Step 1: The student talks to various potential supervisors.

Step 2: The student chooses one of them.

Step 3: The topic is refined over the next four weeks. In this phase, the task and objectives to be worked on are discussed with the supervisor and phases and milestones are defined. This is usually an iterative process in which a first draft is created, discussed with the supervisor, a second draft is created, discussed again and refined in further drafts. Usually the third or fourth draft will be the work plan or proposal. During this step, the topic of the thesis becomes concrete, while the focus can still shift. The work can even be cancelled or the supervisor changed at this stage without any consequences (apart from the loss of the working time invested). Compliance with the four week rule is not strictly enforced and is basically intended as a protective mechanism for students. During this step, a second supervisor should also be discussed with the first supervisor. Usually the first supervisor suggests a second supervisor, but the student can also make their own suggestions. It is the responsibility of the first supervisor to check whether the second supervisor is authorised.

Step 4: The student submits the "Admission to Bachelor's Thesis"/"Admission to Master's Thesis" form to the examination management via PAUL. There is no strict deadline for when this must be done, but it should not happen months before step 3, but during it and not too close to the end of step 3.

Step 5: The examination management checks whether the admission requirements are met and, if so, activates the registration form. The student should keep an eye on his or her PAUL account to see when the forms have been activated.

Step 6: The student gives the introductory presentation for the thesis. This should mainly be about the presentation of the topic and work plan and not yet about concrete results. The first and second supervisors are present. Afterwards, feedback can be used to improve the work plan, shift the focus again or similar. There is no formal requirement that steps 4 and 5 must be completed at this point, but ideally they should be. Otherwise, the work may not be able to be registered at this stage, which could disrupt the work before it has technically started.

Step 7 The student completes the registration form, including the exact title, start date and names of supervisors. The completed registration form, signed by the student, and the updated work plan are sent to the supervisor and signed by the supervisor.

Step 8: The first supervisor sends the signed form to the examination management. It is a good idea to keep a copy in the secretary's office of the first supervisor in case anything goes wrong. If there are any changes to the forms sent by the student (start of term, second supervisor, etc.), these should be explicitly stated in the message to the examinations management. If the first supervisor is unable to sign the form for any reason, he or she writes the required information in an email to the examination management and confirms that the proposal and work plan are available.

Step 9: The first supervisor informs the second supervisor (the easiest way is to send a copy of the email to the examination management) and sends him/her the proposal and the work plan by email. The examination management informs the student by letter and entry in PAUL about the successful registration and the submission deadline.

Step 10: The thesis is written. Five months are allowed for this. It can be started immediately, even before step 9 has been completed. If the thesis cannot be registered with the dates specified in the forms (such as appointing a second supervisor who is not authorised, backdating the start date of the thesis or attempting to specialise in a field in which this is not possible (Master's thesis)), the supervisor and/or the examination management should be contacted as soon as possible.

Step 11: The thesis is submitted (see Submission).

Step 12: The student gives a final presentation, ideally with both supervisors present; the first supervisor must definitely be present.

Step 13: Both supervisors evaluate the thesis. Once the evaluation has been completed and entered in PAUL, and provided nothing else is missing from the course of study, the student receives the Bachelor's/Master's certificate.