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Guidelines for the Master’s thesis

The master’s thesis is considered the final outcome of your master project and is also the most extensive scientific work of the study. The basis is identifying an appropriate topic, which is worked on independently, based on scientific theories and methods.

Below you will find important information and related references to the Master’s Framework Examination Regulations (M-RPO) regarding the individual steps before and during the preparation of a master’s thesis, as well as its assessment and evaluation.

You will find a summary of all the information in this downloadable PDF.

Before Registration

Before you register your master’s thesis, choose a topic that is related to your master's program and discuss it with your initial supervisor.

Important information before registration

Compensation for disadvantages.

If you are unable to complete all or part of the master’s thesis in the described form or within the deadline due to a chronic illness, a disability, pregnancy a/o maternity leave, you may apply for compensation for a disadvantage. Accordingly, the Master's Examination Committee may extend the processing time for examinations or the deadline (paragraph 10a and 10b of the M-RPO).

For this purpose, please contact the Diversity Officer ( Diversitätsbeauftragte ) of the University of Erfurt, who is supported by Department 1: Study & Teaching ( Dezernat 1: Studium & Lehre ), or the representative for Studying with Children before proposing the topic of your master’s thesis.

Language of the Master’s thesis

The master’s thesis could be written either in German or English. Should you want to write your thesis in a language other than the above mentioned, you will need to get your first supervisor’s approval before issuing the topic of the master’s thesis (paragraph 21 (6) of the M-RPO). In this case, the master’s thesis must contain a short summary in German as an appendix.

Joint-master’s thesis

The master’s thesis can also be written as a group thesis if its contribution could be assessed clearly and distinguishably. Further details are regulated by paragraph 21 (4) in conjunction with paragraph 21 (1) of the M-RPO.

Supervision of the Master’s thesis

Any professor or other person who is authorized to conduct examinations and hold a teaching position within your master's program can supervise the master’s thesis (paragraph 21 (2) of the M-RPO).

External second Supervisor

You have found a person who does not (regularly) teach at the University of Erfurt, but agrees to review your work? Then you can request the appointment of an external second supervisor. This person must have at least the university degree you are pursuing. Thus, it could be an expert from a company or another university, but their appointment must be justified and well-founded.

Formalities for appointing an external second supervisor

• Clarification of the importance and advisability of appointing an external second supervisor with the first supervisor.
• Submission of a written request to the M-Examination board ( M-Prüfungsausschuss ) stating why this external second supervisor would perform this task to the same extent instead of a professor, or another person authorized to examine at the University of Erfurt. This written application shall be co-signed by the first supervisor.
• Submission of the application along with the contact details of the second supervisor as well as the "Application for issuing the thesis’ topic".

The official form "Application for issuing the thesis’ topic" can be found here. Please use only this form for application.  A translation help is given with this document .

In principle, students who wish to peruse their degree within the standard study period (four semesters) must “apply for issuing the thesis topic with taking into account that handing in the master’s thesis shall be one month before the end of the fourth semester at the latest.” (paragraph 21 (3) of the M-RPO).  

Please note that you should submit your application as well as a current Certificate of Enrolment to the Dean's Office by the 15th of (each) month so that your thesis topic and the start of the processing period can be scheduled for the 1st day of the following month.

The topic and the supervisors will then be approved by the Master's Examination Committee and communicated to you in an issue letter . This letter will be sent to you by the dean's office via e-mail a few days before the start of the processing period. Your confirmation of this letter is required so that the corresponding link can be activated in WISEflow and sent to you.

During the Master's thesis processing period

The deadline for submitting your master’s thesis is 5 months starting from the day you will be notified with the issue letter (paragraph 21 (5) of the M-RPO). As a rule of thumb, the length/word count of the master thesis should not exceed approx. 25,000 words. You should thus keep the topic appropriately brief to fit into the given word count.

The work must contain (from a purely formal point of view) the following elements:

• table of contents,
• list of sources/bibliography,
• page numbers,
• references.

The requirements of any other scientific work apply (Research question(s), research interest, state of research, theory, results, conclusion/further research…etc.).

Further remarks

Return or change of thesis’ topic.

The topic can only be returned once and only within two months after the issue of the master thesis’ topic (paragraph 21 (3) of the M-RPO). For this purpose, please send an informal letter with a short justification to the M-Examination Committee ( M-Prüfungsausschuss ) and submit it via the Dean's Office.

Changing the thesis' topic of the thesis is only possible in justified exceptions. For this purpose, a written request with reasons must be submitted to the Master's Examination Board no later than 4 weeks before the submission deadline (final deadline). This request requires a written statement from your supervisor. Adding an (additional) subtitle is possible at any time without an application. However, this addition will not (!) be shown on the certificate.

Extension of the Deadline

In case you are unable to submit on time due to an illness, you must immediately submit the sick leave notification to Department 1: Study & Teaching (Dezernat 1: Studium & Lehre).  For this purpose, it is mandatory to use the given form.

If the inability to work on the thesis is recognized, the Deadline will be extended according to the respective number of days of illness or delay. After processing the documents received by the Dean's Office for this purpose, students receive a letter with the recalculated deadline.

Submission of the Master’s thesis

To verify that the  submission deadline  has been met, the  date of receipt of the digital submission  via WISEFlow applies.

On the day of submission, you upload your digital master thesis as a PDF file via the platform  WISEflow . This file must not exceed a size of  20 MB  and must (formally) contain the following:

• list of sources and bibliography,
• page numbers

Please make sure that no conclusions can be drawn about your name or address here (personal data - data protection) - i.e. do not insert the title page or declaration of independence in this document!

The  the title page, the valid Certificate of enrolment and the declaration of independence signed by hand in blue must be uploaded in WISEflow as separate files under " Anhangsmaterial "; and furthermore, additional files with attachments or appendices (video recordings, statistics files, etc.) may be uploaded here - these files together must not exceed the size of  1 GB .

After that, you also add the automatically generated cover sheet in WISEflow.

As a last step, click on the "Click here to submit" field in WISEflow to complete the submission. After that, you can download a receipt for yourself and print it out if necessary.

If requested by your examiner(s) , please submit one/two bound printed version(s) of your master thesis to the Dean's Office  no later than 3 days  after submitting your thesis in WISEflow.

Evaluation of the Master’s thesis

After submitting your master’s thesis in due time, the Dean's Office will send it to the respective supervisors. The deadline for the evaluation procedure is based on paragraph 22 (2) of the M-RPO.

The master's thesis will be reviewed by two supervisors and evaluated in accordance with paragraph 15 (3) of the M-RPO. If the grades of both appointed supervisors differ by 2.0 or more, or if one of the two supervisors assesses the thesis as "insufficient", the thesis is to be assessed by a third examiner (paragraph 22 (2) of the M-RPO).

You will receive your grade certificate by mail shortly after the receipt of all experts‘ reports. The Dean's Office will then automatically forward a copy to Department 1: Study & Teaching ( Dezernat 1: Studium & Lehre ).

Second Attempt of Master's thesis

The master’s thesis is deemed not to have been passed if you do not complete your thesis within the deadline of the Master Examination Board or if the two supervisors rate your work as "insufficient" (grade 5.0) (paragraph 23 (2) of the M-RPO).

If the master’s thesis has not been passed for the first time, it can be repeated once on a different topic. A change of the topic of the master’s thesis is only permitted if you did not make use of this option when writing the first master’s thesis (paragraph 21 (3) of the M-RPO). The application can be submittd by the 15th of (each) month (the processing time starts on the 1st of the following month).

If the master’s thesis is also not passed in the second attempt, the right to be examined expires. If you lose your right to take an examination, you will be de-registered (ex-matriculated) (paragraph 23 (2) of the M-RPO).

