Application

ETH Zurich ESOP Master Thesis Pre-Proposal

The official extra document for ESOP: maximum 500 words excluding references. It is an outline of a possible thesis, written by you, using scientific citation practice.

ScholarshipUnion Editorial 2 min read Updated Oct 6, 2026

The suggested structure

From the Pre-Proposal for Master thesis (PDF): maximum 500 words on a separate sheet; references are not counted. ETH says you may use the structure below if you find it useful. Tick each piece as you draft it. Planning tool, not an official ETH decision.

Guideline pieces0%

Title — short, significant, summarises the contents
Introduction — context and why it matters
Objectives and goals — main research question(s)
Methods — field, lab, modelling, data, infrastructure, software
Background / prior work — others’ work and your own previous results
Timetable and milestones — realistic inside 4–6 months
References — established scientific citation practice
Own work — written by you; no plagiarism

What the pre-proposal is — and is not

The Financial Aid Office says the pre-proposal is an important part of the Excellence application, together with grades, the motivation letter and recommendation letters. Through it, the selection committee assesses your ability to deliberate a scientific topic independently and to design a research project.

The pre-proposal is an outline of a possible thesis. It is not a signed supervisor contract.

The actual Master’s thesis is written in the final semester, based on later coursework, and the final topic is defined during the Master’s with your supervisor. The pre-proposal can feed that later conversation.

Align the idea with the research fields of lecturers on the programme you are applying to (stated on the older application form and still good practice). Results must be achievable in 4–6 months — check the duration in the programme regulations.

Plagiarism and interviews

The ESOP page and the PDF agree: develop the text independently. Work already done at ETH or elsewhere must be referenced. All forms of plagiarism disqualify the scholarship application. The ESOP page adds that negligent or intentional misinformation can exclude you from admission or later revoke admission and the scholarship.

The PDF says that as part of evaluation you are interviewed by a professor or scientist and the project proposal is discussed. The ESOP page says selection might include a phone/VC interview in February. Treat those as the same process unless ETH tells you otherwise, and keep the CV number live.

Practical limits

Official FAQ: maximum 500 words without references.
Language: German or English.
Use paragraphs and subheadings. The PDF invites that structure; it does not require a fixed template file.
Do not paste a lab’s unpublished grant text as if it were yours. That is exactly the misinformation ETH warns about.