Hello! This one is for the last-minute people scrambling for thesis topics and supervisors, and also for other students who are curious about the thesis experience in different departments. I was able to gather experiences from a few current 6th year medical students as a guide for students interested in completing their theses with a particular department or supervisor. I asked about the process of securing a supervisor, details of the thesis and details of the thesis defence. Some students have also opted to share their thesis and some to be contacted with further questions about their thesis.
I already spoke about my own thesis experience on the blog which you can access here. If you would like to request a thesis or request a student’s contact details to speak with them, kindly send an email to aulaconversations[at]gmail[dot]com. Note that the student will be informed before you receive their thesis work or their details. The ultimate goal is to have a much more extensive list, so I would like to ask for any students who have completed their thesis to fill in this form here. Thank you.
- Department: Microbiology
- Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Pál Tibor (he might not be accepting thesis students anymore as he is retiring)
- Topic: Campylobacteriosis
- Admission details: He was the first supervisor contacted.
- Mode of communication: E-mail
- Ease of communication: Quite easy
- How often feedback could be received from supervisor: Any time I needed to, he would always reply.
- What kind of work the thesis involved: Literature reading and review.
- Tools that were helpful for the thesis work: PubMed, Mendeley Reference Manager
- Help received from the supervisor: He gave a tentative chapter list and tips on how to structure the thesis. Once finished with the first draft, he reviews it and gives feedback. Then it’s back and forth until the final version of the thesis is agreed upon.
- Thesis defence experience : 5/5
- PowerPoint presentation necessary?: Yes
- Time for presenting: 15-18 minutes
- Questions asked by the judging committee?: Questions related to my thesis, not too tricky and mostly microbiology-related questions.
- If you could go back in time, would you do it with the same department and supervisor again? Why?: Yes. My supervisor was very structured and helpful. I also got to refresh my microbiology knowledge, which will be useful in my medical career.
- Willing to share an e-copy of your thesis accessible by other students?: No
- Willing to be contacted by students to ask further questions about your thesis?: No
- Department: Neurology
- Supervisor: Dr Pál Endre
- Topic: Clinical, Pathological, and Genetic Diagnosis of Myotonic Dystrophy
- Admission details: I tried contacting several doctors at once, but he was one of a few who responded.
- Departments unresponsive?: ENT, Psychiatry.
- How the topic was chosen: I picked the topic that I was interested in, then contacted the supervisor.
- Mode of communication: Email, via his Ph.D. student, and in person.
- Ease of communication: He responded to emails quickly sometimes, but on other times it took a while.
- How often feedback could be received from supervisor: Most times.
- What kind of work the thesis involved: Literature review and statistical analysis.
- Tools that were helpful for the thesis work: Cochrane library, PubMed.
- Help received from the supervisor: He sent a lot of relevnat papers to get me started.
- Thesis defence experience: 5/5
- PowerPoint presentation necessary?: No.
- Time for presenting: 8-9 minutes.
- Questions asked by the judging committee?: Questions related to my thesis, like differential diagnoses and therapeutic measures.
- If you could go back in time, would you do it with the same department and supervisor again? Why?: Yes, I enjoy neurology so working on my topic about it was an interesting experience.
- Tips for students completing their thesis in the same department or with the same supervisor: Ask for feedback after each chapter. This helps to shorten the editing time.
- Willing to share an e-copy of your thesis accessible by other students?: No.
- Willing to be contacted by students to ask further questions about your thesis?: Yes.
- Department: Haematology
- Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Hussain Alizadeh
- Topic: COVID-19 Associated Coagulopathy
- Admission details: He was the first supervisor I contacted.
- How the topic was chosen: I brought my own topic to the supervisor.
- Mode of communication: In person once at the beginning and via email the rest of the time.
- Ease of communication: It was super easy. Very reassuring. Always quick to respond despite the busy schedule.
- How often feedback could be received from supervisor: As many times as I needed and asked.
- What kind of work the thesis involved: Literature review.
- Tools that were helpful for the thesis work: Mendeley Reference Manager, PubMed, Google Scholar.
- Help received from the supervisor: I was given a guideline to follow, which really helped me keep things organised and structured.
- Thesis defence experience: 5/5
- PowerPoint presentation necessary?: Yes
- Time for presenting: 5-7 minutes
- Questions asked by the judging committee?: A few general questions related to my thesis, as well as my thoughts and opinions in terms of cause and treatment.
- If you could go back in time, would you do it with the same department and supervisor again? Why?: Definitely. It was overall a supportive and positive experience.
- Willing to share an e-copy of your thesis accessible by other students?: Yes
- Willing to be contacted by students to ask further questions about your thesis?: Yes
- Department: Pharmacognosy
- Supervisors: Dr Purger Dragica and Dr Csikós Ezster
- Topic: Evaluation of Garcinia Kola- the Traditional Use, Modern Scientific Evidence and Clinical Use Potential.
- Admission details: Had to contact a few supervisors and I was eventually referred to my supervisors.
- How the topic was chosen: I picked my own topic which was drawn from one that the department offered.
- Mode of communication: Email, Messenger, in person and by phone.
