Thesis

UNSW School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering gives you the flexibility to choose the thesis type that works best for you.

Quality control worker analyzing machine part on a manufacturing machine.

UNSW School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering gives you the flexibility to choose the thesis type that works best for you. Choose between a Team Thesis or an Individual Thesis to expand your knowledge and apply your learning to tackle real-world problems. Read on to find out which one is right for you.

Team thesis  

The Team thesis aims to deliver a high-quality group-led project for teams of students. Through hands-on research, you’ll collaborate on a real-life engineering problem supplied by one of our industry partners.

This is a 2-Term thesis model, and the two courses need to be taken in consecutive terms. Students will enrol in:

Individual thesis 

Individual thesis is for students who would like to conduct an individual project with a focus on contributing to a particular field. Students who choose this thesis option will need to locate and come to an agreement with a supervisor.

This is a 3-Term thesis model. Students will apply to enrol in: 

Thesis B+C in one term is not permitted in the School, and Thesis courses do not run over the Summer term.

How to apply

Join our Mech Eng Thesis Selection Teams site to learn about Team thesis and to find out about Individual  Thesis possible projects and supervisors, and gain approval for your selected Individual project. Code to join: cdzukkb (all lower case, no space).

Read through the information carefully and submit an application to enrol in MMAN4951 Research Thesis A or MMAN9451 Masters Project A. The application link is in the Mech Eng Thesis Selection Teams site.

Enrol in the appropriate Thesis/Project course when enrolment opens after your application is approved. 

Please Note: Self-enrolling into this Thesis Teams site DOES NOT mean that you’re enrolled in a Thesis course (i.e. MMAN4951 Research Thesis A, MMAN9451 Masters Project A). After you have received approval for enrolment, you must enrol into the correct thesis course via myUNSW.

If you have any issues enrolling to the Thesis Teams Site, email Tracie Barber for assistance. If you have any questions about any of the above, post them in the Thesis Portal.

Rules

    • Team Thesis is compulsory to all Undergraduate students who don’t wish to enrol in Individual Thesis.
    • MMAN4010 Thesis A and MMAN4020 Thesis B must be undertaken in two consecutive terms, which are the final two terms of candidature.
    • A student must not enrol in more than a standard full-time load when undertaking MMAN4010 or MMAN4020.
    • A single thesis project is commenced in MMAN4010 and completed in MMAN4020.
    • MMAN4010 and MMAN4020 are graded courses; MMAN4010 Thesis A carries 25% of the total thesis mark, and MMAN4020 carries 75% of the total thesis mark (for Honours weighting purposes).
    • If a student receives a failure (FL) in MMAN4010, a student cannot proceed with MMAN4020 and must reattempt MMAN4010.
    •  If the project is abandoned during MMAN4010 or MMAN4020, a completely new topic and project team must be chosen (and the student must enrol again in both MMAN4010 and MMAN4020) or apply to enrol in MMAN4951 Individual Thesis A.
    • Practice Master’s Project is compulsory to all Postgraduate students in the Masters of Engineering Science (8338) program who don’t wish to enrol in Individual Thesis.
    • MMAN9001 Project A and MMAN9002 Project B must be undertaken in two consecutive terms, which are the final two terms of candidature.
    • A student must not enrol in more than a standard full-time load when undertaking MMAN9001 or MMAN9002.
    • A single project is commenced in MMAN9001 and completed in MMAN9002.
    • If a student receives a failure (FL) in MMAN9001, a student cannot proceed with MMAN9002 and must reattempt MMAN9001.
    • If the project is abandoned during MMAN9001 or MMAN9002, a completely new topic and project team must be chosen (and the student must enrol again in both MMAN9001 and MMAN9002) or apply to enrol in MMAN9451 Masters Project A.
    • Students must seek a primary supervisor from the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, UNSW. 
    • MMAN4951 Individual Thesis A, MMAN4952 Individual Thesis B and MMAN4953 Individual Thesis C must be undertaken in three consecutive terms, which are the final three terms of candidature.
    • A student must not enrol in more than a standard full-time load when undertaking MMAN4951, MMAN4952 and MMAN4953.
    • A single thesis project is commenced in MMAN4951, continued in MMAN4952, and completed in MMAN4953.
    • MMAN4951, MMAN4952 and MMAN4953 are graded courses. MMAN4951 carries 15% of the total thesis mark, MMAN4952 carries 10% of the total thesis mark and MMAN4953 carries 75% of the total thesis mark (for Honours weighting purposes).
    • If a student receives a failure (FL) in MMAN4951, MMAN4952 or MMAN4953, they cannot proceed to the next Individual Thesis course and must reattempt MMAN4951, or discontinue Individual Thesis and enrol in MMAN4010 Thesis A.
    • If the project is abandoned during MMAN4951, MMAN4952 and MMAN4953, a completely new topic must be chosen, and the student must enrol again in MMAN4951 or discontinue with Individual Thesis and enrol in MMAN4010 Thesis A. The final report in Thesis C must gain a grade of greater than (or equal to) 50%.
    • Research Master's Project is compulsory for Masters of Engineering (8621) students and optional for Masters of Engineering Science (8338) students.
    • Students must seek a primary supervisor from the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, UNSW.
    • MMAN9451 Individual Project A, MMAN9452 Individual Project B and MMAN9453 Individual Project C must be undertaken in three consecutive terms, which are the final three terms of candidature.
    • A student must not enrol in more than a standard full-time load when undertaking MMAN9451, MMAN9452 and MMAN9453.
    • A single project is commenced in MMAN9451, continued in MMAN9452, and completed in MMAN9453.
    • MMAN9451, MMAN9452 and MMAN9453 are graded courses. MMAN9451 carries 15% of the total Project mark, MMAN9452 carries 10% of the total Project mark and MMAN9453 carries 75% of the total Project mark.
    • If a student receives a failure (FL) in MMAN9451, MMAN9452 or MMAN9453, they cannot proceed to the next Individual Project course and must reattempt MMAN9451 OR discontinue Individual Project and enrol in MMAN9001 Project A  (only available to Masters of Engineering Science (8338) students). The final report in Thesis C must gain a grade of greater than (or equal to) 50%.
    • If the project is abandoned during MMAN9451, MMAN9452 and  MMAN9453, a completely new topic must be chosen, and the student must enrol again in MMAN9451 OR discontinue with Individual Project and enrol in MMAN9001 Project A  (only available to Masters of Engineering Science (8338) students).