Contact person

Office hours.

Appointments for the submission of applications and printed Master's theses are possible by individual arrangement. Appointments and confirmations are made after e-mail request.

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About DissOnline

The German National Library houses the largest national collection of online dissertations in Europe. We have been collecting online dissertations and theses since 1998. Since then, the collection has grown to more than 284,000 documents (as of November 2020).

Since these activities began under the aegis of DissOnline more than 20 years ago, electronic publishing has become a part of everyday university life. This is due to the close cooperation between universities, their libraries and computer centres, and representatives of academia as well as the long-standing support provided through projects funded by the German Research Foundation ( DFG ).

The DissOnline project was brought to a successful, sustainable conclusion. Stakeholders whose initiative had supported DissOnline then became free to transfer their commitment to other areas. In June 2012, the DissOnline advisory committee therefore decided to integrate the functions and information on the website www.dissonline.de into the German National Library’s services. This is particularly relevant in terms of the deposit of works with the German National Library. The extended metadata format XMetaDissPlus enables all types of publications and documents available in subject-specific and institutional repositories and on university servers to be deposited in just one fully automated transaction.

Deposit information

The DissOnline portal is also integrated into the German National Library's catalogue as a search option. This means that online dissertations are listed as a component of the German National Library’s collection alongside traditional printed dissertations, other online university publications and academic literature. Our catalogue offers a wide variety of search options that are constantly being developed and optimised further. You will find an explanation of all the available search options here:

Guide to searching dissertations and theses in the German National Library’s catalogue (only available in German)

In order to enhance the international visibility of the collection, the metadata for all German online dissertations is continually delivered to DART , the European portal for online dissertations. NDLTD : Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations is committed to the promotion of electronic publishing in the academic sector beyond Europe. The International Symposium on Electronic Theses and Dissertations (ETD) takes place every year.

Statistical information

Online university publications have been collected, catalogued and archived at the German National Library since 1998. The illustration shows how the percentage of online publications has developed over the years since this work began. Here it must be considered that although dissertations are subject to a mandatory publication obligation and an obligation to be placed on deposit with the German National Library, only an approximate impression of doctoral and publication activities in Germany can be given.

As the statistics refer to the year in which the publication was released rather than the year in which it was deposited, it is quite possible that figures may rise in succeeding years. This applies in particular to the most recent full year.

The DissOnline projects

• 1998–2000 Dissertations Online
• 2003–2004 Establishment of a coordinating body for online university publications
• 2005–2007 DissOnline Tutor
• 2005–2008 Establishment of a portal for online university publications

The intensive cooperation between all partners and sponsors also made it possible to start collecting dissertations and theses on a voluntary basis in 1998, eight years before the amendment to the Law Regarding the German National Library and the provision stipulating the mandatory deposit of online publications.

Last changes: 08.03.2021 Short-URL: https://www.dnb.de/dissonline

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Points to take into account while writing your master's thesis

The topics you can choose for a master's thesis should be highly relevant for practice and policy and the thesis should to be empirically grounded.

Process of a master's thesis

• Discuss a possible topic with Prof. Liudvika Leišytė.
• Write a 2-page proposal (incl. title, table of contents and timeline of the thesis).
• Get approval for this by Prof. Leišytė.
• Prof. Leišytė will write a letter to the Central Examinations Office to declare that she will be your supervisor.
• Write the thesis: in the process, make sure to send the questionnaire for surveys or interview schedules to Prof. Leišytė to get approval before you start your empirical work.
• Submit your thesis to the Section Central Examinations Office, Dez. 4.3.

Type and time frame of the master’s thesis

• Generally, all theses at the Professorship are empirical (i.e. the self-organized collection and analysis of data is part of every thesis). This type of thesis has a time frame of 26 weeks (for details see the Prüfungsordnung ).
• In exceptional cases, theoretical theses are accepted. The specific topic must then be discussed and agreed on with Prof. Liudvika Leišytė. The time frame for this type of thesis is only 17 weeks.

The time frame (count of weeks) starts with the registration of your topic (letter from Prof. Leišytė to the Central Examinations Office).

Topic of the thesis

The topic you choose should relate to the main research fields of the Professorship of Higher Education. Possible Topics:

• Innovation through organizational learning
• Stakeholder representation and characteristics in the boards of universities
• Promotion of collaboration at German universities: policies and practices
• Changing governance of universities and implications of this for their performance
• The implementation of gender policies in German universities
• Characteristics and challenges of an inclusive professional organization

Academic entrepreneurship

• Policies of German universities to promote spin off creation in Germany
• The characteristics of founders of new high tech ventures in Germany
• Motivations of academic entrepreneurs to patent
• Gender and entrepreneurship: evidence from patenting activities

Academic profession and managerialism

• The role of new public management on publication behaviour of academics
• The role of performance based systems on grant acquisition of academics
• Gender in academia: what are the gender differences in academic productivity?
• Challenges of integration of foreign knowledge workers in Germany

Preconditions

Master's theses at the Professorship of Higher Education are accepted according to certain preconditions and according to capacities of scientific staff:

• Bachelor's degree
• Successful completion of two seminars of the Professorship of Higher Education
• Parallel to master’s thesis: Participation in the Research Colloquium of the Professorship

For theses in the Master WiWi as well as the exam regulations (Prüfungsordnung) see: WiWi: Master of Science

Final Theses

Registration of thesis.

To register for theses, please contact your  examination team by email.

• You will receive the registration form from your exam team on request.
• You send the completed  form from your TU e-mail account to your examination team.
• Your exam team will check the prerequisite, fill out their part of the form and send it to the first examiner.
• The first examiner determines the topic, suggests a second examiner, signs the form and forwards it to the examination board.
• The examination board sends its decision to the examination team.
• You will then receive information about the specified topic and the submission deadline by email to your TUB account or by post. The submission deadline is determined based on the regulations of your StuPO.

Academic Adjustment

Requests for academic adjustments in the context of final examinations (e.g. extension of the processing period) should already be submitted when the application for topic issuance is made. The compensation for Academic Adjustments does not belong to the reasons according to the StuPO for which an extension of the processing period can take place, i.e. that, for example, a limited illness during the processing period can additionally extend this period.

Thesis processing period

The thesis processing period begins the day the examination team assigns you your topic. It ends at a fixed time.

Application to extend processing period

You must submit a request to extend the processing period to your examination team before the standard period ends. No specific form is usually required. But some examination boards provide forms; please check the website of your examination board for more information. If you are requesting an extension due to illness, you must include a sick note (Gelber Schein) from your doctor with your application. A detailed sick note (Attest) is required upon the third request for extension. If you are requesting an extension due to reasons of content, include a statement from your first examiner with the application.

Submission of Final Theses

The submission of theses is usually done by submitting 2 bound printed copies + an electronic version on an enclosed stick or CD (please do not send the electronic version by e-mail) in a sealed envelope addressed to the responsible examination team

•     by mail or
•     in person at the gatekeeper in the main building of the TU Berlin (manned 24/7) or
•     in person during opening hours at the Campus Center or
•     in person by appointment at the responsible examination team.

With the consent of both examiners, the submission can also be made exclusively electronically to the team mailbox of the examination team responsible for your degree program; you are obliged to coordinate the form of submission with the examiners in good time; a written confirmation for the Examination office is not required.

Depending on the type of submission, the following is decisive for timely submission

•     the date of the postmark or
•     the date of the receipt stamp of the porter's lodge or the Campus Center
•     the date of personal delivery to the Examinations Office
•     the date of receipt of the e-mail in the Examinations Office.

