Internships and thesis
MSc internship/thesis requirements
This page provides informations to prepare and execute the mandatory internship(s) and thesis during your master of Biochemistry curriculum.
In the Master in Biochemistry curriculum, the program requires :
- A internships of 2 months (15 ECTS)
- A Master thesis of 2 semesters (60 ECTS)
The internship must be done prior to your master thesis.
Your internship and master thesis must have an academic value and fundamental research content.
The MSc internship
The MSc internship are rather short project in a research laboratory. This is the occasion of a first contact with research and its environment. You will typically conduct a short project part of a bigger one which already going on in the laboratory.
At the end of your internship, you are expected to submit a report to your supervisor within the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Your grade will be based on the report.
The MSc thesis
The Master thesis is the final requirement to obtain your Master degree. It must be carried out after the MSc intership. The Master thesis is your first opportunity to start your own research. During 2 semesters, you will develop state-of-the-art Chemistry within a research laboratory, learn to lead your project, plan your experiments, and report them to your supervisor.
To start with internships, students can directly contact professors of the Section of Chemistry and Biochemistry to ask for project availability. Students are responsible to find their host laboratories whether it is intra- or extra-muros.
- Intra-muros master internship/thesis
The internship/thesis is done within a research laboratory of the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
- Extra-muros master internship/thesis
The internship/ thesis is done in a research laboratory outside of the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry - Academic extra-muros internship/thesis
The extra-muros master internship/thesis is done in a research lab of a university (lab at UNIGE in a different School, or external university). - Non-academic extra-muros internship/thesis
The extra-muros master internship/thesis is done in a private company. Note that the project must have an academic value and lead to original research. Technician-level projects are not authorised.
Intra-muros internship(s) and thesis
All the research groups of the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry are looking forward receiving your application for your internship and/or your Master thesis !
Browse the list of research groups below and feel free to contact research group leaders directly to express your interest !
https://www.unige.ch/sciences/chimie/en/research/
Extra-muros internship(s) and thesis
The School regurlarly received internship(s) or thesis offers and sent to the student by e-mail. You can also propect directly research groups outside the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry or company for internship(s) and thesis. Note that if a project is found to lack academic value during the internship/thesis agreement process, it will not be accepted.
This is procedure to register intra-muros internship/thesis, ie. internship/thesis within a lab of the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
First, contact the research group in which you are interested to do your internship/thesis.
Once you have discussed the project and obtain an oral agreement you can start filling the form.
To fill the form, you will to know:
- The name and e-mail adress of your supervisor
- The starting and ending date of your internship/thesis
- The provisional title of your project
First download and fill the form. Send it to your supervisor to obtain their signature.
It is highly recommend to fill and sign the form electronically and circulate it by e-mail only. Completing the form by hand may lead to errors on your final transcript.
Download the form for the intra-muros internship (2 months)
Download the form for the intra-muros thesis (2 semesters)
Once signed, send a copy to conseil-etu-chimie-biochimie(at)unige.ch
This is procedure to register academic extra-muros internship/thesis, ie. internship/thesis in a university/academic research lab outside of the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry, e.g. Faculty of Medicine of UNIGE, EPFL, CNRS, Swiss Universities...
First, contact the research group in which you are interested to do your internship/thesis.
Once you have discussed the project and obtain an oral agreement, you need to look for an internal supervisor.
The internal supervisor is a Professor or a lecturer from the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The role of the internal respondent is the following.
Before the internship/thesis,
The internal supervisor familiarize themselves with the content of the project (description of the project and, if necessary, discussion with the future supervisor)
By accepting to be internal respondent, the latter acknowledge the academic value of the project.
During the internship/thesis,
Monitor project and progress at large.
At the end of the internship/thesis,
Evaluate and grade the internship/thesis.
To fill the form, you will to know:
- The name and e-mail adress of your supervisor
- The name and adress of the welcoming laboratory
- The starting and ending date of your internship/thesis
- The name and address of your internal supervisor
- The provisional title of your project
Download the form, successively send and obtain the signature of : external supervisor, internal supervisor, the head of the department of biochemistry.
It is highly recommend to fill and sign the form electronically and circulate it by e-mail only. Completing the form by hand may lead to errors on your final transcript.
Download the extra-muros master internship form (2 months)
Download the extra-muros master thesis form (2 semesters)
Finally, send it to conseil-etu-chimie-biochimie(at)unige.ch to obtain the validation from the Président of the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
This is procedure to register non-academic extra-muros internship/thesis, ie. internship/thesis in a company research lab, e.g. DSM-Firmenich, Merck, Start-ups...
First, contact the company in which you are interested to do your internship/thesis.
Once you have discussed the project and obtain an oral agreement, you need to look for an internal supervisor.
