The doctoral thesis is the culmination of the program. Through the thesis, students are expected to make an original contribution to science or engineering, apply advanced research methods, critically evaluate their results, and communicate their findings in a scholarly manner.
Starting from the semester following the assignment of the thesis supervisor, students must register for thesis work every semester (Article 40). In the Mechanical Engineering Department, doctoral students who have a thesis protocol register for the following non-credit courses every semester:
- ME 600 Ph.D. Thesis, and
- ME 9XX Advanced Studies, where "XX" represents the thesis advisor’s code number.
The thesis advisors’ codes are shared by the department at the beginning of each semester, before course registration starts.
After the thesis proposal is approved, the TMC meets twice a year, once between January and June and once between July and December. The student submits a written progress report to the TMC members at least one month before each meeting, summarizing the work completed so far and the work plan for the next semester. The thesis work is graded S (Satisfactory) or U (Unsatisfactory) by the TMC. At least three TMC reports must have been presented before the thesis can be finalized.
When the thesis supervisor approves that the thesis work is complete, the student writes the thesis in accordance with the METU Thesis Manual. According to Articles 29 and 45 of the Graduate Study Regulations, the thesis defense proceeds as follows:
- The supervisor runs the thesis through plagiarism software; the similarity index must be below the limit set by the Graduate School. The plagiarism report, an unbound copy of the thesis, and the jury appointment form are sent to the Graduate School.
- The thesis jury consists of five faculty members, including the TMC members and at least two members from other institutions of higher education. The thesis supervisor has a right to vote; a co-supervisor may attend without a right to vote.
- The jury convenes within one month of receiving the thesis. The defense is conducted in English, is open to an audience, and consists of a presentation followed by a question-and-answer session.
- The jury decides by absolute majority on approval, revision, or rejection. A student whose thesis requires revision may be given up to six months to defend it again before the same jury. A student whose thesis is rejected, or who does not defend the revised thesis in time or fails it, is dismissed from the program.