For electronic submissions, email the paper in PDF format to your designated exams team or deposit it in the cloud and send us the link. Please also attach a photo or scan of your entry form.

• The thesis file should be named as follows: Thesis_YourMatriculation_Number.pdf.
• Matriculation number:
• Degree and program of study:
• Name and email address First examiner*:
• Name and e-mail address Second examiner*:
• Title of the submitted work:
• Declaration that the thesis contains a declaration of independence according to § 60 Abs. 8 AllgStuPO.
• If the thesis is written in a foreign language that is not the language of examination according to the study and examination regulations: Declaration that the thesis contains a German summary. Please refer to the instructions on our website and, if applicable, to your StuPO for the instructions that are necessary.

If the submission deadline ends on a Sunday or public holiday, a postmark on the following business day is considered to be on time for postal delivery; for personal delivery of printed versions, the deadline is considered to be on the following business day.

Please note that you must register your thesis before you begin any substantive work. Final papers will generally not be accepted by your exam team until half of the completion time specified in the degree program's regulations has passed.

Early submission of the thesis

You would like to submit your thesis to your examination team before half of the processing time has elapsed? If so, you must also submit a statement from the first examiner, confirmed by the examination board, justifying an early submission. This statement will be attached to your examination file. If this statement or the confirmation of the examination board is missing, your examination team will inform the examination board and ask you to submit the corresponding statement later. This also applies should you hand in your thesis by mail or to the gatekeeper before half of the processing time has elapsed, e.g. due to closing times of your examination team.

Submission deadline in the semester of leave

The deadline for submitting your thesis falls in your semester of leave and you cannot submit it on time? Then you must apply for an extension of the deadline.

(I)STROD (International) Student Thesis and Research Opportunities Database

(I)STROD - (International) Student Thesis and Research Opportunities Database

(I)STROD is TU Berlin’s database for thesis topics. Students can use (I)STROD to search and apply directly for thesis and research topics. TU Staff can publish and manage their topics using the tool.

Master's Thesis in Germany

Master's students from the GUC can receive a scholarship for a six-month study stay at a German higher education institution. Only Teaching Assistants who are in the final phase of their Master's studies and would like to complete their Master's thesis in Germany can apply for funding. As of April 2023, the funding will include a one-time travel allowance of 850 € and a monthly stipend of 934 €. The scholarship is aimed at Teaching Assistants of the GUC and will be advertised in the fall via the GUC. The application deadline for scholarships for Master's theses in Germany is mid-January for stays starting in July of the same year. The applicants are informed about the outcome of the application process by the end of March.

The application documents for scholarships consist of:

✓ a letter of motivation

✓ a detailed description of the planned Master's thesis topic (following the guidelines provided)

✓ two letters of reference

✓ a transcript of records

✓ a confirmation of supervision from the GUC, indicating with which GUC research group the Master's thesis topic is located (in particular, whether it is part of a BMBF-funded research collaboration)

✓ an invitation including confirmation of supervision from a German professor

✓ the DAAD application form (will be provided)

✓ a completed and signed evaluation form (will be provided)

✓ a passport copy

✓ the confirmation of enrollment as a Master student at GUC.

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Master thesis in Germany Writing your master thesis at a company: joining the team as a specialist

Companies have long since recognised the potential of Master's graduates. A growing number of companies are offering students the opportunity to put their specialist knowledge to practical use already before completing their studies - by writing their Master thesis at a company.

Take an application-oriented approach to work

The supervision and topic for the master thesis must be right, feedback loops and deadline extensions, kick-start your career with a master thesis.

For many, the greatest motivation for pursuing a Master's degree is personal development and enhancement of the future career opportunities. The opportunity to develop one's own specialist interests and become an expert also plays a major role. The specialist knowledge students acquire during the Master's degree course is attractive to many companies. According to the "JobTrends 2013" survey conducted by the Staufenbiel Institute, a Master's degree is the most popular qualification for 90 per cent of German companies. This is the reason why many companies advertise topics for Master's theses. 

This option for the final thesis is also advantageous to students: "If you want to do something with a practical application, writing your Master thesis at a company is ideal," says Arno Zimmermann, who is studying industrial engineering at the Technische Universität Berlin. While completing a practical at Bayer in China during his Master's course, he learned of an interesting company project that would make an excellent topic for the Master thesis. "It involves the further development of company technology to convert CO2 into plastic," the 26-year-old explains. "An extremely fascinating and innovative topic." Having written a very theory-based Bachelor thesis at university, the challenge of a Master thesis with a strong practical orientation appealed. "Something always emerges at the end that has an impact on the company, and this is extremely satisfying." The high practical orientation and results-oriented cooperation within a team are a major incentive for many students to spend the six-month Master thesis phase at a company. 

"I spent a solid three months in the library when I wrote my Bachelor thesis, and I definitely didn't want to repeat this experience," Ralf Knudsen explains. The 27-year-old resolved to go abroad after completing his Bachelor's degree in business administration at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt. He signed up for a Master's degree course at the Copenhagen Business School specialising in accounting, and gained practical experience as a working student and during practical work at a company. He decided also to write his Master thesis at a company. For Knudsen, an important advantage of completing the Master thesis phase at a company was that "later on, there is rarely the opportunity to consider a problem affecting everyday work from a theoretical perspective". He decided on the precious metals and technology company Heraeus that he came upon in a list of so-called "Hidden Champions". These particularly successful companies are often still unknown despite their success. 

Despite being offered the opportunity to cover easier topics at two other companies, Knudsen decided for what he believed to be the most challenging option. "I felt that I would receive the most support at Heraeus." Besides the good expert supervision, Knudsen also receives commensurate remuneration from the company during the Master thesis phase. Zimmermann, who is also able to cover his living costs with his company pay, knows to appreciate the financing. The going is tough for those without any financial support wishing to work on their thesis full-time. However, the most important factors should be an enthusiasm for the topic and a desire to enhance one's appeal to the work market as an expert. Zimmermann also firmly believes that students should not make any major compromises when it comes to the topic for their Master thesis. "If the topic does not knock your socks off, then it won't be any fun to write about - regardless of whether you do so at a company or at university." The industrial engineer also highlights the importance of a structured, concentrated approach for not dissipating one's energies. Even those who make very high demands of themselves should remember that they do not need to re-invent the wheel. 

A whole semester is scheduled for the Master thesis. To ensure students do not lose sight of their goal during these six months, they should ensure they always keep the rules of play in mind. "There are three parties involved: the professor, the student and the supervisor at the company. The overlap between their mutual interests must be reviewed," Zimmermann describes the special challenge of writing a Master thesis at a company. "Feedback loops are therefore unbelievably important. While regular contact can be demanding, it is essential to make good progress." This is particularly the case if problems should arise with the topic chosen. "The topic should be defined narrowly as quickly as possible," Knudsen advises students who still have their Master thesis before them. The breadth of his chosen topic, the cooperation within the company and the need to complete a final few university courses meant he took a total of seven and a half months to complete his Master thesis. Luckily, this was not a problem for his professors in Copenhagen; in Germany, the deadlines are a lot stricter though. Structuring the topic well and starting to write early on is essential to meeting deadlines. 

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Knudsen joined the two-year trainee programme "Finance & Controlling" at Heraeus in February 2013. "We have a great deal of freedom and are able to decide on the individual stations," praises the 27-year-old, who was able to spend several months with the company in the USA. What's more, when the two years are completed, the prospects of a permanent position are good. Zimmermann, who has just submitted his Master thesis, is already planning his next big step: he wants to write a doctoral thesis within the same project. The framework for his collaboration within the EU-funded project has already been defined. Although the Master thesis phase left Zimmermann's and Knudsen's heads spinning, the writing process stalled and the despair was great, both would definitely choose to write their Master thesis at a company again. For the exciting opportunities this opened up to them were so very great. 