The internal supervisor is a Professor or a lecturer from the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. The role of the internal respondent is the following.
Before the internship/thesis,
The internal supervisor familiarize themselves with the content of the project (description of the project and, if necessary, discussion with the future supervisor)
By accepting to be internal respondent, the latter acknowledge the academic value of the project.
Letter to the President of the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry
The internal supervisor must write a letter addressed to the President of the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry. This letter should explained the academic value of the intended project, ie. the supervision within the company, the technics that are going to be learn, etc.
During the internship/thesis,
Monitor project and progress at large.
At the end of the internship/thesis,
Evaluate and grade the internship/thesis.
To fill the online form, you will need to know:
- The name and e-mail adress of your supervisor
- The name and adress of the company
- The starting and ending date of your internship/thesis
- The name and address of your internal supervisor
- The provisional title of your project
Download the form, successively send and obtain the signature of : external supervisor, internal supervisor, the head of the department of biochemistry.
It is highly recommend to fill and sign the form electronically and circulate it by e-mail only. Completing the form by hand may lead to errors on your final transcript.
Download the extra-muros master internship form (2 months)
Download the extra-muros master thesis form (2 semesters)
Finally, send the form together with the support letter of your internal respondent to conseil-etu-chimie-biochimie(at)unige.ch to obtain the validation from the Président of the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Attention: if the company requires a more precise internship/thesis agreement, including for example, a confidentiality clause, contact the academic advisor conseil-etu-chimie-biochimie(at)unige.ch to obtain an agreement template. Never signed document from the company that has not been discussed by the academic advisor before.
Follow these guideline for internships, for master thesis, read the next paragraph.
Guidelines for Internship Report Submission
Given the diverse range of topics in Chemistry and Biochemistry, the School does not enforce specific requirements regarding the length or structure of the internship report. These details should be discussed and agreed upon with your supervisor before you begin writing your report. For students participating in extra-muros internships, please ensure communication and coordination between your external and internal supervisors.
Submission Process
At the conclusion of your internship, submit your report to your internal supervisor for evaluation.
For those involved in external internships, your external supervisor should provide their feedback and assessment of your performance to your internal supervisor.
Final grade
Your UNIGE supervisor will record your final grade on the internship form prepared at the beginning of the internship. Students are responsible for providing this form to their supervisor. Once completed, the supervisor will send the form to the academic advisor for credit registration. If the final title differs from the provisional one, a new title can be added to the form. It is recommended to write the title electronically to avoid transcription errors when it is recorded on your diploma transcript.
Certification of Authorship
On the back cover of your report, include and sign the following declaration:
"I hereby certify that all statements in this report that originate from sources other than my own thoughts are properly attributed to their legitimate sources. Any statements directly copied from another source are explicitly enclosed in quotation marks."
Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence
The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for document writing have to be presented explicitly (text in italics and/or colour) and clearly referenced. The student must follow the statement regarding the use of AI at UNIGE published by the Rector's Office.
Follow these guideline for thesis, for internship, read the paragraph before.
Evaluation
The evaluation of the Master thesis is based on:
- the appreciation of your work in the laboratory,
- the written master thesis manuscript,
- the oral master thesis defense.
Guidelines for thesis manuscript submission
Given the diverse range of topics in Chemistry and Biochemistry, the School does not enforce specific requirements regarding the length or structure of the thesis mansuscript. The thesis should include a litterature review of the project topic, your research results, and a discussion. These details should be discussed and agreed upon with your supervisor before you begin writing your report. For students participating in extra-muros internships, please ensure communication and coordination between your external and internal supervisors.
The oral thesis defense
The master's thesis is concluded with an oral defense. Generally, the defense should be public and held at UNIGE.
For extra-muros master's theses, the defense can be conducted online using a video conferencing service. If a non-disclosure agreement was signed prior to the project, a private defense can be arranged. In this case, at least your internal and external supervisors must be present.
The length and expectations of the defense should be discussed with your internal supervisor.
Final grade
Your UNIGE supervisor will record your final grade on the internship form prepared at the beginning of the thesis. Students are responsible for providing this form to their supervisor. Once completed, the supervisor will send the form to the academic advisor for credit registration. If the final title differs from the provisional one, a new title can be added to the form. It is recommended to write the title electronically to avoid transcription errors when it is recorded on your diploma transcript.
Certification of Authorship
On the back cover of your report, include and sign the following declaration:
"I hereby certify that all statements in this report that originate from sources other than my own thoughts are properly attributed to their legitimate sources. Any statements directly copied from another source are explicitly enclosed in quotation marks."
Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence
The use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) for document writing have to be presented explicitly (text in italics and/or colour) and clearly referenced. The student must follow the statement regarding the use of AI at UNIGE published by the Rector's Office.