Bachelor's Thesis Process
Process
The bachelor‘s thesis is an essential part of the bachelor‘s degree program. Working on a topic of interest independently demonstrates a crucial element of the academic training offered. This is why students are expected to propose first ideas and choose topics of the bachelor’s thesis on their own initiative.
Writing a bachelor’s thesis at the Institute for Organization Studies/the Research Institute for Urban Management & Governance is subject to supervisor/examiner availability and the condition that the topic selected by the student is in line with the respective research interests of the supervisors/examiners.
1. Contacting a supervisor/examiner
If you are interested in writing your bachelor’s thesis at either of the two institutes, we encourage you to get in touch with us. Students should propose topic ideas that are in line with the institute’s research agenda and particularly with the research areas of possible supervisors/examiners. Potential supervisors/examiners will then make contact by email and/or arrange a first meeting.
Please note that students are expected to contact one supervisor. In case the person contacted is not available for supervision, they can share the inquiry within the institutes for Organization Studies and Urban Management and Governance upon request.
Please make sure to declare the specialization track/s (SBWL/s) you have chosen.
2. Exposé
Based on the first exchange, students are expected to develop an exposé within a month. The exposé should comprise approximately three pages and clearly and concisely define a topic in terms of content, methods, and time constraints.
The exposé should include:
why the topic and research problem(s) chosen are particularly interesting/relevant;
first ideas regarding a specific research aim and research question(s);
considerations regarding the feasibility of the project (data needed, methods, etc.).
The examiner/supervisor of the thesis decides on the acceptance of the suggested topic or on its reformulation or further elaboration. If the suggested topic is accepted, a bachelor's thesis agreement will be agreed on with the examiner/supervisor and signed by the student.
3. Research Proposal
Students are required to deliver a research proposal in a next step. A research proposal should be no longer than five pages and be structured as follows:
Title
Problem definition
Research question(s)
Aim of the thesis
Research methods (such as a literature review or empirical research comprising methods of data collection and data analysis)
Structure of the thesis (an overview of the planned structure and table of contents)
Preliminary reference list
Time plan (key deadlines for the thesis, milestones and potential appointments with the supervisor/examiner)
Students will receive guidelines on academic writing in order to prepare the research proposal (available in German).
4. Bachelor's Thesis
Working independently is a crucial part of your bachelor’s thesis process. The thesis process further hinges on regular communication between the student and supervisor/examiner. Supervisors/examiners will keep track whether students keep deadlines and arrangements as agreed on in the research proposal. As the bachelor’s thesis moves on, intermediate findings will be reported depending on the agreement with the supervisor/examiner. We recommend at least three personal meetings during the thesis process. Students are further able to submit a full draft version of the bachelor’s thesis to the supervisor/examiner and incorporate comments and remarks before formally submitting the final version to Learn@WU.
Students should note that the usual time for a bachelor’s thesis process is at least three months.
Bachelor theses with a time span longer than six months will not be accepted. Supervision will be withdrawn six months after accepting the exposé.
Summary
Students initiate contact (including proposed topic idea) with potential supervisor/examiner
Students develop an exposé (proposed topic idea)
Supervisor/examiner agrees on supervising bachelor’s thesis
Students develop a research proposal
Students independently develop a bachelor’s thesis in constant communication (e.g., personal meetings) with the supervisor/examiner
Students finalise and submit a full draft version of the bachelor’s thesis to the supervisor/examiner
Supervisor/examiner comments and remarks on full draft version of the bachelor’s thesis
Students incorporate comments and remarks and formally submit the bachelor’s thesis to Learn@WU
Examiner examines the bachelor’s thesis