Master Program in Biostatistics

Suche

Master's Thesis Information

Prerequisites

It is necessary to have passed all compulsory modules before starting a master thesis.

Finding a Topic and Supervisor

To find a supervisor and a topic to their own liking and interest, students may take the following steps:

  • Check out the open topics. The list is however not exhaustive and also other topics that have been discussed with a supervisor can be tackled in the master thesis.
  • See the list of ongoing and completed master theses to get an impression on potential topics.
  • Look at potential supervisors' publication records to get an impression of their research interests.
  • Contact a potential supervisor (only one at a time to avoid misunderstandings).

In general any lecturers listed can be the supervisor of a master thesis in biostatistics, other UZH researchers and lecturers could also be supervisors conditional on the approval of the coordinator.

External Master Thesis

External theses are in general discouraged since the control over the topic and supervision is often not optimal. Exceptions to this rule are possible but they require a longer preparation phase, see below on timing advice. External Master theses entail suitable compensation by the company/university towards the Master Program in Biostatistics for time and organisational expenses.

Time Frame

A master thesis is not bound to the lecture period, it can be started at any time and takes about 6 months full time. It is a good idea to start searching for a topic and a supervisor about 2-4 months before the intended start date. The best situation is to be able to concentrate on the thesis throughout 6 months, i.e. with only a small workload on a job and without prolonged absences due to vacation. Exceptions to this rule are possible and should be discussed with the supervisor.

Organisation and Administration

For the organisational information for the master thesis and the master exam see the Infosheet.

Throughout the duration of the thesis work it is compulsory to attend all intermediate master thesis presentations and master exam presentations that are scheduled within the Master Program in Biostatistics. A calendar of scheduled presentations is sent by email through the mscbiostat Mailing-List. The presentations will take place - whenever possible - either on Mondays, 13:00 - 14:00, or on Thursdays, 15:00 - 16:00.

To officially register the master thesis, the filled out registration form has to be submitted to the scientific coordinator (masterbiostat@math.uzh.ch) at (or before) the start of the thesis.

Note that due to technical reasons there can not be any (mathematical) symbols in the title of the master thesis. Here is a Latex file for an example of a title page for the report: pdf  tex and a report template for master thesis in knitR with make and without make (updated versions November 2024).

When submitting the thesis, the signed Personal Declaration has to be provided to the scientific coordinator (masterbiostat@math.uzh.ch).

The registration form for the master exam has to be submitted to the scientific coordinator (masterbiostat@math.uzh.ch) four weeks before the desired date of the master exam.