KTH Royal Institute of Technology
Engineering, computer science, energy
How a thesis is typically structured
It helps to think of the standard thesis structure less as a checklist and more as a chain of argument, where each chapter has to earn the next. The introduction states a question worth answering; the literature review shows that question hasn't already been answered, which is what justifies the methodology chapter's choices about how to answer it. Results then report what was actually found — deliberately kept separate from the discussion, which is where those findings get interpreted and connected back to the literature. The conclusion closes the loop by returning to the original question with an answer the reader can trace, step by step, all the way back to the introduction. Reviewers at public research universities are usually testing whether that chain holds, not just whether the twelve expected sections are present.
Citation and referencing norms
Citation style is usually decided by discipline more than by any single rule: APA is common across the social sciences, education and much of business writing; IEEE is standard in most engineering and computer-science programs; Vancouver-style numbered referencing dominates medicine and the health sciences; and Harvard or MLA referencing shows up frequently in humanities and Commonwealth-influenced programs.
APA referencing is common across many Nordic university programs, especially in social sciences and business.
None of this is a substitute for what your own program actually specifies — treat it as background, and confirm the required style in your handbook or with your supervisor before you commit to one.
General thesis-writing tips
A handful of habits tend to separate a manageable thesis project from a stressful one, regardless of subject or program:
- •Start early — even a rough outline weeks before you have to, beats a blank page the week you don't
- •Keep a running reference list from the first source you read, not a pile to sort out later
- •Write the methodology chapter while the decisions are still fresh, rather than reconstructing them from memory months later
- •Draft results and discussion as separate passes — report what you found first, interpret it second
- •Revise in structural passes before line-level passes — fix what each chapter argues before you polish how it's worded
How we support students at this institution
A common question is whether we already know what KTH Royal Institute of Technology expects. We don't, and we're upfront about that — we have no official relationship with KTH Royal Institute of Technology. What we do have is experience supporting students across public research universities, which means we know the right questions to ask: for your program's specific handbook, your citation and formatting requirements, and your supervisor's feedback so far. Those documents, not assumptions, are what shape the actual work.
What affects thesis complexity at this level
Engineering, computer science, energy is a reasonable description of the kind of work students at this institution are commonly pursuing, and program type is one of the clearest predictors of what a thesis here will actually demand. Technical and STEM-leaning programs typically require more rigor in the methodology chapter — data collection procedures, analysis technique, validity — while business- or applied-field programs more often require rigor in framing: picking a case or context that's genuinely worth analyzing, and building an argument from it that goes beyond description.
Formatting and submission norms
It's worth treating formatting as its own checklist, separate from the writing itself: margin size, spacing, font and size, page numbering style (and where numbering starts), heading levels, table and figure numbering, and the required file format for submission (PDF is common, but not universal) can all be specified by a program and easy to miss until late in the process.
Submission method is a similar case — electronic-only submission, printed and bound copies, or both, is decided by the institution or program, not by general convention, so it's worth confirming before you're near a deadline rather than after.
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Frequently asked questions
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Last reviewed: 2026-09-01