As a general rule, two or more persons are needed to supervise a master thesis. They form the supervising committee and have different roles:
- The first role is the supervisor. She/he needs to be a member of the supervising faculty (see list, refer also to RSL 18, Art. 21).
- The second role is the co-supervisor. Co-supervisors must also be members of the supervising faculty.
- The third role is the advisor. Advisors are significantly involved in the supervision of the master thesis (e.g. a PhD student or a PostDoc from the supervisor's research unit). They do not have to meet any special requirements.
You need at least one but can have more more than one co-supervisor or advisor. One of them must be independent from the supervisor to ensure a four-eyes principle of supervision.
It is possible to propose persons from outside the supervising faculty as co-supervisors. They need a special appointment from the Dean of the Faculty of Science; the studies director will organize this. Eligible are only persons with qualifications equal to those of the supervising faculty; i.e. they must have teaching experience, conduct research, head a research group, or similar. Please send the Application (PDF, 326KB) form provided by the Faculty of Sciences to the studies directorate of the Graduate School, and include a short CV (two pages) of the proposed committee member.
The master thesis evaluation must be signed by the supervisor and the co-supervisor(s), if applicable, but not by advisors (cf. FAQ on the master thesis evaluation). Also note that the thesis (co-)supervisors are examiners at the master examination, but cannot be the chair of the exam.