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How To Write A Bachelor/Master Thesis [2024]

It's that time of year again when students are wrapping up their final semester and beginning to write their dissertation. In Germany, students must adhere to some particular formatting standards while writing their Bachelor's or Master's thesis. 

The dissertation is a crucial component of all German higher education programs. Students may use it to demonstrate their understanding and abilities in a given field of study. The thesis also plays a crucial role in helping students develop critical thinking and research skills. They are a valuable preparation for future career opportunities.

In this article, we'll go through everything you must do to write a successful thesis. We will also provide tips and tricks to stay organized and on track throughout the process!

Thesis writing process

Bachelor’s thesis vs. Master’s thesis

A Bachelor's and a Master's thesis are two types of academic papers. A Bachelor's thesis is usually shorter and is meant to show that the student has learned the basics of the subject. In contrast, a Master's thesis is more extended and more in-depth. It should serve as evidence that the student has mastered their chosen subject.

How to format your Bachelor's or Master's thesis in Germany

The following are some of the most critical format requirements in any thesis:

Note:  Depending on the university and the "style" of the student's thesis, the formatting requirements might vary (e.g., Harvard or APA). Be sure to check with your supervisor or department for specific guidelines.

• Margins:  Your thesis must have 1-inch margins on all sides.
• Spacing:  The text must be double-spaced.
• Fonts:  Subtitles must be in a 14-point typeface. The text's main body should be in 12-point font, subheadings in a 14-point typeface, and title headings in a 16-point typeface.
• Length:  A Bachelor's thesis should be around 60 pages, while a Master's thesis should be about 80 pages.
• Language:  Your thesis must be written in German or English, depending on your program.

Let's take a look at each thesis component, starting with the Title page. The following are the required sections for both Bachelor's and Master's thesis.

Title page 

The title page of your thesis must include the following information:

• The title of your thesis
• The name of your supervisor
• The name of your program

The abstract is a summary of your thesis. It should be a maximum of one page long and include the following information:

• Your research questions

Table of contents

The table of contents must list all of the sections and subsections of your thesis.

• List of figures:   The figures must include all the figures used in your thesis.
• List of tables:   The list of tables must consist of all of the tables used in your thesis.

Introduction

The introduction should explain the context of your research and the problem you are trying to solve. A Bachelor's thesis should be around three pages, while a Master's thesis should be about five pages .

Literature review

The literature review critically analyzes the existing research on your topic. The literature review is an essential part of any research paper.

It helps you situate your research within the context of existing scholarship and allows you to critically evaluate the existing research on your topic. It is essential to be as critical as possible when reviewing the literature.  It would be best if you addressed questions such as:

• What are the limitations of the existing research?
• What gaps does the current research leave open?
• How can my research contribute to the current body of scholarship?

Methodology

The methodology section explains the research methods you used to collect data for your thesis. This information is crucial because it allows the reader to understand how you gathered your data and what conclusions you drew from it. It is also essential to be transparent when describing your research methods so the reader can evaluate them critically.

Results & Discussion

Result and discussion : The results section presents the data you collected during your research. The discussion section is where you interpret the data and discuss the implications of your findings.

The conclusion summarizes your findings and their implications for practice or future research. A Bachelor's thesis should be around three pages, while a Master's thesis should be about five pages.

Bibliography/References

The references section lists the sources you used in your thesis. It is essential to list all of the sources you used, even if you did not cite them directly in the text.

The appendices include any additional material relevant to your thesis but do not fit within the main body of the text. This part might consist of data sets, survey instruments, or detailed descriptions of research methods.

Tips and tricks for writing a successful Bachelor's or Master's thesis

Choose a topic you are passionate about : This factor will make writing your thesis much easier, as you already have some knowledge about the subject. Passion will also help you stay motivated throughout the writing process!

Do your research : Make sure to do a thorough literature review to be familiar with the existing research on your topic. This step will also help you develop new and original ideas for your thesis.

Create an outline : Once you have done your research, create an outline of your thesis to know what topics you will cover and in what order. It will help you stay organized and on track.

Start early and give yourself enough time : This will allow you to avoid unnecessary stress.

Create a schedule and stick to it:  This step will help you stay on track and make steady progress.

Take breaks and reward yourself : Breaks are essential to avoid burnout. Make sure to schedule some breaks and reward yourself for completing tasks! It will help you stay motivated.

Get feedback from your supervisor:  It is vital to get regular feedback throughout the process. It will ensure that you are on the right track.

Ask for help when you need it:  Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. There are many resources available to help you with the writing process.

These are the general guidelines for writing a Bachelor's or Master's thesis. However, checking with your supervisor and program for specific requirements is essential. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to writing a Bachelor's or Master's thesis. However, these tips and tricks will help you write a successful dissertation!

Happy writing!

Chances after Graduation

Want to know what your life would look like after Graduation? Read the below article to learn more.

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Formalities for the thesis

Regulations

You can find the regulations applying to both bachelor’s and master’s theses in the §§ of the APSO (General Academic and Examination Regulations) and in the FPSO (Departmental Study and Examination Regulations) of your degree program.   We recommend that you familiarize yourself with these regulations as soon as possible and consult the administrative office of your school or departmental student advising should you have any questions.

Requirements for Admission to the Thesis

To be eligible to register for the thesis, you must fulfill certain requirements, e.g. you must have successfully completed certain modules or have earned a certain amount of credits. Please inform yourself about the admission requirements in the FPSO (Departmental Study and Examination Regulations) of your degree program.  

Registration for the Thesis

Once you have identified your thesis topic and had it approved by your principal advisor, you must register for the thesis. Because the registration process may vary from school to school, we recommend that you consult the information on the websites of your school or your program’s departmental student advising and inform yourself about the registration process. Please note that registration for the thesis is often only possible in a certain cycle of time (e.g. up to the 15th of each month). Be sure to inform yourself early on about deadlines to avoid unnecessary time delays.  

Time Limit for Writing and Submitting the Thesis

The permissible amount of time that may elapse between registering for and submitting the thesis is specified in the FPSO (Departmental Study and Examination Regulations) of your degree program. Further information on registering your thesis and applicable time frames is also available on the homepage of your school or department.

The Use of English in Thesis Titles at TUM

Please follow the guidelines below for the use of English in thesis titles. Submitted documents not complying with these guidelines will be changed/corrected by a representative of the Academic Programs Office or Examination Office to ensure the correct and consistent appearance of all graduation documents at TUM.

Credits and Workload (cp. § 6 (3) APSO (General Academic and Examination Regulations))

Bachelor’s Thesis Depending on the degree program, 6 to 12 credits shall be awarded for the preparation of a bachelor’s thesis. Calculated in hours, this is equivalent to a workload of approximately 180 to 360 hours for the thesis.   Please note that, as a rule, you must achieve further credits while working on your thesis. You will be writing your thesis as “part-time work”.   Be sure to allot yourself a sufficient amount of time! You can find information about the number of credits to be awarded for the thesis in your degree program in your program’s FPSO (Departmental Study and Examination Regulations). Master’s Thesis For the preparation of the master’s thesis, 30 credits will be awarded. Calculated in hours, this is equivalent to a workload of approximately 900 hours for the thesis. For advanced studies master’s programs, 15 to 30 credits will be awarded. You can find information regarding the number of credits to be awarded for the thesis in your degree program in your program’s FPSO (Departmental Study and Examination Regulations).

