The Graduation Project is a 45 EC project (1260 hrs; 7.5 months fulltime) and is the culmination of the master’s program. This project is supervised by a thesis supervisor who is a (assistant/associate/full) professor (or an appointed graduation project examinator) in the allocated division of a student. The thesis supervisor is not necessarily the same person as the mentor.
During the graduation project, you will gain significant in-depth scientific knowledge and competencies. This project can be conducted in one of the research laboratories of the department (usually in close cooperation with a PhD student) or in industry. Throughout your graduation project, you must learn to apply a scientific approach to solving a problem, utilizing and expanding the expertise and skills you have acquired thus far. The graduation project should not be regarded as a straitjacket for life. It is quite common for graduates to work in fields different from their specialization and graduation project.
The procedure for finding a suitable graduation project varies by section. Some sections have a notice board displaying all available projects, while others advise their students to visit each staff member to gain an overview of the latest projects. If you are unsure where to start, first contact your mentor.
For the record, a project to fulfill the required (master's) internship or bachelor's final project does not fall under these requirements.
The graduation project consists of three phases:
- Phase 1: preparation phase
- Phase 2: project phase
- Phase 3: defense and grading phase
Phase 1: preparation phase
The end of this phase is marked by submission of the preparation phase report of the graduation project.
The preparation phase of the project takes typically 2-6 full working weeks. The preparation phase is concluded with a preparation phase report containing:
- The background and already obtained results in the topic
- The project goal (based on literature and/or previous work)
- Research method (means, steps, results)
- Project planning should span at least 6 and at most 8 months, including the Phase 1 planning and any holidays
- End date, when the final graduation project report has to be submitted.
This plan is to be graded with "Passed/Failed” by the thesis supervisor and has to be uploaded in the SharePoint student reports.
Phase 2: project phase
A student has to formally register for a start of the project phase. Students may not commence with the second phase (project phase) of the graduation project until:
- The program of examinations has been approved.
- At least 70 EC of the formally program of examinations has been completed, including the internship.
- The internship report has been uploaded in the SharePoint student reports.
- The approved preparation phase report of phase 1 has been uploaded in the SharePoint student reports.
- The form ‘Registration project phase’ (see downloads) has been signed by the TU/e thesis supervisor and submitted to the Center for Student Administration (CSA) of Mechanical Engineering and timely submitted before the starting date recorded on the registration form.
The project phase starts according to the starting date as recorded on the registration form for phase 2, provided all requirements have been met. The student will receive formal approval for the start of the project phase. The project phase ends within a time period of 6 to 8 months after the approved starting date and is marked by the submission of the final graduation project report in the SharePoint student reports. The final report is the report that will be published in the library.
Phase 3: the defense and grading phase.
The graduation committees are chaired by assistant professors (from UD1), associate professors or full professors.
Students may not commence with the third phase of the graduation project until:
- 75 EC of the formally approved program of examinations has been completed.
- Phase 2 final report is uploaded into the SharePoint student reports.
- Students register for final exam by sending an email to the CSA.ME email address stating the ID-number and requesting the form “Registration final exam” 4 weeks in advance of the date of the presentation.
The end of the defense and grading phase is marked by the presentation, defense and grading by the graduation committee.
Pay attention! If you encounter any issues during your graduation project that you are unable to resolve with your TU/e supervisor, your first point of contact should be your academic advisor. You can send an email to ME.Academic.Advisor.MSc@tue.nl and request an appointment if needed. The academic advisor will guide you through the process and direct you to additional resources if necessary. Please also be aware that the TU/e offers a range of support services, which may assist you during challenging times.