this form .

A thesis project is usually supervised and graded by a lecturer in charge of teaching a Core Course or a course in a Field of Specialization, but any other lecturer of ETH Zurich, who is entitled to supervise master thesis in her or his own department is also eligible.  

The topic of a thesis project must be approved by the Director of Studies CSE. Approval can be requested via the form above and needs a brief description of the project. That description must convey that the following requirements are satisfied:

All projects in CSE must involve the application of core CSE techniques and must have a strong software implementation component. Algorithm development and implementation, numerical or discrete modeling, or simulations must constitute the main contribution of the student to the project.

If a thesis project is conducted at an institution or company outside ETH Zurich, an authorized lecturer of ETH Zurich must take responsibility as in-​house supervisor.  

Please also note the gen­eral pro­ced­ures for do­ing thesis pro­jects:

protected page Procedure for Semester/BSc/MSc-theses lock

All theses/projects end with a written report (including the declaration of originality) and with a presentation.

The Bachelor Thesis in CSE ends the BSc program and can be written not earlier than 5th semester, better in 6. semester of study. It should require about 420 hours and 14 ECTS are obtained. Both full time and part time work are allowed.

A Term Thesis in CSE should be computational and application oriented work in a team in order to deepen the knowledge in an application area. It should require about 160-240 hours and 8 ECTS are obtained for an accepted paper. The supervisor defines the tasks to be accomplished and establishes the dates of start and end of the work. A term theis is graded pass/fail. The Master Thesis takes 6 months, which is a strict deadline for its completion, and is supposed to be full-​time work. It concludes the CSE Master studies and should train students for independent work on a particular topic. 30 ECTS credits are awarded for an accepted thesis.

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Department of Biology

Ecology and evolution, major overview.

Download Profile and description of the major, course list, contact information study advisor (PDF, 1.1 MB) vertical_align_bottom

Important information

The diversity of organisms is the central theme in  ‘Ecology and Evolution’. The study of species and populations of plants, animals, fungi, microbes and ecosystems aids to understand the environment and evolutionary development of single components and their interactions with one another. This awakens and deepens the understanding of the interactions between various organisms and the environment.

Examples of interactions between various organisms that are of great interest include pollination and proliferation of plants, interactions between plants and the environment, the origination and conservation of species and the coexistence of various species (symbiotic and/or parasitic). Through the course of the investigations various levels of species including individual, populations, societies and ecosystems are considered. Practical field experience, work experience in the experimental gardens and greenhouses as well as experience in the lab are highly encouraged and valued.

The first time you edit your master’s enrolment go to “Functions” > “Specialisation” and choose your major.

Every student's study programme is defined in the learning agreement in myStudies.

• Go to “Functions” > “Learning agreement”. The compulsory courses are already listed. The compulsory electives and the elective courses can be entered according to the discussion with your major advisor. In the end submit your entries to your major advisor for approval.
• The learning agreement does not have to be complete in the beginning and it can be changed during the course of the study time. All additions and changes have to be approved by your major advisor.
• All compulsory courses are marked with “Yes” in the section “Completion of mandatory courses”.
• Compulsory courses that were done in the ETH Biology Bachelor’s programme have to be marked with “Other programme”.
• In the rare case a compulsory course does not have to be taken with agreement of your major advisor it can be marked with “No”.
• The section “ECTS credits” shows the planned, the needed minimum and the missing CPs in the categories “Compulsory Subjects and Compulsory Electives”, “Electives” and “Research Projects” (not shown Master’s thesis, Master’s exam and GESS-course).
• For the Master’s degree 24 CPs must be acquired in the categories “Compulsory Subjects and Compulsory Electives” and “Electives” whereof at least 18 CPs have to come from the category “Compulsory Subjects and Compulsory Electives”.
• Courses listed in the learning agreement must be registered in myStudies under “Course registration” (no automatic transfer!).If a course is registered, the dot in front of the course’s name in the learning agreement turns green. Without a registration it turns red.
• Location location_on CHN G 26.2
• Phone phone +41 44 632 36 60
• contacts vCard Download

Institut für Integrative Biologie Universitätstrasse 16 8092 Zürich Switzerland

Autumn semester

701-2413-00 Evolutionary Genetics

Autumn/spring semester

701-0323-00 Plant ecology

701-0328-00 Advanced Ecological Processes