Guidelines for student theses

Guidelines for student theses at the Institute for Solid Structures

The following explanations are intended to assist students at the Institute for Solid Structures at the Technical University of Darmstadt in the preparation of student theses (Bachelor's and Master's theses).

The initiative for the student thesis comes from the students, who are asked to approach the Institute with their request. The work is supervised by a research assistant. A list of suggestions for topics is available here . Staff can also be asked for current topic suggestions. Topic suggestions from students can be considered. External work (e.g. in engineering offices) is possible by arrangement.

Regardless of the language in which the topics are presented below, the thesis can be completed in either German or English. Please feel free to contact the relevant member of staff.

Please use the following guidelines when writing your student thesis at the Institute for Solid Structures.

General information

1. Processing

In the thesis, the student should demonstrate that he or she can work independently on a topic from the field of civil engineering using scientific methods. The following specialised information for civil engineering, for example, is helpful for literature research on the Internet:

  • Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Darmstadt: http://elib.tu-darmstadt.de/ulb/fach/bauing/index.htm
  • Article research at Ernst und Sohn: http://www.wiley-vch.de/ernstsohn/zeitschriften/artikelrecherche/index.php
  • Calendar research bei Ernst und Sohn: http://www.wiley-vch.de/ernstsohn/kalenderrecherche/index.php
  • Research at Zeitschrift Bauingenieur: http://www.technikwissen.de/bauing/search.php
  • Fraunhofer Informationszentrum Raum und Bau: http://www.irbdirekt.de/rswb/

2. Written thesis

The length of the written paper is agreed with the supervisor depending on the topic. As a rule, it should not be less than 60 pages and not significantly more than 100 pages. The written paper must be prepared using a word processing programme (no handwritten work). The actual paper should be preceded by the following:

  • Title page (free design, stating the type of work, topic, author, institute, date)
  • Original assignment
  • Declaration § 22 para. 7 APB TU Darmstadt
  • Summary/abstract (half-page summary of the content in German and English)
  • Table of contents

The last part of the thesis contains the references and any appendices.

3. Lecture

The lecture consists of a presentation and an oral examination. The presentation should be given as a PowerPoint presentation. The specified time of 20 minutes must be adhered to. This applies equally to all Bachelor's and Master's theses.