Academic Standards
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is fundamental to the scholarly process and is expected of every MTEC member in all academic undertakings. Integrity includes strict adherence to academic honesty, and to ethical conduct consistent with standards that respect the intellectual efforts of both oneself and others.
In all written works, we trust our students to come up with their own original ideas while at the same time reflecting the work that has already been done by others. By signing a Declaration of Originality students attest that (among other things) they have authored the work in question themselves; read the ETH Citation Etiquette information sheet on plagiarism; and adhered to the rules of citation standards in their disciplines.
Within the ETH MTEC programmes we communicate the standards of written scientific work to our students and teach them how to deal with the scientific work of others.
Originality of Work
By signing the DownloadDeclaration of Originality (PDF, 183 KB)vertical_align_bottom students must attest that (among other things) they have authored the work in question themselves; read the DownloadCitation Etiquette (PDF, 72 KB)vertical_align_bottom information sheet on plagiarism; and adhered to the rules of citation standard in their disciplines.
A signed Declaration of Originality is a component of every Master's thesis, semester paper, or other qualifying paper written during the studies (including electronic versions).
If a work has been co-authored by a group, the Declaration of Originality must be signed by all members of the group. Collectively, they vouch for the entire content of the written work.
Academic Writing Course
D-MTEC offers a course on Academic Writing. This course is compulsory for all students, and its successful completion is a precondition for permission to start the Master's thesis. It is offered each semester.
The aim of this course is to improve the academic writing skills needed to complete a Master's thesis successfully. The course provides theoretical input, practical writing exercises, and detailed individual feedback organised in one group lecture and four smaller tutorial group workshops.
Initially, the lecture provides an overview of the range of demands facing academic essay and MSc thesis writers and outlines the academic expectations that students must meet. Our goal is to provide a basis for informed decisions when selecting a thesis topic and supervisor. Guidance is then provided in the workshops on planning the writing process effectively, and individual feedback is provided to enhance writing ability.
The course develops a range of practical and transferrable writing skills. Students can use these skills to improve the overall quality of their Master's theses and produce their thesis more rapidly and efficiently. The writing skills developed here can be used beyond the Master's, whether students go on to complete a PhD or work on reports and other documents in industry.