External Project work and Diploma Theses
In the course of studies, depending on the degree program, academic papers must be produced. As a general rule, these papers shall be conducted in one of the research institutions of the Faculties involved. Furthermore, it is possible to conduct some of the papers at external institutions.
External institutions are all institutions, institutes, universities and industrial companies which do not belong to the Faculties involved in the degree program. In general, all external papers must be approved of by the Examination Board and additionally by a chair of the Faculties 4 resp. 8 for Business Engineers.
The corresponding data sheets may be found in our download area. They must always be filled out completely and signed in the stated order. You may submit the data sheet by regular mail or in person at the Study Counsel.
The supervising professor is in principle a professor or associate professor of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering or the Faculty of Business and Economics (exclusively Business Engineers) at RWTH Aachen University. Faculty-external supervisors are the supervisors on-site of the faculty-external paper (e.g. head of department, faculty-external professor). The faculty-external supervisor has a right to suggest grades only in case she/he is a professor or associate professor at a German scientific university. In all other cases, the faculty-internal supervisor solely assigns the grade.
Furthermore, the following rules apply within the degree programs:
Mechanical Engineering:
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Diploma |
A maximum of two of the three papers may be conducted externally. Additionally, only one may be conducted in an industrial company and only one in a university/research institution. |
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Two study papers with a length of 200 hours. |
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Bachelor |
Only one of the two papers may be conducted externally. |
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Project work with a length of six weeks within three months. |
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Master |
The Master’s Thesis may be conducted externally. |
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Master’s Thesis with a length of 22 weeks; processing time may be reduced by a maximum of four weeks. |
Business Administration and Engineering in the field of Mechanical Engineering:
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Diploma |
All papers must be approved of by the Examination Board. |
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One study paper with a length of 13 weeks within three months; processing time may be reduced by a maximum of six weeks. |
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Bachelor |
The Bachelor’s Thesis may be conducted externally. |
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Bachelor’s Thesis with a length of 10 weeks; processing time may be reduced by a maximum of two weeks. |
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Master |
The Master’s Thesis may be conducted externally. |
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Master’s Thesis with a length of 22 weeks; processing time may be reduced by a maximum of four weeks. |
Computational Engineering Science:
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Diploma |
A maximum of two of the three papers may be conducted externally. Additionally, only one may be conducted in an industrial company and only one in a university institution. |
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One project work with a length of 300 hours. |
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Bachelor |
Only one of the two papers may be conducted externally. |
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Project work with a length of 150 hours within four months. |
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Master |
The Master’s Thesis may be conducted externally. |
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Master’s Thesis with a length of 22 weeks; processing time may be reduced by a maximum of four weeks. |