Submission Postponement and Illness (cp. § 18 (6) APSO (General Academic and Examination Regulations))

If a student cannot meet the first submission deadline for the thesis for reasons beyond the student’s control, the Examination Committee may extend the period for writing the thesis by a maximum of half that period. The student must file an application with the Examination Committee for an extension prior to the first submission deadline, and the student’s supervisor must approve the extension. In such a case, please contact your supervisor as early as possible.   Should you be prevented from working on your thesis due to illness and are able to verify this with medical documentation, then the allocated time period for the thesis will be suspended. You can find important information on dealing with medical documentation here

Submitting your Thesis

Once your thesis is finished, you have to submit it to your department or school within the corresponding deadline. Please refer to the website of your school or department or contact your departmental student advising for the details.

Colloquium or Thesis Defense

The FPSO (Departmental Study and Examination Regulations) of your degree program contains information about further requirements of your thesis such as a supplementary colloquium, a supplementary course, or defense. The module description contains information about the structure of these additional requirements and the pass/fail credit requirement or, respectively, the credit requirement you must fulfill.

The   APSO (General Academic and Examination Regulations) stipulate that, as a rule, the thesis is to be assessed within two months from the date of submission (§ 18 (11) APSO (General Academic and Examination Regulations)). Should your FPSO (Departmental Study and Examination Regulations) stipulate that the thesis module calls for additional credit requirements (such as a colloquium or a thesis defense), the overall grade for the module will be calculated as the weighted average of grades awarded for individual module requirements. The grade weights of individual requirements correspond to the number of credits awarded (§ 18 (12) APSO (General Academic and Examination Regulations)).

If the thesis has not been graded with at least “sufficient” (4.0), you are permitted, once, to submit a thesis on a new topic. To do so, you must register again no later than six weeks from notification of the results. Please note that the thesis and final colloquium may only be repeated once (§24 (7) APSO (General Academic and Examination Regulations)).

Important: Remain Enrolled

For the period in which you are working on your thesis at the TUM, from registration to submission, (+ where applicable, any supplementary requirements in conjunction with your thesis, such as a final colloquium or oral exam) you must remain enrolled in your degree program (cp. § 6 (3), APSO (General Academic and Examination Regulations). Do not forget to reenroll (Rückmeldung) within the prescribed registration time. This also applies if you are writing your thesis externally, i.e. at a company in Germany or abroad.

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Prof. Dr. Bettina Braun Zinn

Phonetic aspects of gender-neutral speech in German

Many speakers who use gender-neutral speech in German produce a glottal stop /ʃtʊdɛntʔɪn/. In this project you will compare the realization of gender-neutral speech for different speakers (those who find this distinction important and those who don’t). You will also investigate how the speakers deal with forms in which the stress pattern is different between the male and female forms (e.g., Professor vs. Professorin)

Prerequisites:

• knowledge of praat or another speech processing software
• knowledge of statistics

Language: 

German or English

Intonational meaning in one-word utterances (with R. Eckardt)

In mother-child interaction, mothers utter a whole range of semantically empty one-word utterances (e.g., hm?). In this project you will analyse an annotated corpus of spoken Germna mother-child interaction to classify the pragmatic content (intent) of these one-word utterances and to relate their function to intonational form to develop a model of intonational meaning.

• knowledge of pragmatics

Literature: Grice, M., Baumann, S., & Benzmüller, R. (2005). German Intonation in Autosegmental-Metrical Phonology. In J. Sun-Ah (Ed.), Prosodic Typology. The Phonology of Intonation and Phrasing (pp. 55-83). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

The role of intonation on lexical stress perception (with T. Rathcke)

There are studies showing that participants perceive high-pitched syllables as stressed (this happens, for instance, in a rising intonation pattern such as “Peter?” where the low-pitched stressed syllable is less often detected correctly than in a declarative utterance with a falling f0-contour. In this project you will use rhythm-beats to probe participants’ stress perception in different intonation contours.

• knowledge of psycholinguistics

Literature: Zahner, K., Kutscheid, S., & Braun, B. (2019). Alignment of f0 peak in different pitch accent types affects perception of metrical stress. Journal of Phonetics, 74 , 75-95.

Prosody vs. syntax in the interpretation of questions as rhetorical or information-seeking (with N. Dehé)

Previous research has shown that listeners can use prosodic information (duration, voice quality, intonation) to decide whether a question is intended as rhetorical or information-seeking question (all else being equal). In this project you will investigate how this prosodic information compares to information from other linguistic areas, e.g. syntactic structure, use of particles

Literature: Braun, B., Dehé, N., Neitsch, J., Wochner, D., & Zahner, K. (2018). The prosody of rhetorical and information-seeking questions in German. Language and Speech 62(4), 779–807 . Kharaman, M., Xu, M., Eulitz, C. & Braun, B. (2019). The processing of prosodic cues to rhetorical question interpretation: Psycholinguistic and neurolinguistics evidence.  Proceedings of Interspeech . Graz, Austria.

The perception of bias in polar questions (with M. Romero)

Previous research has shown that speakers mark their own bias preferentially via word order in German (Gibt es nicht einen Bus? vs. Gibt es keinen Bus?), while English speakers make more use of prosody (in particular the final rise). In this project you test the perception and identification of speaker bias and test the roles of prosody and syntax therein.

Literature: Arnhold, A., Braun, B. & Romero, M. (2020). Aren’t prosody and syntax marking bias in questions? Language and Speech. Online first publication   https://doi.org/10.1177/0023830920914315

The marking of rhetorical question in Swiss German: Syntactic and prosodic cues (with N. Dehé)

Rhetorical questions (RQs) may be signaled by lexical or syntactic cues and/or by prosody. Regarding the prosodic marking of RQs, previous research on German has shown that tonal targets are aligned later in rhetorical wh -questions than in neutral wh -questions. Swiss German is an interesting test case for the marking of RQs as tonal alignment seems to occur later in Swiss German than in Standard German. Moreover, Swiss German employs various lexical cues to convey pragmatic meaning. In this project you will test whether Swiss German speakers use syntactic/lexical cues and/or prosody to mark a question as rhetorical. If prosody is a cue, you will further study tonal alignment patterns for the disambiguation of the two illocution types in more detail.

• knowledge of intonation
• basic knowledge of syntax

Literature: Braun, B., Dehé, N., Neitsch, J., Wochner, D., & Zahner, K. (2018). The prosody of rhetorical and information-seeking questions in German. Language and Speech 62(4), 779–807 . Leemann, A. (2012). Swiss German intonation patterns. Amsterdam / Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company.

Prof. Dr. Bernhard Brehmer Für die Themen für die MA-Arbeiten wenden Sie sich bitte direkt an Herrn Bernhard Brehmer. Please contact directly Mr. Bernhard Brehmer to determine the subject of your MA-Thesis.

Prof. Dr. Miriam Butt

Grammar Development

Develop a Grammar Fragment for a language using LFG/XLE.

Framing and Argumentation

Computationally analyze linguistic strategies involved in framing and argumentation. Other possible topics are the automatic detection of hate speech or the content of political manifestos.

Computational Morphological Analysis

Develop a computational analysis for morphophonological phenomena in a language using Finite-State Morphology.

Computational Semantics

Work on a topic within Natural Language Unterstanding: the automatic analysis semantic content.

Artificial Intelligence

Develop small AI systems. These could be Chatbots or systems involving machine learning from texts for a given task like text generation or classification or clustering of texts/phenomena.

Theoretical Linguistics

I am happy to supervise topics on the following: case, complex predicates, lexical semantics, grammar architecture, including the prosody-syntax-semantics/pragmatics interface. My area of specialization is South Asian languages, but I am happy to do other languages as well.

Historical Linguistics

Understanding language change, particularly with respect to case or auxiliary formation. This can be done purely from a general linguistics perspective or be combined with computational approaches (corpus linguistics and/or visual analytics).

