Guidelines for Writing a Bachelor Thesis
In accordance with the accredited study plans, bachelor
study at MFF UK is completed by the State Final Examination,
comprising the oral part and the bachelor thesis
defence. All knowledge requirements for the oral part of the state
final examination can be found in the study plans of the relevant
study branch. The purpose of these guidelines is to provide students with
essential information about the bachelor thesis,
namely its
- assignment,
- writing
up,
- submission,
- defence.
All
the information provided in these guidelines is based on Study and Examination Rules of Charles
University, Rules for the
Organisation of Study at MFF UK, Dean's Directive
No. 27/2023 – Formal Aspects of a Thesis, Dean's Directive
No. 26/2023 – The Dean's Measures Regulating the Submission and Publication
of Theses.
Assignment
It is advisable to apply for the assignment of your
bachelor thesis at the beginning of your third year of study. The assignment
process is activated through the module Thesis (Selection of
subject) in the MFF UK Study Information System (SIS). Theses must
be written in Czech, Slovak or English (exceptions must be approved by the
Dean). If the language of the thesis has been determined in the
assignment process (see below), it is necessary to write the thesis in that
language (a change in language can only be approved by the Dean); if the
language has not been determined yet, it is possible to choose the language
later, before submission of the thesis.
- In the above-mentioned module
Thesis, newly announced topics as well as topics of currently supervised and
already defended theses can be searched for with respect to
various criteria (study programme, study branch, department, supervisor, year of
announcement, keywords and others).
- Once you have selected the topic for
your thesis, you should first contact the teacher who offers
it. All the necessary details are to be discussed and agreed on with him/her in
person.
- If you cannot find any suitable topic for your thesis among the
announced topics, you can contact a teacher and propose your own
topic.
- Be aware of the fact that you will have to defend the
thesis before the State Final Examination Committee of your study programme and
branch. We therefore recommend that you select a topic primarily from
the list of topics in your area (e.g., students of computer science
should choose topics from computer science teachers at Mala Strana). If you wish
to select a topic from another section, it is advisable that you discuss your
choice with the study branch coordinator or the Head of the State Final
Examination Committee.
- To select an available topic,
click the Enter button. It is important to note that this step
does not complete the assignment process.
- To complete the process
successfully, the supervisor has to confirm in SIS your position as
“author”. Before confirming, check with him that all the data are
correct (i.e., the name of the supervisor, thesis title, language, study
programme and branch). If there is more than one applicant for the topic, the
supervisor will choose to whom the topic will be assigned.
- Finally, the
assignment is approved (again, in SIS) by the coordinator of your study
programme.
Writing up
The aim of the bachelor thesis is to
demonstrate an ability to work independently. The form a bachelor thesis takes
may vary (background research, software, proof of a new theorem, etc.), due to
the differences between various study programmes and disciplines. Presentation
of original results is always desirable, but not necessary. Below are the
essentials concerning writing up a thesis:
- Detailed information on
the form a bachelor thesis should take (graphics, structure, citation standards,
etc.), including some useful recommendations, can be found in the document
Bachelor Thesis Layout (detailed
version in Czech, brief version
in English).
- Use the LaTeX
template for typesetting the thesis. Typesetting will be easier and
it will help you observe the rules of the above-mentioned Dean's Directive
No. 27/2023 – Formal Aspects of a Thesis. You can also use the rtf template, but you will probably not
achieve the same typographic quality.
- All sources used
in the thesis must be properly cited to avoid violating the rules of academic
ethics. You must also avoid plagiarism: if you reproduce an extract from another
author's text, it is obligatory to enclose it in quotation marks or give other
clear indication of its status as borrowed text, as well as citing the
source.
- According to § 47b (3) of the Amendment to the Higher Education
Act, by submitting his/her work the author agrees to the
publication of his/her thesis, regardless of the outcome of the
defence. Exceptional situations where appendices to a thesis, or temporarily the
whole thesis, need not be published are described in Rule
7, Dean's Directive No. 26/2023.
Submission
The deadline for
submission of a bachelor thesis is specified in the Academic calendar.
After being submitted, the thesis will be assessed. The reviewer and supervisor
reports are both necessary documents for the defence before the State Final
Examination Committee. The basic guidelines are as follows:
- Bachelor
thesis in Mathematics / Physics is submitted in one
copy, in Computer Science print version is not
submitted. The type of binding is optional. One printed copy of the
thesis (if required) is handed over by the student to the chair of the final
thesis defence board before the defence.
- An electronic
version of the thesis should be submitted to SIS no later than the
deadline specified in the Academic calendar. Detailed information can be found
here. The electronic file should not exceed 850 MB in size.
- Every
submitted bachelor thesis is examined and a report is prepared by the
supervisor and the reviewer to assess the content and
formal qualities of the work. For this purpose there is a pre-printed
report form.
- The supervisor and reviewer submit their reports to the
head of the State Final Examination Committee via SIS at least five days before
the defence. You can read more about the technical details here. The
reports are also available to the author via SIS. We recommend that you
become acquainted with the reports so that in the defence you can
respond to potential criticism and queries from the examiners
appropriately.
- Under exceptional circumstances the student may apply to
the Dean for a change of topic.
Defence
The thesis defence is part of the state final examination.
The examination normally takes place three times during the academic year, i.e.,
at regular dates in spring (June), autumn
(September) and winter (January – February). The specific
fortnight in which the state final examination is to take place is given in the
Academic calendar.
The exact date is published in SIS
at least two weeks before the examination. Besides timely application, students
must meet all the conditions prescribed by the study plan
of a particular study branch (such as the number of credits and completion of
all obligatory courses) to participate in the defence (as well as other parts of
the state final examination). The submission of a bachelor thesis cannot be
regarded as a submission for a defence. It is always necessary to apply in
the SIS.
- Applications for the state final
examination or a part of it (e.g., in case of a resit) are made in SIS at a time
in accordance with the Academic
calendar.
- The thesis defence consists of a brief
author's presentation (typically using a poster or slideshow)
followed by assessments from the supervisor and reviewer. Subsequently, the
author responds to comments and suggestions raised by the reviewer as well as
from the floor. Other details (e.g., the timing of the presentation) are
stipulated by the head of the committee. Some more specifics can be found here
for the
computer science programme.
- In the event that the author does not
succeed in the defence, the committee may recommend revision and resubmission of
the thesis. The author can also apply to the Dean to be assigned a new topic. A new topic assignment does not constitute a right to another date for a thesis
defence.
We wish you a successful
graduation from your bachelor studies at MFF UK!
Study Programme Coordinators, Heads of Committees for
the State Final Examinations, and Vice-Dean for Education