About the Dissertation
The dissertation is the final work of 2nd cycle study programmes, allowing each student to focus and specialise on a specific subject. It can be carried out in one of the following areas:
- Scientific thesis
- Internship in a company
- Multidisciplinary Capstone Project
Each course coordinator may define specific rules for the Master’s dissertation, available on the Fénix webpage of each study programme or Master’s Dissertation curricular unit (CU).
Topic
Técnico offers a wide range of dissertation topics to which each student can apply through Fénix system (Student > Dissertation Application), in the semester before the completion of the thesis. In addition, students may propose a specific topic to the course coordinator, with the approval of a professor in the scientific field, who shall act as supervisor.
The deadlines for submitting topics (professors), applications (students) and dissertation assignments are available in the following document:
Enrolment
At the beginning of each semester, each student will have to enrol in the Dissertation curricular unit, during the enrolment period, as in other subjects, through Fénix system (Student > Subjects).
There are specific rules defined by each course coordinator that stipulate a minimum number of ECTS credits required to enrol in the Dissertation curricular unit, as well as the maximum number of ECTS credits from other CUs in which each student may have a cumulative enrolment.
The dissertation may be carried out in the 1st or 2nd semester.
Academic CalendarsConfidentiality Agreement
A confidentiality agreement must be drawn up and signed by the entities involved, regarding the works which, by their nature, require data confidentiality. This agreement becomes mandatory in cases where the dissertation is developed in collaboration with business entities.
- Confidentiality Agreement Template (PT)
- Confidentiality Agreement Template (EN)
- Internship Agreement Template (PT)
- Internship Agreement Template (EN)
Any change to the above mentioned document shall be communicated to the Intellectual Property Office.
The confidentiality agreement has a specific template:
Support and Guidelines
The dissertation is carried out in accordance with the instructions of the supervisors. In addition, there are cross-cutting guidelines applicable to all Técnico students.
Workshop Master’s Dissertation – Do you take up the challenge?
The Pedagogical Council and the Academic Development Unit organise a biannual workshop, at Alameda and Taguspark campi, in the following thematic areas:
- Emotional and interpersonal aspects
- Working methodology
- Writing of dissertation and extended abstract
- Presentation and discussion
More information about the workshop
Additional Training
The Técnico Library provides a series of training sessions and tutorials about the resources and tools for the elaboration of scientific publications, namely:
- Library of scientific articles
- Bibliographic citation and referencing
- Automated referencing tools
Writing the final document
The final document should be written according to the Guidelines for Writing a Dissertation, which include recommendations on:
- Structure of the document
- Text formatting
- Extended abstract
Conclusion and Submission
The dissertation must be handed in to the supervisor, course coordinator and/or secretariat supporting the course coordinator (according to the rules established by each academic programme) and presented to a jury panel.
The dissertation grade will be assigned after the presentation, and must be approved by the Scientific Council and made public by the academic services.
Dissertation Repository
All dissertations submitted by Técnico students are publicly available in the Collective Catalogue, the institutional repository of Universidade de Lisboa. A print copy of the dissertation is available at Técnico Library for consultation.