Master thesis projects
For up-to-date information on the MSc research areas, please have a look at Projectforum for CS and DSAIT.
Finding a Thesis Project
For students participating in the TU Delft computer science and DSAIT master’s programs, we have several openings for research thesis projects. Usually these topics can also be adjusted to fit in the scope of a BSc research project.
All MSc projects are aligned with our research. They often are connected to one of our ongoing research projects, but we also frequently use MSc projects to explore new research directions. Projects can be conducted at:
- TU Delft in our own research labs, in close collaboration with our postdocs and PhD students
- Industry (as part of an internship), usually with companies (in The Netherlands or abroad) with which we have an ongoing research collaboration (e.g., JetBrains, ING, SIG, Adyen, ATOS, XWiki, Microsoft, Google, Meta, Infotron, …)
- Other (international) universities – we have a rich network of academic friends around the world.
If you study at a different university and would like to write a research master thesis in the context of one of the SERG projects, you should ask your own university supervisor to contact us. We have limited places available, but are always interested in new research opportunities.
SERG Supervisors
You can make an appointment with one of the SERG group members to see what projects are currently open, or you can propose your own project, provided there is a clear connection with the research we conduct at our labs. You can contact the following persons for more information:
| Supervisor | Topics | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Arie van Deursen | Human aspects, software architecture, software testing | Example theses |
| Andy Zaidman | Software testing, software evolution, repository mining | Example theses |
| Diomidis Spinellis | Software analytics, software development tools | 1, 2, 3, 4 |
| Annibale Panichella | Software testing, search-based software engineering, test amplification , fuzzing, security testing | Example theses |
| Sebastian Proksch | Empirical software engineering, DevOps | Example theses |
| Burcu Kulahcioglu Ozkan | Software reliability for concurrent and distributed systems | 1, 2, 3, 4, More |
| Maliheh Izadi | ML4SE, Large Language Models (LLM) for code, Agents, Human-AI Interaction | Example theses |
| Carolin Brandt | Human- and Developer-centred Software Engineering, Software Quality | Example theses |
| Mitchell Olsthoorn | Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Large Language Models (LLM) for Software Testing, Security Testing | 1, 2, 3, 4, More |
| Luís Cruz | Sustainable software engineering, AI Engineering | L1, L2, Theses |
| Rini van Solingen | Globally distributed software engineering, agile practices | Example theses |
Composing your Study Program
If you plan to conduct your MSc project at SERG, you will need to include at least two of the CS MSc courses SERG teaches in your IEP (Individual Exam Program). We strongly recommend you to follow our software architecture, software analytics, or software testing and reverse engineering courses. Besides our own software engineering-related courses, when choosing the electives in your program you can consider including courses in such areas as machine learning, computational intelligence, data science, compiler construction, distributed systems, or security.
Optionally, you can start your research with a 7-8 week literature survey (IN4306, 10EC). This assignment is concluded with a report containing an overview of the state-of-the-art in a particular branch of research.
Proposing your Project
Under certain conditions it can also be possible to propose your project. In those cases, it is important to
- Study several existing MSc theses.
- Identify an ongoing research project to which your proposal is connected.
In particular, you need to carefully think about the research component of your proposal, and have a clear idea on why your proposal is novel – it should advance the world’s knowledge in software engineering. If you wish to pursue this route it is advisable to select and contact a possible supervisor as early as possible.
Writing your Thesis
Once you’ve found your project and your supervisor, we recommend that you start writing as soon as possible: Devise a table of content, and fill in details as you go.
To write your thesis you need to make use of our MSc Thesis Template.
