Choosing a master's dissertation subject
Regulations
The Master's dissertation is scheduled during the final year of the standard learning track of the Master programme. The master dissertation is domain-related to the study programme of the student (Exam and Examination Code EEC, Art. 59).
For more programme specific information of the master dissertation:
- The UGent Study Guide
- For the international joint programmes : the master's dissertation guidelines, provided by the programme coordinator
The master dissertation and the internship need to be strictly separated in time and subject. A master dissertation includes mainly research; an internship is day-to-day work at a company. Results or data gathered during the internship cannot partially nor completely be used for the master dissertation.
The procedure below is valid for students of the Master programmes:
- Bioscience Engineering: Cell and Gene Biotechnology
- MSc. in Aquaculture
- MSc. in Environmental Science and Technology
- MSc. in Nutrition and Food Systems
The presentation of the master's dissertation information session for 2024-2025 is to be found here.
For all other international Master programmes: consult the regulations as described in the programme specific master dissertation guidelines.
Timeline during your first master year
The used faculty timeline for choosing a master’s dissertation topic is:
| 28/02 | deadline for master’s dissertation promoters to upload possible master’s dissertation topics in the database |
| March | screening of the topics by the OC |
| 1 → 24/04 | have a look at all the topics of your programme, ask for more information and contact the promotor of the topics you are interested in. |
| 25 → 30/04 | submit the 3 selected topics with decreasing priority in the database. You can also add a motivation. In the list "my subjects" you can see how many students have already chosen the same subject. Keep an eye on this, because if all subjects of your choice are popular, the chance of getting one of your chosen subjects is smaller. The date of entering your preferences will not be taken into account when making an attribution |
| Mid-May | the faculty student administration (FSA) will inform you about the assigned topics |
| June | contact your promotor to discuss the starting date of the experimental work and other practical arrangements |
Make an informed choice
Make a conscious and well-considered choice by asking the promotor or tutor for information before you enter your choice. You will find their contact details in the subjects section.
You can only choose a subject that is open to your programme. You can search by promotor, department or keywords.
You enter your preferences in the master's dissertation application where choice 1 is your most favourite subject, choice 2 your second choice, and so on. You can also fill in a noncommittal motivation for each choice.
In your list "my subjects" you can see how many other students with the corresponding priority have chosen this subject. Keep an eye on this, because if all subjects of your choice are popular, the chance of getting one of your chosen subjects is smaller. You can continue to change your choice until 30 April. The date of entering your preferences will not be taken into account when making an attribution.
Your own topic
You can submit your own topic. You will need to find a promotor to support you.
- Enter the subject and the promotor in the application between 25 and 30 April. You do not have to submit any other choices.
- The Programme Committee decides whether or not the subject can be approved. To do so, please send an email to masterdissertation.fbw@ugent.be.
- After approval by the Programme Committee, the subject will be assigned to you..
Master's dissertation of two students with the same subject
A master's dissertation by two students with the same subject is possible under following conditions:
- The work must be submitted in separate volumes.
- The defense is individual, so separated in space and time.
- For each master's dissertation, a separate Board of Examiners is appointed, so a separate written assessment is required.
- If a common title is used, this has to be complemented with a separate and different subtitle.
- In the introduction of each Masters dissertation, the cooperation should be mentioned and the similarities and specificity of the work have to be described.