- Ease of communication: Easy- everyone replies fast in this department.
- How often feedback could be received from supervisor: A lot. I got feedback after every draft.
- What kind of work the thesis involved: Questionnaire distribution and literature review
- Tools that were helpful for the thesis work: Citation tools.
- Thesis defence experience: 5/5
- PowerPoint presentation necessary?: Yes.
- Time for presenting: 10 minutes.
- Questions asked by the judging committee?: Plant use in the Western World and plant use in eye conditions.
- If you could go back in time, would you do it with the same department and supervisor again? Why?: Yes! They made my experience wonderful. I will pick the same things again and again! They encouraged and supported me.
- Tips for students completing their thesis in the same department or with the same supervisor: Try Pharmacy department if you have the incentive. Your supervisor is there to assist. Don’t be shy to ask where you are unsure. Use maps and diagrams for easy understanding.
- Willing to share an e-copy of your thesis accessible by other students?: No.
- Willing to be contacted by students to ask further questions about your thesis?: No.
- Department: Microbiology
- Supervisor: Dr. Szereday László
- Topic: EBV-associated Malignancies
- Admission details: I contacted him first as he was my Microbiology professor.
- How the topic was chosen: I was asked what pathogens/diseases I was interested in and we discussed them together. We settled on a topic based on his area of speciality.
- Mode of communication: Email and Messenger. We have 3/4 in-person meetings.
- Ease of communication: Very easy.
- How often feedback could be received from supervisor: Often. After choosing a topic, I wrote about 10 pages of my thesis and sent it to him. He gave feedback and advised on how best to proceed. I then wrote the rest of the thesis and we went back and forth editing and fine-tuning small things.
- What kind of work the thesis involved: Literature review
- Tools that were helpful for the thesis work: Mendeley for citation and PubMed.
- Help received from the supervisor: I was offered a lot of help and during the first meeting I was advised on where and how to properly look for articles and which kind of articles were good, etc.
- Thesis defence experience: 5/5
- More info about the thesis defence experience: It was really chill, more of a discussion really. Everyone at the department are super nice so I really recommend doing it there.
- PowerPoint presentation necessary?: Yes.
- Time for presenting: 12 minutes.
- Questions asked by the judging committee?: I was asked about the prevalence of EBV in Hungary compared to the rest of the world, and how it could affect pregnant women who are naturally immunocompromised.
- If you could go back in time, would you do it with the same department and supervisor again? Why?: Yes absolutely. Dr. Szereday is amazing and super helpful.
- Tips for students completing their thesis in the same department or with the same supervisor: Go for it! Try to finish as early as possible because 6th year is time-consuming in itself. If you can do it in the 5th year, it would be even better.
- Willing to share an e-copy of your thesis accessible by other students?: No.
- Willing to be contacted by students to ask further questions about your thesis?: No.
- Department: Psychiatry
- Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Tényi Tamás
- Topic: Eating Disorders in Children
- Admission details: I contacted him first. Did not have to contact others.
- How the topic was chosen: I told him I was interested in Paediatric Psychiatry and he suggested the topic.
- Mode of communication: Email
- Ease of communication: Easy and responsive.
- How often feedback could be received from supervisor: Twice.
- What kind of work the thesis involved: Literature review
- Tools that were helpful for the thesis work: Paraphrasing-tool and Grammarly
- Help received from the supervisor: He provided cases for me to look over and add to my thesis.
- Thesis defence experience: 5/5
- PowerPoint presentation necessary?: No.
- Time for presenting: 15 minutes.
- Questions asked by the judging committee: General questions about the topic
- If you could go back in time, would you do it with the same department and supervisor again? Why?: Yes, he is very helpful and gives you the structure and the presentation of the thesis as is expected of you.
- Tips for students completing their thesis in the same department or with the same supervisor: Make sure you contact him about being your supervisor very early since many students often want him as a supervisor.
- Willing to share an e-copy of your thesis accessible by other students?: No.
- Willing to be contacted by students to ask further questions about your thesis?: Yes.
- Department: Forensic Medicine
- Supervisor: Dr. Simon Gábor
- Topic: Methods of Homicide; A Comparison of Scandinavia, Hungary, England and Wales.
- Admission details: Contacted him first, did not have to contact others.
- How the topic was chosen: He offered one after we spoke about my interests
- Mode of communication: Email and in person
- Ease of communication: Very good, fast responses.
- How often feedback could be received from supervisor: Probably about 10 times.
- What kind of work the thesis involved: Literature review
- Tools that were helpful for the thesis work: Mendeley
- Help received from the supervisor: He provided relevant figures and articles for the thesis.
- Thesis defence experience: 5/5
- More info about the thesis defence experience: It was a comfortable setting. There were many more people than I expected in the room, but it was still a laid-back atmosphere.
- PowerPoint presentation necessary?: Yes.
- Time for presenting: 10 minutes.
- Questions asked by the judging committee: Questions related to what was presented in my PowerPoint and I also got a question which I had to prepare before presenting.
- If you could go back in time, would you do it with the same department and supervisor again? Why?: Yes, he is a great supervisor and there are many interesting topics to choose from.
