Working on the thesis is your chance to exercise leading a project, to conduct research, and to manage the writing process. Pick a supervisor and topic that matches your background and interests. Before you reach out to us at IDEaS, please review our team and profiles and the type of work that we do and consider how it interests you. 

Please follow these steps before you send us an inquiry about your topic. 

• Understand expectations:  

• Review the guidelines for writing a Bachelor Thesis at WU 

• Review the IDEaS website and the general expectations laid out in this document for bachelor theses 

• Select a topic/supervisor: If you are interested in writing your bachelor's thesis in one of the fields of the Institute or a related topic, please send an email to ideas-office@wu.ac.at with the following information: 

• The specific topic you are interested in. 

• The motivation behind your desire to pursue your bachelor thesis on this subject and with our institute 

• If you wish to propose your own topic, please provide a short proposal (1 page) specifying the potential title and research question, a summary of the literature, potential methods to be used, the expected start and end date of work, and any relevant experience or skills you possess. Please also mention whether you have already taken the course on academic writing. 

• If you choose one of the topics proposed by the institute, please submit a short proposal (1 page) specifying your existing knowledge and interest in the subject, a summary of the literature, the expected start and end date of work, and any relevant experience or skills you possess. 

• Acceptance of thesis supervision: After submitting your research proposal, you will be invited to a consultation with the supervisor. If your proposal is accepted, your thesis will be submitted to "WU supervision database". 

• The thesis is expected to be written in English.     

Your supervisors are here to provide useful consultations to guide that process but it is you who leads it. Here is what you can do to effectively manage your thesis. 

 1. Managing the research and writing process

• Once the candidate and the supervisor have agreed on a broad topic, the candidate needs to develop an outline (that may build on your short proposal or initial ideas). This outline should generally include (among others): 

• Working title 

• Motivation of research problem and research question(s) 

• Summary of background literature and state-of-the-art solutions 

• Proposed research method 

• Outline of the thesis 

• Preliminary literature list 

• Work plan including milestones 

• During the thesis period: it is advisable to schedule appointments for consultation sessions or feedback on written updates. See details below. If you have a ‘cohort’ or more persons with a similar topic, you are encouraged to meet with your supervisor. 

• Wrapping up (before thesis submission):Prepare a presentation of 15 minutes and agree with the supervisor on an appointment where the presentation is delivered and discussed. The student will receive final feedback and an opportunity to make any last edits before the thesis submission. The student should initiate this at least 3 weeks before the submission for scheduling a date at least 2 weeks before the written submission. 

 2. Managing consultation/feedback sessions with your supervisor

• Be proactive: Set up regular consultation or feedback sessions with your supervisor. 

• Set-up consultation/feedback sessions: After the first meeting, proactively set up consultation meetings (based on your needs) contacting your (co-)supervisor. The meetings must be booked at least 5 working days in advance. You can expect 2-4 meetings with your (co-)supervisor during your thesis.  

• Manage the consultation/supervision meetings effectively:  

• Please provide a short agenda of the topics you want to discuss. In addition, please send your supervisor meeting minutes after each consultation via email, preferably on the same day.  

• If you need feedback on draft text, please send it at least 5 business days in advance of the meeting as an attachment.  

• Cancellation policy: Meetings booked without an agenda will be canceled 5 working days before the appointment. Please contact your (co-)supervisor as soon as possible if you cannot attend a meeting because of a medical reason or other justified emergency. 
   

• Effectively manage your time to finish your thesis: The consultation office hours will be available for 3-4 months from the start date of your thesis. If you need more time to write your thesis, please discuss the reasons with the supervisor(s) and ask for their availability and possibility for additional consultations.  

  1. Submission steps

• The thesis is a stand-alone research document. The main body of the thesis needs to be written in a structured way as a research article, as described below. Additional information not necessary for the main body can be provided in appendices. As a guideline, the main body of text should be 7,000-10,000 words. This word count excludes the cover page, table of contents, front matter, figures or tables, captions, footnotes, references, appendices, or code. The total length of the thesis (including everything except extra files for code) should ideally be about 30-40 pages. Please discuss with your (co-) supervisor if modifications are needed. 
   

