Bachelor's/Master's thesis

The bachelor’s as well as master's thesis shall show that the student is capable of working independently on an academic basis on a problem from the field of the degree programme, and, if applicable, of actively finding a practice-oriented solution or implementing a practice-oriented solution to a problem.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Thesis

You can start work on your bachelor’s thesis if

  • you have earned at least 150 ECTS credits;
  • you completed the internship module successfully;
  • you completed the module Soft and Professional Skills (for study start after 1 October 2016);
  • you completed the research project.

E-Commerce students additionally have to successfully complete the module English Communication.

Master’s thesis

You can start work on your master’s thesis if

  • you have earned at least 50 ECTS credits;
  • you completed the module Social and Leadership Skills successfully;
  • you completed the module Theory of Science successfully;

Scope of a bachelor’s or master’s thesis

If worked on continuously to the exclusion of everything else, a bachelor’s theses usually should be completed in two months, a master’s thesis in five months.

The completion period for a bachelor’s thesis is five months.

Bachelor’s theses are accompanied by a bachelor’s seminar. Please ask your supervising professor about the contents and the structure.

Possible topics

Professors recommend topics which can be worked on in the lab or in cooperation with companies. Of course students can also suggest topics themselves.

Possible topics are published by various means, for example on IWInews 3.0, in an E-Learning course in Moodle, via e-mail or posters.

Registration

The application for a bachelor’s or master's thesis is submitted to the respective examination committee via the supervising professor. As part of the process, students will receive an automatically generated e-mail containing a form for the registration as well as further instructions on filling in the form.

When the thesis is done in cooperation with a company, you will get an e-mail with further forms with which supervision is to be confirmed by the company. The company may request that a non-disclosure notice be included in the thesis.Opens internal link in current window

Submission

  • You can hand over the printed version to your supervising professor.
  • You can hand in the printed version in the dean’s office (room I.3.38 in the Campus Sanderheinrichsleitenweg). For this, please note the dean’s office’s opening hours (not the building opening hours) published on the FIW website. Be aware that the dean’s office is closed on Fridays!
  • Outside the opening hours of the dean’s office, but during the building’s opening hours, you can put your thesis in the letter box to the right of the door to room I.3.38. The letter box will be emptied on the next working day.
  • Outside the building’s opening hours, please put the thesis in the letter box to the right of the Institute Building.
  • Send the two digital versions in time by e-mail to your supervising professor, but not to the dean’s office.

Please understand that the dean's office cannot confirm receipt of your thesis in writing or by e-mail due to time constraints.

Examination performance

Layout and structure of a bachelor’s or master’s thesis

A bachelor’s or master’s thesis is to be handed in on time once as printed copy and twice in a digital format (once anonymised, i.e. without your name and matriculation number, see § 30 (8) Sentence 2 of the General Examination Regulations of THWS, APO).

The structure for the bachelor’s or master’s thesis is determined by the supervising professor taking into account the following aspects:

  • The bachelor’s thesis is to be submitted in typewritten form in a bound copy to the first examiner within the specified submission deadline.
  • It must contain a title page (as regards the content according to the template, but free in form), a formal declaration of originality (see § 26 (3) General Examination Regulations of THWS, APO), a table of contents, a bibliography as well as a list of aids and, if necessary, a list of abbreviations.
  • Literature as well as all other resources used must be indicated as such. References must contain author/editor, title, place of publication, and in case of books: the publishing house, no. of editions, year of publication; in case of journals: journal title, volume number, issue number, page(s) in exactly this order. Information based on Internet resources must be provided with the complete URL and the date of the last access. In addition, a copy may need to be saved on a data carrier and submitted with the thesis.
  • On the title page, the date of submission by the student must be entered.
  • An abstract in German and English (usually a maximum of one page each) must be placed at the beginning of the thesis, but after the cover page.
  • The declaration of consent regarding the use of PlagScan to assess the thesis must also be included. However, it is up to you whether you sign this declaration or not.

The following templates are available: declaration of originality, declaration of consent to PlagScan. (Access to templates only possible from the THWS network or via VPN)

Presentation

In consultation with the supervising professor, the presentation takes place after the bachelor’s or master's thesis has been submitted.