Internships

Organisation of the Master’s projects 

We summarise the most important aspects of the organisation of the Master’s projects and the final examination here. Please see the Examination Regulations for official rules and regulations.  

Proposals 

Click here for the current proposals.  

Admission to Master’s projects 

• The third semester offers plenty of opportunities to get in touch with researchers, universities, and institutions regarding potential internship projects. Once a topic is chosen, it is important to define a supervisor from the institution where you will conduct the research. Please also discuss the organisation with him or her, e.g. travel to the institution, visa requirements, financial support, etc. 
• The supervisor should act as the first referee. The second referee should come from one of the three universities (Bologna, Clermont, Dortmund). 
  • You are obliged to fill out an admission form for the Master’s thesis. It is available on request by e-mail from the examination office (pruefungsverwaltung-physik@tu-dortmund.de). The admission requirements are the collection of at least 84 CP.
  • The definition of a thesis project and a supervisor / first referee. 
  • The suggestion of a second referee.
  • You must choose one of the following elective modules on the admission form, depending on where you conduct the Master’s project: o Preparation for the final examination → research conducted at any French, Italian or German university.
  • Preparation abroad for the final examination → research conducted at any university outside France, Italy and Germany.
  • In preparation for the final examination, → internship is conducted at any company or research institution in Italy, France or Germany. Research institutions are, for example, DESY, Max Planck Institute for Physics, INFN, IN2P3, etc., i.e., any lab independent of the universities. 
  • Internship abroad in preparation for the final examination → internship conducted at any company or research institution outside France, Italy, and Germany, e.g. TRIUMF in Canada and BNL in the US. Etc.
  • It is also necessary to sign a supervision agreement with your supervisor. The supervision agreement has to be sent to the head of the examination board (currently Kevin Kröninger). 

Master’s thesis 

• The Master’s project will last six months (maximum). It will conclude with a written Master’s thesis, which has to be submitted within the duration of the Master’s project. 
• Upon justified application, the examination board can grant an extension of up to four weeks to complete the Master’s thesis. 
• If the Master’s thesis has not been successfully completed, it can only be repeated once and with a new topic. However, it is possible to change the subject of the Master’s thesis within the first two weeks. 

• The thesis should have a length of approximately 60 pages. Additional appendices are possible. 
• The thesis must be submitted via the online portal ExaBase at TU Dortmund University: https://webapps.itmc.tu-dortmund.de/webapps/prod/dev/exabase/ 

Final exams 

• The primary session of final exams will occur at the end of the summer term (September 30th). It will be held in presence, usually at one of the three universities. In exceptional cases, participation via ZOOM is possible. 
• A second final session will be offered via Zoom early in December for those who missed the primary session. Be aware that you will have to enrol for an additional semester and pay fees for this additional semester. The same holds true if you still have to collect credits for other modules. 
• The final examination comprises a presentation about the internship (about 20 minutes) and a discussion (about 15 minutes). The examination will be conducted by a jury of teachers from all three universities. The grades will be announced after all examinations are completed. 
• The Master’s thesis has to be submitted at least two weeks before the final examination. 
• To participate in the final examination at the end of the summer term, it is advisable to start the Master’s project in February or at the beginning of March at the latest. You must hand in your thesis on September 15th at the latest. 

Grading 

• The two referees will grade the Master’s thesis. The grade of the Master’s thesis is formed from the arithmetic mean of the two individual grades (see Section 22 of the Examination Regulations). The thesis will be counted with 18 CP. 
• The jury will grade the final examination. It will be counted with 12 CP.