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❓ FAQ

How long should the thesis be?

40-60 pages is a good rule of thumb for a master thesis, not including preface and appendix. A bachelor thesis is usually shorter, reflecting the shorter project period. You should include everything essential to your thesis and nothing more. A shorter and condense thesis is in general to be preferred over a longer one.

How many hours per week should I work on my thesis?

If you are doing your thesis without taking courses in parallel, you are officially a full time student meaning that you should work 45 hours per week. That said, nearly no one does that. From experience if you put in 25-35 hours per week or between 3-3½ days per week, you should be able to finish your thesis with a good grade. A word of warning: the only failure case I have observed over the years, is students that are not putting in enough hours into their project (due to various reasons) but the results is always the same - a thesis that is rushed, incomplete, or lacking the necessary depth.

Can I still have a student job while doing my thesis?

Yes, no problem. However, I would recommend talking with your employer about the last 2-3 weeks of your thesis and either getting time off or reduced hours (if you economically can). The last weeks of your thesis is often the most stressful, and you will need all the time you can get.

How long does the thesis take?

It depends on whether you are doing a bachelor or a master thesis and on the number of ECTS points:

  • Master thesis: The project period is 5 months (30 ECTS) or 5.5 months (32.5 ECTS) or 6 months (35 ECTS) of full-time work.

  • Bachelor thesis: The project can be 15, 17.5 or 20 ECTS. A 15 ECTS project corresponds to 9 weeks of full-time work. The total project period can be at most 18 weeks.

In both cases you get an additional 3 weeks for every 5 ECTS credits of courses you take in parallel with the project. If you can document an impairment, the project period can also be extended by up to 3 weeks. This needs to be arranged before the project starts (for group projects it applies to all group members). Always check the DTU rules for the exact numbers.