The information here is intended for computer-science students at the University of Bern and those enrolled in the Swiss Joint Master of Science in Computer Science who work on a thesis with the Cryptology and Data Security Research Group.

Initial steps

Once you have agreed with your supervisor on a topic and on a start- and end-date, fill in the corresponding form and complete the respective procedure:

Presentation

Every thesis must be presented near the completion or at the end of the project. Usually this occurs during the semester, within the regular seminar organized by the Cryptology and Data Security group. BSc students must also attend the seminar, they will get credit for it as part of their thesis. The seminar’s title may vary; see the course page for details. You should agree with your supervisor in the initial stage of the thesis on where and when to present your work.

Software

For archiving software and thesis report, log in once to the INF gitlab server with your Campus Account (small “Campus-Login” box at the bottom). This creates your user representation inside the server. Then ask your supervisor to create a repository for the project under the group crypto-students according to the pattern:

https://gitlab.inf.unibe.ch/crypto-students/2025.bsc.firstname.lastname
https://gitlab.inf.unibe.ch/crypto-students/2030.msc.firstname.lastname

Templates

For a seminar report you may use this sample article template from the CRYPTO Group.

For a BSc thesis see the sample template on the CRYPTO Group website.

For a MSc thesis, the sample template is available on JMCS website.

The final version of a thesis consists of a single PDF file. Printed copies are not needed.

For a BSc thesis, this file must also contain the signed declaration (“Erklärung”), in which the candidate confirms that she/he personally authored the work. (Print, sign, scan, and include the declaration at the end of the thesis.) For a MSc thesis, the corresponding declaration is done on the JCMS form.

Research advice

Computer-science research can, roughly, be divided into “systems” and “theory” projects. Many projects contain both aspects.

In systems research, one builds, experiments, and measures. Research results are typically demonstrated through an evaluation. However, measuring the behavior of a complex system is tricky. If you measure anything in your project, then you must read and should follow this useful resource:

  1. Always Measure One Level Deeper (PDF Format), authored by John Ousterhout, a distinguished systems researcher at Stanford University.

Theoretical research demonstrates its insight in abstract form, through algorithms, protocols, and (crypto)schemes described conceptually in the computer-science dialect of the language of mathematics. Here, results are typically demonstrated through proofs. If your thesis contains theoretical material, then you must read and should follow style guides on mathematical writing, such as:

  1. Mathematical Writing by Knuth, Larrabee, and Roberts (PDF Format). Read at least points 1-27 on pages 1-6. Donald Knuth is one of the most influential people in early computer science research.

  2. Many guides to mathematical writing can be found online. Pick one that you like.

Writing advice

Theses are written in English. Refer to a manual of style for guidance on writing scientific texts. You must read and should follow at least the first two.

  1. Advice on writing in computer science, published by Renée Miller of the University of Toronto, is a concise summary with pointers to more material.

  2. The BSc thesis template explains how to assemble and format the bibliography using BibTeX.

  3. Advice on Writing, Presentation & Plagiarism from the JMCS programme.

  4. The Elements of Style by Strunk and White is a classic style guide (it even has its own Wikipedia page!) and one can find versions online.

Graduation

After finishing the thesis, some forms have to be processed:

  • For BSc, the advisor completes the form and hands it to the Studiensekretariat.

  • For MSc, you fill in parts “Finishing…” and “Pledge…” on the back of the JMCS form for MSc theses and hand this to the Studiensekretariat of your home university, as stated on the form. The advisor the completes the JMCS form, fills the form of Uni BE, and hands both to the respective recipients.

Finally, follow the steps to graduate.