Emotion-evoking language in Spanish political manifestos

In this thesis, you will examine the instances of emotion and emotion-evoking language in Spanish political manifestos and speeches. The aim is to create word lists that will help us in the analysis of emotional language in Spanish texts. 

Required skills:

• knowledge of Spanish; no programming skills required

Prof. Dr. Nicole Dehé

Prosody vs. syntax in the interpretation of questions as rhetorical or information-seeking (with B. Braun Zinn)

The intonation of faroese (with c. ulbrich).

Literature on the intonation of Faroese is scarce, except for some short and anecdotal descriptions in Lockwood (1977) and Árnason (2011). Speech data (from a map task study carried out in 2019) are available for analysis. Prerequisites: - Knowledge of Praat, some experience with intonational annotation / analysis - Interest in Faroese Literature: Árnason, Kristján. 2011. The Phonology of Icelandic and Faroese. Oxford University Press. Lockwood, W. B. 1977. An Introduction to Modern Faroese (3rd printing). Tórshavn: Føroya Skúlabókagrunnur.

Topics related to ditransitives in Insular Scandinavian

The objective of your thesis will be to explore important issues relating to ditransitive verbs in Insular Scandinavian. The project that your thesis will be related to focused on three main issues: (a) inversion of the two objects (DO-IO orders in active clauses and theme passives), (b) the morphosyntax of ditransitive verbs (different cases and DPs vs. PPs) and related syntactic issues, and (c) the scope possibilities for the internal arguments of ditransitive verbs. Data have been elicited in a series of experimental studies at the University of Iceland, ready for analysis. If you are interested, we will contact colleagues in Iceland and discuss use of the data as well as a specific thesis topic.

Prof. Dr. Regine Eckardt

Ich betreue Abschlussarbeiten im Bereich Semantik, Pragmatik und Sprachgeschichte. Sie können theoretische Arbeiten, Literaturvergleichende Arbeiten oder empirische Studien anstreben. Hier ist eine Auswahl an exemplarischen Themen. Für Ihre eigenen Vorschläge bin ich immer offen.

Most topics can also be researched for English, and in English. See me in my office hours talk about your ideas and interests.

Perspektivierung und perspektivierende Ausdrücke

Mit perspektivierenden Ausdrücken wird die Meinung eines Sprechers wiedergegeben. Es gibt viele Formen der Perspektivierung: geschmacklich ( gut, lecker, ekelhaft ), emotional ( leider, gottlob ), epistemisch ( wohl, vielleicht ).

Da viele davon noch nicht genauer beschrieben wurden, können hier viele Einzelfallstudien durchgeführt werden..

Ein weiterer Aspekt perspektivierender Ausdrücke ist ihre Funktion in Medientexten. Welche Art von Mitteilung wird perspektiviert? Welche Perspektiven werden vermittelt?

Form und Funktion rhetorischer Fragen.

• Datenbezogen: in welchen Texten und Medien werden rhetorische Fragen vermehrt verwendet?
• Form: Wie werden rhetorische Fragen im Deutschen markiert? (Negativ-Polare Elemente, Negation, Partikeln, Adverbien usw.)
• Funktion: Kann jede beliebige Frage auch als rhetorische Frage verwendet werden? Wie sehen adäquate Verwendungskontexte für rhetorische Fragen aus?

Emphatische Negation in Zeitungstexten

• Pragmatik von negativ-polaren Elementen
• Einordnung weiterer Negationsformen des Deutschen in die Theorie: Niemals, nicht einmal, nicht ein einzige(s) … und ihre Verwendung in Zeitungstexten
• Verwendung und Funktion von von wegen!

Präteritumsschwund im Süddeutschen

In den süddeutschen Dialekten sind die morphologischen Formen des Präteritums fast völlig verschwunden; sie werden durch analytische Formen im Perfekt ersetzt.

• welche bedeutung hat in diesem System das Doppelperfekt ( Peter hat das Buch gelesen gehabt )?
• Überprüfung von Quellen des 16. Jahrhunderts auf die Verwendung von Perfekt / Präteritum
• Überprüfung von Quellen aus dem Bereich der Hanse auf die Verwendung des Perfekts / Präteritums im 15. und 16. Jahrhunderts
• eventuell für Romanisten: Quellen aus dem Norditalienischen Raum aus dem 14. Jahrhundert auf die Verwendung von Vergangenheitsformen hin überprüfen.

Argumente und Scheinargumente

Erarbeitung von fallacies (= Scheinargumenten) anhand von Lehrbüchern, und eine empirische Studie zu der Frage: Welche fallacies kommen bei (online-)Debatten am häufigsten vor? (Zur Eingrenzung empfiehlt sich ein Fokus auf Debatten zu einem bestimmten Thema, z.B. nur über Migration, nur über Corona, …)

Texte und Medien

Wie wird in Texten die Perspektive des Autors indirekt spachlich vermittelt? Wie setzen Journalisten subjektive Prädikate ein, um einen gemeinsamen Glaubenshintergrund zu suggerieren?

Semantik von Adjektiven

Die Natur von A+N-Komposita im Russischen: Zur Semantik von A + N – Phrasen im Russischen. Im Deutschen bedeutet rote Socke dasselbe wie „ist rot und ist eine Socke“. Im Russischen scheint es A+N-Verbindungen zu geben, in denen das Adjektiv nicht einfach zur N-Bedeutung dazukommt. Was ist die Semanitk dieser A+N-Verbindungen? Gibt es solche Beispiele auch in anderen Sprachen (z.B. „blauer Brief“)? Wo ist die Grenze zwischen kompositionaler und konventioneller Bedeutung?

Indirekte Sprechakte: Russisch und Deutsch im Vergleich

Befehle und auch manche Fragen können face-threatening acts sein. Oft wird behauptet, dass Sprecher auf indirekte Sprechakte ausweichen, um den FTA abzumildern. Ist diese Strategie empirische belegbar? Ist sie kulturspezifisch?

Prof. Dr. Carsten Eulitz

Underspecification of phonological features in the mental lexicon

In this thesis, you will be conducting an EEG study using a component of the event-related activity, called MMN, to generalize MMN effects demonstrating the underspecification of phonological features in the mental lexicon. This topic is conditional to the re-opening of the EEG lab. Required skills: Experimental linguistics and neurolinguistics, ideally experience with EEG measurements and data analyses Language of the thesis: English or German

Pre-attentive recognition of the language mode and nativeness in bilingual speakers

In this thesis, you will be conducting an EEG study using a component of the event-related activity, called MMN, to investigate the pre-attentive recognition of the language mode of bilingual speakers while producing CV syllables in the L1 or the L2 as well as the nativeness of their productions. This topic is conditional to the re-opening of the EEG lab. Required skills: Experimental linguistics and neurolinguistics, ideally experience with EEG measurements and data analyses Language of the thesis: English or German

You can come to me with ideas about projects on neurolinguistics topics. Language of the thesis: English or German

Juniorprof. Dr. Diego Frassinelli

Automatic generation of behavioral measures using Distributional Semantic information

In this thesis, you will use regression methods to predict (extra)linguistic information (e.g., behavioral norms like concreteness, valency, arousal) using distributional semantic representations. The main focus of this project is to identify the type of linguistic and non-linguistic information available in distributional representations and understand how to access this type of information. Required Skills: Understanding of distributional semantics; Understanding and running correlation and regression studies; Good knowledge of Python or R. Language of the thesis: English only

Investigating Multimodal Distributional Semantics

In this thesis, you will use existing multimodal distributional representations (e.g., visual vectors) in combination with purely linguistic vector representations to understand how information coming from multiple modalities can be combined to solve traditional tasks from lexical and distributional semantics. Required Skills: Understanding of distributional semantics; Understanding and running correlation and regression studies; Good knowledge of Python. Language of the thesis: English only

Building Multimodal Distributional Representations

In this thesis, you will build visual vectors using complex neural networks and test such representations on traditional tasks from lexical and distributional semantics. The main question in this project is the following: does the quality and type of pictures used to build such vectors significantly affect the final representation? Required Skills: Understanding of distributional semantics; Understanding and running correlation and regression studies; Very good knowledge of Python; good knowledge of neural networks. Language of the thesis: English only

You can come to me with ideas about projects that use corpus linguistic methods and distributional semantics to solve specific tasks. Language of the thesis: English only

Prof. Dr. Georg A. Kaiser Für die Themen für die MA-Arbeiten wenden Sie sich bitte direkt an Herrn George Kaiser. Please contact directly Mr. Georg Kaiser to determine the subject of your MA-Thesis.

