Procedure of a Thesis
You can find more information on how to write a thesis on the faculty website (for BA, for MA).
The process of writing the thesis is (roughly) as follows:
- You contact us stating you are interested in a thesis. If you see a topic on this site that you'd like to work on, mention it. Otherwise, please try to outline what you are interested in so that we can brainstorm to find a topic together.
- Please also include an overview of your grades (screenshot from PAUL is sufficient). We can use this to assess your knowledge in topics related to your thesis.
- We meet and outline a topic for you to work on.
- We provide you with a challenge. The challenge will be a small practical task that tests your understanding of the topic prior to writing the exposé. You come back to us with your results and, if sufficient, you can start with the exposé.
- We create an internal git-group that includes a repository for you that contains templates for the exposé and the thesis. We require you to use these templates. The git-group can also be used for any repositories that you want to create during the thesis (e.g., for the project you implement).
- You write an exposé (others may call it proposal) which outlines the topic. That is, it provides a motivation, some background information, an overview over related work, and an outline of the work you want to do in your thesis. Please take a look at the template for this.
- During this time, we will reserve the topic for you. Therefore, we will set a deadline for your exposé. If you cannot meet this deadline, you have to at least write us and notify us of this. Otherwise, we think you do not want to continue with this topic and might give it to someone else.
- If you do not want to continue with this topic, please tell us such that we do not block the topic indefinitely.
- You submit your finished exposé to us, and we prove read it once. Afterwards, you fix the mistakes in the exposé.
- Next, you/we need to find a second supervisor. (In most cases, this is another professor at our university.)
- You can register your thesis in PAUL
- You'll get a document to fill out, which you and your first supervisor have to sign.
- You hand this document and the exposé to the examination office. This is the official start of your thesis.
- During your thesis we meet every two weeks on Tuesdays (starting at 10 AM and, normally, finishing between 11 and 12 AM). There you present what you have achieved in the last two weeks and what you want to achieve in the next two weeks. For the organization of this meeting, please join this KOMO course (the access key is TES54).
- At the beginning of your thesis, you will present your topic to the other students in the regular meeting. This is not an official part of your thesis and, thus, not graded. This initial talk serves as a brief introduction to your topic, so everyone in the meeting understands your goals. The talk should not exceed 10 minutes. The date for your initial talk will be scheduled between you and your supervisor.
- At the end of your thesis, you will have a final talk. This is part of your thesis and, thus, graded. The talk should present your topic and your results concisely. It should not exceed 25 minutes. The final talk is typically held two to four weeks after you hand in your thesis (during the regular meeting). The exact date will be scheduled beforehand.
- More information can be found in the thesis template's README that you'll be provided with once you registered your thesis.
- You hand in your thesis to the central examination office. Please refer to their websites for more information.
The communication with us can be done in German or English. Bachelor theses can be written in German or English (though we recommend English). Master theses have to be written in English.
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