Information for Graduating Students
Thesis Preparation and Defence: Guidelines and Requirements
From selecting a thesis supervisor and obtaining approval of the thesis assignment to submitting and defending the thesis.
1. Thesis Assignment
Check the current schedule:
The deadlines for approval of the thesis assignment, thesis submission and thesis defences are set separately for each academic year.
Deadlines for Graduating Students
Academic Calendar for Graduating Students
Selecting a Thesis Supervisor
Students select a thesis supervisor on their own initiative and with the supervisor’s consent. The supervisor may be a specialist holding a higher-education degree in a technical field. If the supervisor is not a member of the academic staff of the Faculty of Computer Systems and Technologies (FCST), an academic adviser from the Faculty must also be appointed.
Approval of the Thesis Assignment
1
Preparation:
The thesis supervisor prepares the thesis assignment in three copies.
2
Signatures:
All three copies must be signed by the student, the thesis supervisor and the academic adviser, where one has been appointed.
3
Administrative validation:
The thesis assignment must be submitted to the Student Administration Office for validation and for the “Coursework Completed” stamp.
4
Formal approval:
The thesis assignment is formally approved by the Dean and the Head of Department, with their signatures and official stamps.
5
Collection:
The student collects one copy in person and has it bound into the completed thesis.
For administrative validation, two matte passport-size photographs must be submitted in an envelope. The envelope must state the student’s full name, faculty number, email address and telephone number.
Validity:
The approved thesis assignment is valid for one academic year from the date of registration.
Change of Thesis Supervisor:
An application approved by the Dean and the current supervisor’s written consent are required.
2. Thesis Content
Core Elements of the Thesis Assignment
Topic:
A concise and precise statement of the engineering problem to be addressed.
Technical framework:
Specifies the platforms, environments, programming languages, tools and target parameters to be used.
Explanatory report:
Describes the expected content and its organisation into chapters.
Experimental work:
Specifies the experiments to be conducted and how their results are to be presented.
Recommended Length
Bachelor’s degree:
40–50 pages
Master’s degree:
50–60 pages
Recommended Structure
Title Page
Approved Thesis Assignment
Table of Contents
Introduction
Main Body Organised into Chapters
Conclusion
References
Appendices
Content Guidelines
Introduction: the problem, aim, objectives and chosen approach.
Main body: requirements, design, implementation, verification and analysis of results, with an emphasis on the student’s independent engineering work.
For Master’s theses: a literature review, comparison of alternative solutions and a reasoned justification of the selected approach.
Conclusion: results, advantages, limitations and opportunities for further development.
Appendices: source code, data structures, interfaces, results, diagrams and drawings.
Hardware Project:
Aim and objectives; block diagram; component selection; circuit diagram; printed circuit board; testing and calibration.
Software Project:
Aim and objectives; architecture; functions and interface; algorithms and data; implementation; testing and analysis.
3. Thesis Formatting
The standards define the general principles of structure, numbering and citation. The specified fonts, sizes and margins are requirements of the Department. Where an official FCST template has been published, it takes precedence.
Standards
Presentation of Theses and Similar Documents
BDS ISO 7144:2011
Bibliographic References and Citations
BDS ISO 690:2021
Numbering of Divisions and Subdivisions
ISO 2145:1978
Body Text
Page format and typeface:
A4 · Times New Roman · 12 pt · Regular
Paragraph formatting:
1.5 line spacing · 1.25 cm first-line indent
Alignment:
Justified, with automatic hyphenation disabled
Footnotes:
Times New Roman · 10 pt · single line spacing
Margins:
Left 3.0 cm · right 2.0 cm · top and bottom 2.5 cm
Page numbering:
Arabic numerals positioned at the bottom right
Heading Hierarchy
1 Main section: 14 pt, bold, left-aligned; begins on a new page.
1.1 Subsection: 13 pt, bold, left-aligned.
1.1.1 Subheading: 12 pt, bold, left-aligned.
Table of Contents: use the same headings and numbering as in the main text, with accurate page numbers.
Use a consistent decimal numbering system — 1, 1.1, 1.1.1 — with no more than three levels.
Title Page
“TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOFIA” — 18 pt, bold, uppercase and centred.
FACULTY OF COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGIES — 16 pt, bold, uppercase and centred.
Thesis title — 20 pt, bold, uppercase and centred.
Student, thesis supervisor and degree programme details — 14 pt.
The year of the thesis defence is centred at the bottom of the page.
Citations and Graphical Elements
References:
Use one consistent citation system, for example [1], [2], [3]. Every source cited in the text must be included in the reference list.
Tables:
Place the table number and title above the table; use 10–12 pt text; refer to every table in the main text.
Figures:
Place the figure number and caption below the figure; include a legend where needed and cite the source of any third-party image.
Equations and code:
Define all symbols and SI units. Place lengthy source-code listings in the appendices.
4. Submission and Thesis Defence
Days before the scheduled thesis defence:
The completed thesis package must be submitted to Room 1201 between 13:30 and 16:30.
Printing, Binding and Submission
Use plastic comb binding with a clear, colourless front cover and a black back cover.
The bound copy must be presented to the thesis supervisor for review and signature.
The submission package must include the thesis, the approved thesis assignment and the Declaration of Authorship.
The documents must be submitted no later than two weeks before the scheduled thesis defence date.
Appointment of a Thesis Reviewer
1
Nomination:
The thesis supervisor nominates a reviewer and records the nomination on the reverse of the title page.
2
Formal approval:
The thesis reviewer is appointed by the Head of Department and must have expertise in the relevant field.
3
Submission for review:
Once the reviewer has been appointed, the student submits the thesis to that reviewer.
If the thesis supervisor is not a member of the academic staff of FCST, the thesis reviewer must be a member of the Faculty’s academic staff.
Thesis Defence Procedure
The thesis defence is held according to the FCST schedule after both the thesis and the reviewer’s report have been submitted to the Department Office. The date is set by the chair of the relevant examination committee.
Presentation:
Present the problem, the developed solution and the results — approximately 7–8 minutes.
Demonstration:
Demonstrate the product or system, where applicable — approximately 3–4 minutes.