Thesis Masters in electrical engineering

AI Thread Summary
Concerns about undertaking a master's thesis in Electrical Engineering are common, especially for those new to detailed research. A thesis involves original work, starting with a literature review of peer-reviewed journals, guided by a mentor or supervisor. While students are generally encouraged to propose their own research topics, professors may provide specific projects based on available resources and expertise. If a thesis defense fails, students typically have options for remediation rather than outright failure, but switching to a different program is not usually permitted. Starting in the Winter Semester may allow for participation in the thesis program, but students should confirm specific timelines with their university.
ramya_maha
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Hi,

I am really very worried about doing a masters thesis in Electrical Engineering. I have never done research in that detail before except for my fourth year project. I am very confused as to what to do as I have some topics in mind in which I would like to do research on but not sure how to start off with. How do you find out that the websites that you are researching are actually valid sites? Would the university let us know about that or are we supposed to figure out those by ourselves? Also I read through some of the threads where it says that we need to come up with our own topics for researching. Is it true that some professors would give the students a topic to perform research on? I am interested in the Network and Communication field of Electrical Engineering. Is there any sets of websites that have topics that one can do research on? I am thinking of topics in Wireless Communications. If someone could help me out it would be of great help. Thanks a lot.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Ramya hmm. ...you are on the right path. Is your intension is to grab a nobel prize??
 
It sounds like you're a little confused as to the nature of graduate level research.

It's not a report on something that someone else has done. A thesis is a report on work that you've done.

You begin with a literature review in your field of interest. This is not just going to "websites." Rather, it means that you read through the relevant peer-reviewed journals to the field. A mentor or supervisor can (and should)guide you as to which journals you should be reading and what the most relevant papers are. But that's only the beginning.

Once you understand what's happening in the field, you embark on your own research project. Professors generally like to see new students come up with their own ideas, but projects are limited by constraints such as available resources and time and the supervisor's field of expertise. In practice you have a spectrum of "indepencence" where some MSc students are essentially told what to where other MSc students propose their own ideas (and then are told what to do).

The majority of a thesis-based MSc is spend working on the project itself. The thesis then, is the final write-up of the work.
 
Thanks a lot Mr. Choppy. It was a lot of help. I also wanted to know that if suppose anyone were to fail the Masters thesis, would they have to option of switching to MEng to get their degree done with or do they have to keep trying with the thesis to get the MSc degree? Or do they have to withdraw from the program? Thanks for all the help.
 
The decision what program you're in is fixed at the beginning. If your thesis defence fails as an EE thesis, your committee won't bump it over to another department.

At a thesis defence (in Canada anyway) the committee has several options. Rarely will the candidate fail outright, although this can happen. More often, if there is remedial work to be done the committee will recommend the student re-sit the exam in another X months, and ideally define specific deficiencies that need to be addressed. Usually though, your supervisor should act as a kind of gate-keeper and make sure that y the time the defence is scheduled, you're in a position to pass.
 
Thanks. Also if I were to start in the Winter Semester then would I be considered for the thesis program that year? Or would I have to wait for the next Fall semester to start with we get to make appointments with a thesis advisor and start thesis?
 
After a year of thought, I decided to adjust my ratio for applying the US/EU(+UK) schools. I mostly focused on the US schools before, but things are getting complex and I found out that Europe is also a good place to study. I found some institutes that have professors with similar interests. But gaining the information is much harder than US schools (like you have to contact professors in advance etc). For your information, I have B.S. in engineering (low GPA: 3.2/4.0) in Asia - one SCI...
Bit Britain-specific but I was wondering, what's the best path to take for A-Levels out of the following (I know Y10 seems a bit early to be thinking about A-levels, but my choice will impact what I do this year/ in y11) I (almost) definitely want to do physics at University - so keep that in mind... The subjects that I'm almost definitely going to take are Maths, Further Maths and Physics, and I'm taking a fast track programme which means that I'll be taking AS computer science at the end...
I graduated with a BSc in Physics in 2020. Since there were limited opportunities in my country (mostly teaching), I decided to improve my programming skills and began working in IT, first as a software engineer and later as a quality assurance engineer, where I’ve now spent about 3 years. While this career path has provided financial stability, I’ve realized that my excitement and passion aren’t really there, unlike what I felt when studying or doing research in physics. Working in IT...

Similar threads

Replies
9
Views
2K
Replies
14
Views
2K
Replies
2
Views
2K
Replies
2
Views
2K
Replies
16
Views
2K
Replies
3
Views
176
Replies
5
Views
2K
Back
Top