Master’s Thesis with Oral Presentation (30 credits)

The master’s thesis is meant to prove the student’s ability to work independently on an advanced problem from the bioinformatical field using scientific methods, as well as the student's ability to evaluate the findings appropriately and to depict them both orally and in written form in an adequate manner.

Please read § 5 of the Examination regulations (StO/PO 2012)

Unofficial Extract from the Regulations:

• Students are admitted to work on a Master's Thesis upon application if they have successfully completed modules amounting to at least 60 CP.
• The Master's Thesis, including footnotes, and references, is to be up to 80 pages long with a maximum word count of 24,000.
• The assigned period for the thesis work is 23 weeks. Note: An extension is not possible. If your thesis is delayed for an important reason (for which you are not responsible), please contact the Examination Office with the relevant supporting documents.
• The written part must be written in English.
• The Master's Thesis must be evaluated by two instructors entitled to administer examinations* as assigned by the Examination Committee. One of the two entitled instructors should be the supervisor of the Master's Thesis. At least one of the two entitled instructors must be an active instructor in the Master's Program and also a University Instructor on the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics of the Free University of Berlin, on the Faculty of Biology, Chemistry, Pharmaceutics of the Free University of Berlin or on the Faculty of Charité -University Medicine Berlin.
• If approved by the Examination Board, the work on the Master's Thesis can also be done externally in a suitable operation or scientific facility as long as scientific supervision by an examiner is ensured.
• The results of the Master's Thesis are presented and discussed in an oral presentation. The oral presentation lasts about 15 minutes and is followed by a discussion period that lasts about 15 minutes and is not graded. The oral presentation is mandatory and follows submission of the Master's Thesis.

*These are usually all PhD scientists involved in teaching in the Master's program in Bioinformatics. However, persons who are not directly involved in teaching may also be authorized. In case of doubt, please contact the examination office, which can check if a certain combination of examiners is possible or not.
Note: The two examiners of a master thesis should come from different working groups

The Informationen & Anleitungen of the examination office offer further information concerning the registration and submitting regulations of the master’s thesis (in german). The registration form is available in English.

Please note: If you have completed all the coursework and only need to finish the master's thesis, you no longer need to be enrolled, (but you are allowed to, of course).

Every summer semester the Mentoring organizes the workshop “How to write a bachelor’s / master’s thesis in bioinformatics”. Here you receive helpful tips and are free to ask your questions.

Here you can find a compilation of important information (FAQ Abschlussarbeit, in German).