# Thesis and Project Supervision

**Source**: https://kyng.inf.ethz.ch/supervision/
**Parent**: https://inf.ethz.ch/studies/semester-and-master-theses.html

The Algorithms and Optimization group supervises bachelor and master's theses of students in ETHZ
D-INFK,
and we supervise student projects through the courses 'Research in Computer Science' and 'Praktische
Arbeit'.
In some cases, we also supervise master's theses and projects for students in other ETHZ departments.

We give preference to students with an appropriate background, in particular, for bachelor theses, we
recommend taking 'Algorithms, Probability, and Computing', and for master's theses, we recommend taking
'Advanced Graph Algorithms and Optimization'.

If you are interested in working with us, please email [supervision-kyng@lists.inf.ethz.ch](mailto:supervision-kyng@lists.inf.ethz.ch) with the
following:

- An up-to-date academic transcript
- A brief statement describing your interests and relevant background
- Please indicate in the subject line， including: (1) your name, (2) the type of project (e.g., Bachelor’s
  thesis,
  Master’s thesis, Praktische Arbeit), and (3) your intended semester. \
  **Example:** *Peter Pan, MS Thesis, Fall Semester 2025* or *Hermione Granger,
  Praktische Arbeit, Spring Semester 2025*

### Topics

Most of our projects are theoretical in nature, but we also consider applied projects, usually focused
on
implementing and evaluating practical algorithms in numerical linear algebra, convex optimization, and
various graph problems.

Our projects typically involve topics close the to group's research focuses: Graph algorithms (static
and
dynamic), convex optimization, numerical linear algebra, random matrix theory and discrepancy theory,
and
fine-grained complexity.
We sometimes supervise students in less directly related areas, but this requires a high degree of
independence on the part of the student.

You may find it interesting to check out our online research seminar, [the Algorithms and Complexity Seminar](https://kyng.inf.ethz.ch/acseminar/), where (mostly
external) speakers give talks on current topics in theoretical computer science.

### Support

Subject to availability (usually,
this is no problem), we can offer you an office space in the
OAT building to work on your thesis. You don't
have to accept this offer, but if you do, this has the advantage that you are
close to your advisor, other members of CADMO, and other students that are
writing their thesis. Obviously, discussing things, asking questions, and
getting answers to them quickly is much easier then.

You can expect a weekly meeting with your advisor, of one up to two
hours, depending on the state of your work. Usually, short meetings in between
are always possible, and if you work in OAT, they can usually be arranged
spontaneously.

### Expectations

Your advisor will guide you through the thesis process—suggesting directions, identifying potential
pitfalls, and helping you stay on track. However, the core work must be done independently by you. We
emphasize independence: when facing a problem, you are expected to first make a serious attempt to resolve
it on your own before asking for help.

Independent literature review is also expected. If all the references in your thesis were suggested by your
advisor, that is a bad sign. Tools like [Google Scholar](https://scholar.google.com/) and [Connected Papers](https://www.connectedpapers.com/) can be helpful for identifying relevant
work. And don’t forget: ETH's library offers access to older papers and books that are not available online.

You may get stuck, of course, after exhausting your possibilities,
and then you are welcome to solicit help.

You are not required to find new theoretical results during your
thesis, although this is always a goal that one should strive for. It is even
possible to obtain the best grade without having new results, but in that case,
other aspects of the thesis must be excellent (for example, the style of
presentation, or software that you produced during the thesis).

### Formalities

There are not many: you should
supply the final result of your work (the thesis)
in electronic form (PDF).
Every thesis or semester paper
must include with it a completed and signed [declaration of originality](https://www.ethz.ch/content/dam/ethz/main/education/rechtliches-abschluesse/leistungskontrollen/declaration-originality.pdf). This declaration is a component
of the written work and must be included in every copy of it.
\

[ETH E-Collection](http://e-collection.library.ethz.ch/about.php?subnav=about_1&lang=en%22)
is a publication platform provided by ETH-Bibliothek outside traditional
publishing. Master theses can be published there if they are considered
worthy of publication. To fulfill this condition, a grade of 6.0 is
usually necessary but not sufficient.

### Grading

The grade of your thesis is based
on the written document you hand in at the end and the performance you
demonstrate throughout the thesis work.
We may sometimes schedule a project
presentation
with the Algorithms and Optimization group as part of our evaluation.
The grading scheme for all accepted
theses is as follows:

- **6.0**: work and results are truly excellent
  (in case of Master theses the rule of thumb is that the quality of the thesis
  should be equivalent to work publishable at international
  workshops/conferences)
- **5.5**: thesis quality
  significantly exceeds expectations
- **5.0**: thesis meets
  expectations
- **4.5**: thesis partially meets expectations,
  minor deficits
- **4.0**: thesis meets minimal quality
  requirements; it has major deficits and it is significantly below
  expectations

Quarter grades (5.25 etc.) are also
possible; the above rules extend in the natural way.