Master's Thesis Guidelines

The Institute for Organization Studies is involved in the German master program Management. We offer Management students the opportunity to apply for supervision of a master's thesis topic at the institute. Please note that topics proposed by students should be in line with the respective fields of expertise of potential supervisors.

General information

Bachelor's, master's and doctoral theses are scientific papers and, as such, adhere to certain academic and style criteria. They differ in regard to scope and rigor, i.e., in the depth of addressing a problem as well as in light of the methods/methodology used to answer the research question(s).

A master's thesis, in particular, focuses on scientific research and aims at solving a general problem within a specific field of interest. This means that the student is able to identify a problem relevant within the respective field, conceptually and theoretically position his/her thesis against existing research, and marshal the appropriate research methods/methodology.

Research topic and academic supervisor

We strongly believe that choosing an interesting and relevant research topic is already part of your research project. We thus expect candidates to identify an adequate topic/problem (in accordance with the institute’s fields of expertise) prior to contacting a potential supervisor.

Please get in touch with one of our faculty members whose work corresponds with your proposed topic idea. Your informative research proposal should include the following information (at least):

• a clear statement of identified problems within your field of interest, as well as an elaboration regarding why you think these are relevant;

• an outline of research objectives and potential research question(s);

• considerations regarding procedural aspects of your proposed research project (empirical data, methods/methodology, etc.)

Based on your submitted research proposal, we will consider whether your proposed project meets the requirements of a master's thesis and help you to further develop your proposal. We are committed to accepting excellent research proposals (however, please note that acceptance is subject to supervisor availability).

More information

For more information on master's theses in general, please refer to: https://www.wu.ac.at/en/students/my-program/masters-student-guide/masters-thesis.