Information about the Thesis

The final thesis is intended to demonstrate that the student is capable of independently working on the agreed topic using scientific methods. The topic of the thesis is to be taken from a sub-field of sociology and can only be chosen from another field with the approval of the examination committee and the consent of the respective subject representative (to be read in the examination regulations). When searching for a topic, you can, for example, be inspired by the contents of courses you have attended (seminar schedule, etc.), contact the subject representative responsible for your major field of study, and/or visit the office hours of a lecturer. It is advisable to write the thesis within your chosen field of study, as this is where most of the prior knowledge exists.

You should contact your potential supervisor with sufficient time in advance, usually 2-3 months before you actually start writing your thesis. More specific information on this topic can be found on the respective pages of the chairs and professorships.

Junior Professorship for Sociology of Europe and Globalization (Prof. Dr. Daniel Drewski)

Chair of Regional Labor Economics (Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Dauth)

Chair of Sociology, especially Methods of Empirical Social Research (Prof. Dr. Michael Gebel)

Chair of Sociology, with special emphasis on Social Inequalities (Prof. Dr. Rasmus Hoffmann)

Chair of Sociology, area Social Stratification (Prof. Dr. Cornelia Kristen)

Chair of Sociology, especially Sociological Theory (Prof. Dr. Thorsten Peetz)

Chair of Sociology, especially Survey Methodology (Prof. Dr. Mark Trappmann)

Professorship of Labour Studies (Prof. Dr. Olaf Struck)

Professorship of Demography (Prof. Dr. Henriette Engelhardt-Wölfler)

Professorship of Sociology with Focus on Education and Work in the Life Course (Prof. Dr. Steffen Schindler)

Professorship of Sociology with Focus on Digital Media (Prof. Dr. Isabel Kusche)

Professorship of Sociology with Focus on Longitudinal Educational Research (Prof. Dr. Corinna Kleinert)

Professorship of Sociology, especially Research on Europe and Globalization (Prof. Dr. Elmar Rieger)

Professors and employees with a doctorate are allowed to supervise your thesis. In addition, some chairs and professorships allow other academic staff the supervision of your thesis. The best thing to do is to simply contact the person who could best supervise the topic of your thesis.

The following is a listing of individuals who may currently provide thesis supervision.

Attention: This listing can change at short notice and has no claim to be up-to-date on a daily basis.

If you have met lecturers in courses who are not listed here, but who could supervise your thesis thematically, simply contact them directly and ask whether it would be possible for them to supervise your thesis.

A Bachelor's thesis consists of approx. 40 to 60 pages, a Master's thesis of approx. 60 to 80 pages (without cover page, table of contents, bibliography and without appendix). Below you will find the general information sheet for Bachelor's theses of the Department of Sociology.

• Information Sheet for Bachelor Theses(234.9 KB)

The information given in the Information Sheet for Bachelor's Theses on general procedures, formal guidelines, evaluation criteria, time management and submission can essentially be transferred to the larger framework of a Master's thesis.

For more specific information on the thesis, please refer to the websites of the chair or professorship where you are writing your thesis.

The thesis is completed with a colloquium or a disputation. Your supervisor decides whether a colloquium or a disputation is chosen. Please inform yourself at the chairs and professorships whether you have to complete a disputation or attend a colloquium in the course of your thesis.

Under the following link you will find further information on how to apply for a thesis:

• Final Thesis Registration Information

Topic:          

The topic of the Bachelor's / Master's thesis must exactly match the topic on the registration confirmation.

The topic can be returned once within four weeks of issue with the consent of the examination board if there are reasons for which the student is not responsible. The consent of the chairperson of the examination board must be requested informally. The examiner should endorse the return on the application. At the same time, the new topic is to be submitted per form.

Deadlines:

The issue date of the Bachelor's/Master's thesis must be chosen in such a way that the study can be completed within the maximum duration of study (8/6 semesters). The processing time of the Bachelor's/Master's thesis is 3/6 months. It begins at the end of the day on which the topic of the Bachelor's/Master's thesis is issued (signature of the supervisor). In the case of non-justifiable reasons, this period can be extended by the Examination Board by a maximum of one month upon written application, which should generally also include a vote by the supervisor. In the case of a medically certified illness, the expiry of the deadline can be interrupted by a maximum of two months upon written request, which must be forwarded to the examination office after 3 days at the latest; if this deadline is exceeded, the issue of the topic is deemed not to have taken place.

In the case of part-time study, the student makes a final decision within the framework of this registration as to whether the processing period for the part-time course of study or the full-time course of study is to be selected (§ 9 Abs. 1 Ordnung für das Teilzeitstudium in Bachelor- und Masterstudiengängen vom 24.06.2011).

Submission:

2 copies in hard bound form as well as each in electronic form are to be submitted to the examination office:

Declaration:

On the last sheet of the thesis, please attach the following declaration:          

I hereby declare in accordance with § 6 Para. 6 APO SoWi that I have written the above Bachelor's/Master's thesis independently and have not used any sources or aids other than those indicated and that I have marked the passages taken over verbatim or in terms of content as such.

Furthermore, I declare that the digital version of the printed copy of the Bachelor's/Master's thesis corresponds without exception in content and wording and that I have taken note of the fact that this digital version can be subjected to an anonymous plagiarism check supported by software.

                                   (Date)                                                                             (Signature)

If you wish to write your thesis in a department outside of Sociology, you must apply for this in writing informally to the Sociology Examination Committee. Please enclose with this application a confirmation of the person from the other department who has agreed to take over the supervision of your thesis. If you have any questions, please contact Susann Sachse-Thürer.

In order to submit the thesis, you absolutely must be enrolled in the degree program for which you are writing the thesis. You no longer need to be enrolled during the correction of the thesis. If you are in transition from BA to MA and submit your Bachelor's thesis after you have already started the Master's program, you must be enrolled in both programs, i.e. both BA and MA Sociology as a double degree program.

For general initial questions about the approach to a thesis (first steps: finding a supervisor, general choice of topic, organizational matters) you are welcome to contact the Academic Adviser for Sociology.

As soon as you have more concrete questions (scope of the thesis, formal design, elaboration of the research question), please contact the person in charge of supervising your thesis.