Theses & Certificates
Your studies are coming to an end and now all that's missing is your final paper.
Thesis - topic selection and registration
In order to find an interesting topic get in contact with chairs, lecturers, professors or external companies. There are often postings on bulletin boards or websites, or just have a look if you find something suitable on our Jobs and Career page.
As soon as you have found a good topic, your thesis needs to be registered and approved by the responsible examination board.
Please register your thesis, no matter if bachelor’s or master’s thesis, digitally in the thesis portal of the TUM School of Life Sciences.
Please note that the login is only possible via the eduVPN client (download: https://www.eduvpn.org/client-apps/ and instruction: https://doku.lrz.de/pages/viewpage.action?pageId=87425039).
Important note: The issue date of your thesis is the day on which you start working on it. You enter this under “Issue date” in the thesis portal. Therefore, the start of your thesis is independent of the date of registration in the thesis portal and the date of approval by the examination board. This means that the available 3- or 6-months processing time is derived from the issue date of your thesis and does not start on the day you register your thesis in the thesis portal. In the case of approval by the examination board, the processing time of your thesis begins with the issue date that you have entered in the portal.
You can find detailed instructions including screenshots on how to register your thesis here.
The responsible examiner has to digitally agree to your application. If this is done, the examination team will check if the requirements for the thesis are met (credit requirements, internships, WPP-registration, etc. depending on the study program) and your registration will be submitted to the examination board for approval. If all requirements are met, the registration of your thesis will be approved by the examination team.
You will then receive a confirmation via e-mail from the system, which you should save for your records. In order to have enough lead time for the review and approval of your application, it should be sent to the Campus Office about 4 weeks before the planned thesis start date.
As soon as the registration has been completed, it will also be entered and displayed in TUMonline within the next few days. Please check your account.
Please note that you must be enrolled until the day you submit your thesis.
Further information about de-registration:
https://www.tum.de/en/studies/graduation/withdrawal-from-university/
Thesis Extension and Suspension
If you cannot meet your submission deadline for reasons beyond your control, the examination board may extend the completion period by a maximum of half of the regular processing time.
If you are unable to work due to illness, the processing time will be suspended accordingly upon request.
The application for an extension must be submitted to the examination board before the date of submission and your supervisor has to agree by providing his signature. Therefore, please contact your supervisor early enough if you have problems with meeting your deadline. In general, you should expect a processing period of approx. 3 weeks until the examination board has decided on your application and the entry is recorded in your student file.
If you are ill and can prove by a medical certificate that you are prevented from working on your thesis, the processing time is suspended for the duration of the illness stated in the certificate.
Please make sure that the medical certificate contains all the required information, especially the beginning and (expected) end of the inability to work on your thesis, a certificate of incapacity for work is not sufficient (instructions on this can be found via https://www.tum.de/en/studies/during-your-studies/organizing-your-studies/examinations/withdrawing-from-examinations-medical-certificates)
Please send the signed application to thesis.co(at)ls.tum.de.
It will make it easier for us to process your application if you name it: Last name_Extension.pdf.
It will then be forwarded to the respective examination board and you will be informed after the examination board has decided on your application.
Thesis extension / suspension form (English)
Antrag auf Verlängerung / Ruhen der Abschlussarbeit (German)
Title page template
The layout of the cover sheet and various specifications are usually chair-specific. Please check the website of the chair or contact the supervisor of your thesis. Various general templates can be found in the MyTUM portal.
Thesis submission
The Bachelor's thesis must not be handed in later than three months after your thesis issue date. The Master's thesis must not be handed in later than six months after your thesis issue date. In case of part-time study programs, different deadlines apply in accordance with the respective FPSO.
- Example Bachelor: Start issue date of the thesis May 1, latest submission date August 1.
- Example Master: Start issue date of the thesis October 9, latest submission date April 9.
After you have successfully completed your thesis, log in to the thesis portal and upload your thesis as PDF file. You can find detailed information about the upload procedure and about the required designation of your PDF file in the instructions with screenshots here. The digital submission does not prevent you from the obligation to hand in the printed and signed version of your thesis to your examiner.
If the upload to the portal is not possible due to technical reasons, please send your thesis to thesis.co(at)ls.tum.de before the deadline.
Evaluation forms for examiners
The evaluation form is filled out by the examiner and is then sent to the Campus Office (thesis.co(at)ls.tum.de) along with the title page.
Creation of certificates
After receipt of the thesis grade in the Campus Office you will receive an e-mail with all information regarding the procedure for the preparation of the certificate.
After the approval by your advisor it can take up to 6 weeks until your transcript is issued and signed. You will then be informed by the Central Examination Office that your transcript is ready for collection.
You can also get your certificate by mail. For this, please submit the following request for delivery of the final documents to the department of central examination matters:
https://www.tum.de/en/studies/graduation/documents/
If you need an early certificate of graduation, please fill out the form for the issuance of a certificate of graduation (https://www.tum.de/en/studies/graduation/documents/) and send it to the Graduation Office and Academic Records (Campus Weihenstephan).
Please note that this is not a certificate, only an official confirmation of your degree.
If you have any questions, please contact your student advisor:
https://www.ls.tum.de/en/ls/studies/campus-office-and-student-advising/advice-and-support/
Further information of the TU Munich on the topic of final theses.