Prof. Dr. Tanja Kupisch Für die Themen für die MA-Arbeiten wenden Sie sich bitte direkt an Frau Tanja Kupisch. Please contact directly Ms. Tanja Kupisch to determine the subject of your MA-Thesis.

Prof. Dr. Theo Marinis

Language policies in multilingual cities

The aim of the project is identify what language policies are in place in countries with large multilingual populations in Europe and beyond.

Language policies in Konstanz as an international city – the view of the Konstanz citizens

This aim of this project is to identify through a survey the needs of the citizens of Konstanz in terms of the language policies they would like to be implemented in the future in Konstanz. "Language policies in multilingual cities-2 and "Language policies in Konstanz as an international city – the view of the Konstanz citizens" are closely linked together.

Effects of Covid19 on children’s language development

The aim of this project is to find out through a survey with parents their perceptions about how social distancing has affected their children’s language development.

Evaluating flyers from the Centre for Multilingualism

As part of the Ringvorlesung students are developing material for families and professionals. This project will evaluate the material through questionnaires and interviews with parents, professionals, people working in local authorities

Any other topic related to language development

Processing of cognates in english-german bilinguals (to be supervised with elisabeth süß).

The aim of the project is to study the effect of lexical stress on cognate production. While cognates are produced faster and more accurately than non-cognates (cognate facilitation effect (CFE)), it is unclear if and how lexical stress affects the CFE. A production experiment will be conducted to fill this research gap by testing German-English bilinguals on a picture naming task in both German and English. The pictures will depict non-cognates, cognates with stress overlap, and cognates with stress mismatch.

Pronoun resolution in bi-/multilingual children (to be supervised with Angelika Golegos)

The aim of this project is to study how children produce and comprehend pronouns. Pronouns as referential expressions are crucial in everyday communication. The target like use of pronouns is considered to be a demanding task that costs a long developmental progress. It is little known about the strategies monolingual children are applying for producing and interpreting pronouns and even fewer studies investigate bilingual children strategies. In this project we address the question of pronoun use and interpretation by applying various tasks, e.g., story retelling, pronoun judgment task.

Irony comprehension in children (to be supervised with P10 project)

The aim of the project is to compare the comprehension of irony in monolingual (German) and bilingual children with Italian as a heritage language. Several tests will be used to assess the participants’ ability to understand irony, general cognitive abilities, and Theory of Mind (ToM). ToM is the ability to make inferences about other people’s beliefs, intentions, and states of mind. Your two objectives will be 1) to find out potential correlations between different tasks (within participants), and 2) to investigate two different dimensions of language acquisition (monolingual vs bilingual).

[Knowledge of Italian is not necessary; if present, the project can also include the heritage language.]

Irony comprehension – comparing native speakers and late learners of German (to be supervised with P10 project)

How do adults who learn German as a second language perform in Irony Comprehension tasks? Are there differences between groups with a different L1 (e.g., Italian vs Japanese)? In this project, you will be able to compare how Italian learners of German and another group of late learners perform in an Irony Comprehension task. The L1 of the second group of late learners can be chosen based on your linguistic experience.

Rhetorical questions in German and (a language of your choice) (to be supervised with P10 project)

The aim of the project is to test two groups of monolingual speakers, speakers of German and speakers of another language. The linguistic phenomenon under investigation is rhetorical questions, which involve different linguistic cues in different languages (syntax, lexicon, prosody). There will be three main experiments (perception, comprehension, production) and some additional tasks. Your objective will be to find out which cues trigger rhetorical interpretation in different languages.

Rhetorical questions in German monolinguals and Italian heritage speakers (to be supervised with P10 project)

The aim of the project is to compare heritage speakers of Italian and monolingual speakers of German on rhetorical questions which involve different linguistic cues in different languages (syntax, lexicon, prosody). There will be three main experiments (perception, comprehension, production) and some additional tasks. Your objective will be 1) to find out which cues trigger rhetorical interpretation in German, and 2) to investigate two different dimensions of language acquisition (monolingual vs bilingual).

Prof. Dr. Tamara Rathcke

The role of the media in interpersonal accommodation and sound change

Prof. Dr. Tamara Rathcke (with Prof.. Dr Theo Marinis) The role of media in interpersonal accommodation and sound change has been controversially debated, with compelling evidence yet to be provided. In this project, the role of media engagement will be examined and compared between L1 and L2 speakers of English. This work will inform both sociolinguistic theory and second language acquisition models.

• Understanding of the posits of accommodation theory
•  Readiness to learn new technical skills
•  Basic knowledge of statistical inference

Literature: J Stuart-Smith, G Pryce, C Timmins, B Gunter (2013). Television can also be a factor in language change: Evidence from an urban dialect. Language, 501-536.

Interpersonal accommodation during speed dating

Speed dating is one of the contexts that allows us to study verbal and non-verbal accommodation in highly relevant contexts. The time that speed-daters spend in each other’s company is very short, and what they say is often less important than how they say it. This project will study if and how communicative accommodation can explain and predict interpersonal attraction during speed dating. The data for this project was recorded at the Centre for General Linguistics in Berlin in mid-October, and is available in German.

• Good command of Praat or another speech processing software
• Basic knowledge of statistical inference

Literature:

Giles, H., & Ogay, T. (2007). Communication Accommodation Theory. In B. B. Whaley & W. Samter (Eds.), Explaining communication: Contemporary theories and exemplars (p. 293–310). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.

Prosodic interfaces between language and music

If music/singing is your thing, you may want to consider a dissertation topic on shared structures of music and language. Both are uniquely human abilities, and their shared cognitive underpinnings have been controversially debated for quite some time. You can take up different stances on the issue at hand, but a potential project involves the study of the so-called “speech-to-song illusion”, an illusory perception of singing in speech. The effect has been documented in many intonation languages but is limited (if at all present) in tonal languages. There is also quite large, to date poorly understood individual variation in the susceptibility to the effect. You can run this experiment with your own data, or use existing recordings. Prerequisites:

• Rock-solid knowledge of acoustic-phonetic concepts
• Understanding of key issues in speech and language processing

Falk, S., Rathcke, T. and Dalla Bella, S. (2014). When Speech Sounds Like Music. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance [Online] 40:1491-1506.

Perceptions of charisma in speech

We can easily say who we perceive as charismatic, but it is more difficult for us to say why. Some previous research has shown that for a person to radiate charisma, the content of their message is not as relevant as the way the message is delivered. If this fuels some research interest in you, the topic can be studied in different cultures and languages. An existing database of speeches given by British politicians during Brexit campaigns can also be used.

Rosenberg, A., & Hirschberg, J. (2009). Charisma perception from text and speech. Speech Communication, 51(7), 640–655.

