According to the university studies regulations, the 10th semester is free of courses and intended for work on the diploma thesis, which is a requirement for the completion of undergraduate studies. Students who have completed the eighth semester and have less than ten courses left to complete the course requirements may start working on their thesis in order to complete it by the end of the 10th semester.

The topic of the diploma thesis may fall into a wide range of fields of specialization within Chemical Engineering or Environmental Engineering. The objective of the thesis is twofold: first, to introduce undergraduate students to research and second, to further develop the science of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Engineering.

Thesis topics and a brief description of the study objectives for each topic are drafted by the School Faculty each academic year, and are available at the Secretariat.

The three-member supervisory committee is a committee that supervises a student's work towards his/her diploma thesis. It consists of a primary supervisor (advisor), who acts as chair, and two committee members. Serving as members of the supervisory committee may be professors of the School of Environmental Engineering or, of any other School of the Technical University of Crete, professors of any other approved higher education institution in Greece or abroad, Ph.D. holders employed as researchers in recognized institutions/organizations, or scientists of recognized standing working in the private sector. However, the primary supervisor must be a member of the faculty of the School of Environmental Engineering. The committee members have the task of making suggestions for changes and improvements. The thesis advisor meets with the student on a regular basis to review progress on the thesis. All three committee members must be present during the thesis defense.

The diploma thesis topic and the composition of the three-member supervisory committee must be approved by the General Assembly.

The subject of the thesis should be a standalone research topic. The final written report for the diploma thesis should include: documentation supporting the research gap addressed ib the work, full literature review, description of the adopted experimental procedure and methodology, presentation and discussion of the derived results, conclusions and recommendations. The thesis report should also include all data documenting the results, such as tables, graphs, figures and photos, compiled in annexes. Thus, every student should pursue the in-depth study of the subject as well as provide a coherent and comprehensive presentation of the work. 

The minimum time for the diploma thesis preparation is one academic semester. The preparation should be continual, intensive and well-organized in order to make efficient use of time and minimize the required preparation time. In the case of collaborative work among two or, at most, three students, a single written report must be prepared irrespective of the number of collaborating students; however, each student is evaluated separately. In order to be able to set a thesis defense date, a student must have successfully completed all courses in the curriculum. The date and time for the oral defense is set in consultation with the supervisory committee. A summary of the thesis is uploaded to the university’s website prior to the oral defense. The thesis oral defense must take place within 20 days of the completion of an examination period (January, June, September) for a student to be awarded the diploma in the diploma award ceremony that follows that examination period.

Each of the three supervisory committee members grades the diploma thesis with respect to the quality of content, the quality of the written report and that of the oral presentation. The thesis grade is the average of the members’ grades and contributes 20% to the final diploma grade; that is, the thesis grade corresponds to the average grade of approximately two semesters. Following the successful thesis defense, students must submit one (1) copy to the library of the Technical University of Crete and three (3) copies to the members of the supervisory committee.