The present disclosure relates to a thin film sensor element for determining and/or monitoring temperature. For this purpose, a resistive structure is provided, which is arranged in a resistive region on a substrate. The resistive structure is so formed that a first section of the resistive structure branches at a first reference point into two branches, and that a second section of the resistive structure branches at a second reference point into two other branches. In a contact region, the four branches are connected with four intermediate conductors in four contact areas, which are insulated from one another. In this way, the thin film sensor element is a real four conductor sensor element, wherein the reference points of the four conductor circuit lie within the resistive region. The resistance thermometer with the thin film sensor element of the invention is distinguished by a high accuracy.