- Willing to share an e-copy of your thesis accessible by other students?: Yes.
- Willing to be contacted by students to ask further questions about your thesis?: Yes.
- Department: Psychiatry
- Supervisor: Dr. Osváth Péter
- Topic: Management of Delirium.
- Admission details: I contacted a few before contacting him.
- Departments unresponsive?: Oncology, Traumatology.
- How the topic was chosen: I brought my own topic.
- Mode of communication: Email.
- Ease of communication: Communication was quick, but I felt that I did not receive much assistance in terms of detailed feedback or substantial responses.
- How often feedback could be received from supervisor: 2-3 times but replies were short and not very detailed.
- What kind of work the thesis involved: Literature review
- Tools that were helpful for the thesis work: Google Scholar, ChatGPT, Sci-Hub
- Help received from the supervisor: I received some articles from the supervisor.
- Thesis defence experience: 4/5
- More info about the thesis defence experience: It was a comfortable setting. There were many more people than I expected in the room, but it was still a laid-back atmosphere.
- PowerPoint presentation necessary?: No.
- Time for presenting: 2 minutes.
- Questions asked by the judging committee: Reasoning behind the choice of topic, brief summary of my findings, a question about drug side effects.
- If you could go back in time, would you do it with the same department and supervisor again? Why?: Yes, it was chill. I don’t plan to do research in the future so this department is good if you just want to get it over with.
- Willing to share an e-copy of your thesis accessible by other students?: No.
- Willing to be contacted by students to ask further questions about your thesis?: No.
- Department: Behavioural Sciences
- Supervisor: Dr. Birkás Béla
- Topic: Stress and Dietary Habits in Medical Students.
- Admission details: He was the first I contacted.
- How the topic was chosen: We brainstormed together and came up with the topic.
- Mode of communication: Email, MS Teams/Zoom. We had only about 3 in-person meetings in the whole year of working together.
- Ease of communication: He responded to emails quickly sometimes, but on other times it took a while.
- How often feedback could be received from supervisor: About 6 times in total.
- What kind of work the thesis involved: Literature review, questionnaire distribution and statistical analysis (SPSS).
- Tools that were helpful for the thesis work: Google Scholar and Mendeley
- Help received from the supervisor: I got lots of help from my supervisor. He sent me a bunch of articles to guide.
- Thesis defence experience: 5/5
- More info about the thesis defence experience: It was so calm and I stressed out for absolutely no reason. Easy 5, definitely
- PowerPoint presentation necessary?: Yes.
- Time for presenting: 10-15 minutes.
- Questions asked by the judging committee: I had been given 2 questions prior to the presentation to prepare, which I did. I was also asked why I spoke so passionately about my topic and that was it.
- If you could go back in time, would you do it with the same department and supervisor again? Why?: Yes I would but maybe I would have chosen a research model that didn’t require statistical analysis because SPSS stressed me out, although I figured it out.
- Tips for students completing their thesis in the same department or with the same supervisor: Try your best to understand what you’re writing. Be on track and avoid waiting till last minute.
- Willing to share an e-copy of your thesis accessible by other students?: Yes.
- Willing to be contacted by students to ask further questions about your thesis?: Yes.
- Department: Behavioural Sciences
- Supervisor: Dr. Birkás Béla
- Topic: The Impact of Lifestyle during Adolescence on Atherosclerosis.
- Admission details: He was the second supervisor I contacted.
- Departments unresponsive: Psychiatry
- How the topic was chosen: It was from the topic list but I modified it.
- Mode of communication: Email, MS Teams.
- Ease of communication: Quite easy. Typically responds in the same day.
- How often feedback could be received from supervisor: More than 10 times.
- What kind of work the thesis involved: Literature review and statistical analysis (SPSS).
- Tools that were helpful for the thesis work: Mendeley, PubMed and Google Scholar
- Help received from the supervisor: I got plenty of help from my supervisor, but only if I asked something specific.
- Thesis defence experience: 5/5
- More info about the thesis defence experience: They were particular about the fine details of the format (such as following table formats and guidelines provided by Cochrane or usage of key words in scientific publications), but otherwise very kind.
- PowerPoint presentation necessary?: Yes.
- Time for presenting: 12 minutes.
- Questions asked by the judging committee: Nothing. I had answered the defence questions which were provided a week in advance during the presentation. Those were just simple clarifications.
- If you could go back in time, would you do it with the same department and supervisor again? Why?: Yes. The topics are interesting and they are very communicative and kind.
- Tips for students completing their thesis in the same department or with the same supervisor: My supervisor prefers to let the student find out things by themselves. He’ll never tell you what to do but he will answer anything you may ask.
- Willing to share an e-copy of your thesis accessible by other students?: No.
- Willing to be contacted by students to ask further questions about your thesis?: No.
Author’s note: I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the students who generously shared their experiences, serving as invaluable guides for others. Special thanks to those who offered copies of their theses and welcomed inquiries about their journey. Your willingness to contribute is commendable. Please remember, you retain full control over your permission. Should you wish to revoke it, a simple email to aulaconversations[at]gmail[dot]com will suffice. Thank you for your generosity and support.