• You may submit the thesis in Word or Latex (please confirm with your supervisor if there is a preference). The templates for IDEaS are available here. Please include the following in your thesis (or discuss with your supervisor if changes are needed).  

• Front matter 

• Declaration of authorship  

• Title page (refer to the templates provided) 

• List of figures 

• List of tables 

• List of abbreviations and nomenclature 

• Abstract (150-200 words) 

• Depending on the type of thesis you are undertaking, the structure of the main text may vary. For a research thesis, the main text typically comprises the following chapters: 

• Introduction.  

• Background and motivation.  

• Literature review.  

• Methods.  

• Results.  

• Discussion.  

• Conclusions and outlook.  

• Back matter 

• References (APA style) 

• Appendices (e.g., additional details on methods including interviews, models, or software, additional details on any equations used, explanation of code and availability, AI (Artificial Intelligence) related explanations) 
   

• Important considerations for content in the back matter:  

• Code availability: If the thesis involves the development and utilization of code, all code and accompanying data for reproducing the results and figures needs to be included and submitted. The preferred method is to use a central repository like GitHub to host the code and data under a relevant WU or IDEaS account. Please consult with your supervisor on the best method to store code and data depending on your case. Please document your code with a small README file explaining how to run the code, e.g., by providing a pseudo code, as well as system requirements. 

• Use of AI: AI/LLM use is permitted for language editing (e.g. with Grammarly) and if relevant as a methodological approach (when fully documented). But AI use is not permitted for generating text to write your thesis. Please see guidelines from WU and on plagiarism in general and check with your supervisor if you have questions. Please also cite the use of AI where relevant. You can include this in the back matter in an appendix. 

• The quality of references in your literature review:  

• To guarantee a high level of reference, for academic peer-reviewed journals (or their associated data), please use literature published in Q1 journals listed in the Scimago Journal & Country Rank within your relevant topic areas. At least 70% of your references in the literature review section should be from academic peer-reviewed journals, please check with your supervisor for exceptions and whether they are necessary. 

• For non-academic references (or for their associated data), please consult with your supervisor for the quality of the resource.

 2. Submission steps

• After the wrap-up meeting and presentation (corresponding to the last feedback session), you may submit the thesis:  

• via Plagiarism Check on the Learn@WU system 

• via mail to the (co-) supervisors in a single zip file, including Word or LaTeX source files, including a note in the email on your estimated word count 

• If code was developed during the thesis, please make it available along with a small README file explaining how to run the code as well as system requirements. 

• The supervisor will usually grade the thesis within 15-30 working days of receiving the email and enter the grade in the LPIS system.  

The evaluation and grading of the thesis take various criteria into account, relating both to the thesis as a product and the process of establishing its content.  

1.  Reminders on the workload and expected outcomes

• The thesis counts for 10 ECTS. You are expected to work on your thesis for around 250 hours. 

• In addition, you should be able to work independently, follow and fulfil general academic standards and practices, and complete your thesis within a pre-defined timeframe

2. Grading criteria

 Your grade will depend on various criteria, including, but not limited to:

• Correctness of spelling and grammar and clarity of writing 

• Aesthetic appeal of document and figures 

• Compliance with formal rules 

• Appropriateness of thesis structure 

• Coverage of relevant literature 

• Appropriateness of research question and method 

• Appropriate level of detail for replication of work 

• Diligence of own research work 

• Significance of research results and contributions 

• Critical assessment of results and implications to research and practice 

• Punctuality of work progress relative to the planned progress 

• Proactiveness of handling research progress 

Beyond these, the standard rules apply for writing a Bachelor Thesis at WU  

 3. Awards:

Each semester, we may nominate an outstanding bachelor thesis for the TALENTA award.

We hope these guidelines to be useful for your thesis writing process. Please do not hesitate to reach out if something is unclear or if you have any additional questions.