Thesis supervision

Expert supervision throughout the research activities leading towards a doctoral degree within 3-4 years is regarded of the utmost importance. In addition to the day-to-day supervision, each PhD student has a Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC). The main task of the TAC is to guide the PhD student throughout their thesis work and to monitor and evaluate the progress of the research project and the individual development of the PhD student.

The TAC consists of three faculty members. The primary supervisor is the group leader in whose laboratory the research is being performed. The second and third supervisors are chosen on the basis of their research specialty in order to provide as far as possible the complete scientific expertise required to realize the proposed thesis project. Especially when interdisciplinary research is involved, TAC members may also be recruited from the other two PhD Programs. At least one member of each TAC must be a university professor of the TUD.

Following the submission of a project proposal after one month, and an initial report meeting after 3 to 6 months, TAC meetings are scheduled on an annual basis. TAC meetings include a written report and an oral presentation which covers the theoretical background, research progress, results obtained so far and experiments to be done in the future. The Initial Report focuses on the detailed outline of the thesis project and planning for future experiments. The 3rd Annual Report meeting defines the work to be done prior to writing and submitting the thesis, and the time frame for obtaining the doctorate.