Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to write your Bachelor or Master thesis in the field of Societal Computing in a dynamic and supportive environment? We offer students the chance to collaborate with us on their final thesis (only in English), whether you already have a topic in mind or need help finding one. Our team is happy to guide you in developing a relevant and engaging research question that aligns with your interests and our expertise.
Interested? Please submit this form: I2SC – Thesis interest form
We look forward to discussing possible topics with you and supporting you on your academic journey.
Have you already started your thesis with our group?
Check the available thesis resources:
Before you start
Before the thesis starts, you have to attend the bachelor/master seminar. More information to study, and examination regulations can be found at the Examination Office of the Faculty.
Seminar
In the seminar phase, you are supposed to prepare your thesis. The seminar phase comprises the following steps:
Topic
The first step is to find a suitable topic and advisor. If you’re unsure what’s going on at the chair, you can listen to talks, approach PhD students or Prof. Weber himself.
Preparation
Your advisor will give you literature to read and possibly make you write a prototype or perform some preliminary experiments. This is important to help you understand your topic. This is a major part of the seminar, which is mostly done in self-study.
Proposal
You have to write a thesis proposal that describes the goals of your thesis and the steps required to achieve those goals.
Your proposal serves as a “contract” between you and our chair. It describes a well-defined task and its outcome, as well as possible risks. This helps you finish your thesis in time and protects you from unexpected changes.
- Cover page, including:
- Title of work
- Your name, Student ID number, etc.
- Date
- Revision information (if appropriate)
- Name/s of the supervisor/s
- Short Abstract (1–2 paragraphs)
- Introduction into the topic, background and motivation, Problem and research question, expected contributions, and goal of the thesis
- Context of Thesis: Prior work (also including own prior work, and prior research conducted in the research group) and expected contributions of the thesis in relation to prior work
- Own Approach:
- First ideas for how to address the problem/research question (may contain images, screenshots, or sketches)
- Planned approach, might contain multiple (sub)items, e.g., concept development, requirements analysis, implementation (fabrication, prototypes, software), evaluation (technical, user studies)
- Expected timeframe as well as name/s of supervisor/s
- Explicit success criteria and prerequisites that will help to assess your thesis, as lists of items:
- Must-have criteria: Things your thesis must cover to be successful
- May-have criteria: Things your thesis can cover to improve its value
- Must-not-have criteria: Things your thesis will not cover (although one may think so)
- Preliminary Outline of the Thesis: Table of Contents, not too detailed, 1-2 levels are sufficient and self-explanatory (sub)titles
- References: List of all references used
A proposal typically undergoes a number of revisions between you and your supervisor. Once it is officially handed in, it serves as a blueprint for the thesis. Your proposal is a crucial part of the Seminar.
Presentation
Once the proposal is done, you have to give a presentation.
Upon successful completion of those steps, you get a certificate (Schein) for the seminar. The certificate will be graded depending on your course of study and its study regulations. Please check with the examination office and let us know. Bachelor students obtain 6-9 ECTS, and Master students obtain 7-12 ECTS for successfully completing the thesis seminar.
Thesis
The earliest point in time when you can start working on your thesis is right after you hand in your thesis proposal and give a presentation in the seminar. As soon as you get the certificate for the seminar, you have to register your thesis in the same semester or in the semester after you got the certificate.
After you have registered your thesis, you have to submit the thesis within the deadline set in the registration.
- Bachelor Thesis: 3 months
- Master Thesis: 6 months
Successful completion of a thesis consists of the following steps:
Implementation
Typically, a thesis investigates a hypothesis. Depending on the concrete topic, you’ll have to implement a tool and possibly infrastructure to conduct experiments that prove or disprove the hypothesis.
Thesis (Writing)
Once you’ve completed your experiments and collected the results, you can start writing the thesis.
You will have to submit a manuscript of around 40-60 pages for a Bachelor’s thesis and 60-80 pages for a Master’s thesis.
Presentation
You’ll present the results of your thesis in a 30-minute talk in the seminar.
Once you have finished the steps described above, you’ll get a certificate (Schein) for the thesis. Bachelor students obtain 12 ECTS, and Master students obtain 30 ECTS for successfully completing the thesis.
Congratulations!
FAQ
- Can I start my thesis during the semester? Yes, it is absolutely possible to start during the semester.
- I won’t be able to work full-time on my thesis. What can I do? Your study regulations allow you to apply for a part-time thesis, which doubles the amount of time available for your thesis. For a bachelor thesis, you’ll have 6 months and 12 months for a master thesis.
- Can you extend the thesis deadline? Once the thesis is registered, extending the deadline is up to the Prüfungssekretariat. You can, for example, apply for a deadline extension if you’re sick for a longer period.