Prof. Dr. Maribel Romero

Alternative Questions

Alternative questions like Is the baby awake or asleep? are realized using a wealth of different surface cues in different languages –prosodic, morpho-syntactic, lexical– and have special semantic and pragmatic properties. This makes the mapping from surface form to utterance meaning in this construction particularly interesting from a cross-linguistic point of view.

• How are alternative questions realized in less studied languages?
• What is their distribution in embedded environments?
• What is their distribution in matrix environments, i.e., do they have special discourse restrictions?

Biased Questions

There are many ways to ask one and the same question. Compare: (i) Is Amy at home? , (ii) Is Amy not at home? , (iii) Isn’t Amy at home? , (iv) Amy is at home? , (v) Amy is at home, isn’t she? . While some of these forms are neutral, others express some degree of bias towards or against the prejacent proposition ‘that Amy is at home’.

• How exactly do these forms differ from each other in terms of semantic/pragmatic behavior?
• What impact does prosody have in polar questions like (i)-(iii)? [Together with Prof. Bettina Braun]
• What readings do Rising Declaratives like (iv) allow in your native language?
• Besides a tag question form like (v), does your native language have other tag question forms? What are their semantic-pragmatic properties?

Quantifier meaning and semantic universals

Crosslinguistically, the meaning of lexical quantifiers –e.g., ‘every’, ‘some’, ‘no’, ‘most’,… – is known to obey a number of mathematical properties, including extension, isomorphism and conservativity. Recent efforts in Artificial Intelligence, Philosophy and Linguistics strive to derive these universal properties from (i) learnability considerations (using neural networks), (ii) the simplicity/informativeness trade-off and (iii) properties of logical operators and/or of natural language. For each such universal property:

• What explanation is best?
• Can several competing explanations be tested experimentally?
• If a particular reading of a specific quantifier in your native language seems to violate that universal property, can this reading be derived otherwise within the grammar of that particular language?

Tense and Aspect (with M. Butt)

Languages differ in how their tense and aspect paradigms are structured and what meaning distinctions they convey. For a given language, one can develop a grammar fragment on tense or aspect in LFG/XLE.

Discourse particles

Expressions like German schon and bloss or English totally and even , etc. often live a double life in the grammar: as adverbial elements contributing to the propositional content of the sentence (e.g., in The glass is totally full ) or as speech acts modifiers fine-tuning the illocutionary act performed (e.g., in You should totally click on that link ).

• Does the speech act use have any syntactic/semantic/pragmatic distribution requirements? If so, what is the underlying motivation for them?
• Can we pin down the content of the speech act reading with the help of experimental methodology?
• How should the speech act reading be theoretically modelled?
• How do the two readings –the propositional meaning and the speech act meaning– relate to each other?

Different attitude verbs –e.g. think , know , wonder — select for different types of complement clauses –e.g., that -clauses vs. interrogative clauses, indicative vs. subjunctive clauses, only V-final clauses vs. also V2 clauses. What guides this selection in each particular language? And can general semantic properties be identified that guide this selection cross-linguistically?

Meaning in Multilingualism (with T. Marinis or T. Kupisch)

What happens with the meaning of functional items –e.g., pronominal reference, definite and indefinite article, tense/aspect/mood morphology—in a multilingual setting? Do we observe transfer in their acquisition? Is there delay or acceleration in the acquisition process?

Open topic in Semantics and/or Pragmatics

If you have some ideas or interest on any other topic within semantics and/or pragmatics, feel free to come to my office hours.

Prof. Dr. George Walkden

Multilingualism and Mary, Queen of Scots

In this thesis, you will be conducting corpus-based research on the multilingual usage of Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587). Fluently multilingual from birth, Mary’s letters are written in French, Scots and English, and the aim of the thesis is to establish patterns and regularities in this usage, as well as potential cross-linguistic influences. Required skills: Corpus linguistics, ideally experience working with historical texts, some knowledge of French and English Language of the thesis: English or German

Language contact and syntax in Early Modern English

In this thesis, you will investigate the grammatical effects of lexical borrowings from French and Latin into English, with a specific focus on French and Latin verbs with non-finite complements. You’ll be testing the idea that these borrowings entered the system at a crucial time to trigger wider changes in complementation patterns. Required skills: Corpus linguistics, ideally experience working with historical texts, basic syntax Language of the thesis: English or German

Transylvanian Saxon in contact

In this thesis, you will investigate the Transylvanian Saxon variety of German, a language island in northern Romania. You will use the Audioatlas Siebenbürgisch-Sächsischer Dialekte to investigate some aspect of contact effects of Romanian and/or standard German on this variety and its geographical patterning. Required skills: High level of German, ideally experience in working with recorded spoken data Language of the thesis: English or German

You can come to me with ideas about projects with a historical or syntactic dimension to them, especially those that use corpus evidence. Language of the thesis: English or German

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FINAL THESIS.

You learn from us – we learn from you. The BMW Group offers you professional support in writing your Bachelor's or Master's thesis with practical relevance. In all areas of the BMW Group, you can show how you would like to shape the future in a sustainable way.

BACHELOR'S AND MASTER'S THESES.

Are you an enrolled student at a university and would like to write your thesis with a high level of practical relevance and delve deeply into a specific field of research? Start as a Bachelor or Master student. General conditions.

• The paid contract period for your final thesis depends on the processing time specified in the examination regulations of your university and the corresponding degree programme (Bachelor's or Master's).
• You do not have any prescribed working hours during the contract period. Your work serves the purpose of writing your thesis. Therefore, you can plan your working hours individually in consultation with your department.
• After completion, you are required to provide the BMW Group with a copy of your thesis.

DISCOVER OUR POSITIONS FOR FINAL THESIS PROJECTS.

What awaits you as a bachelor's or master's student..

ONLINE WELCOME DAY.

At the beginning of your assignment, you will be welcomed by an online welcome event. Here you will receive all important information and content about your assignment as well as exciting and current insights into future topics of the company. 

STUDENT INITIATIVE NAWI.

NAWI is a student-founded initiative of the BMW Group. NAWI offers exchange and networking opportunities and organises exciting events at our various German locations. This way, you can network right from the start.

OWN PROJECTS.

We place special emphasis on your professional and personal development. Therefore, you have the opportunity to take responsibility for your own exciting projects during your assignment. 

During your thesis at the BMW Group, you will be assigned a permanent supervisor. This person will help you with all your questions right from the start, give you regular feedback and support you in a strength-oriented manner.

LECTURE SERIES.

In order to know early on how you can continue with us after your thesis, we regularly offer presentations on our entry-level programmes. Current participants in our different talent programmes will inform you about the programmes and answer your questions.

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It is very important for us to receive regular feedback from you, as this is the only way we can improve and offer optimal opportunities. You will also receive feedback from your supervisor to support your professional and personal development.

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• Spring 2024 Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition: Round 2

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Join us in celebrating the opening of this exhibition on Friday, April 26 from 4-6pm at the CU Art Museum! Light refreshments will be served and all are welcome to attend this free reception.

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Norway’s health minister accused of…

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Norway’s health minister accused of plagiarism in latest ethics scandal to rock the government

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — An academic probe said Thursday that Norway’s Health Minister Ingvild Kjerkol plagiarized parts of her masters’ degree thesis three years ago, the second such case this year in the Norwegian government and the latest allegation of unethical behavior to rock the center-left government.

The investigation by Nord University in Bodoe, northern Norway, found Kjerkol’s 2021 thesis contained “far more serious errors than sloppiness,” Norwegian broadcaster NRK reported. The broadcaster said the probe’s conclusion was to deprive Kjerkol of her master’s degree in health management.

The 48-year-old Kjerkol did not comment Thursday. But she has previously rejected the allegations, saying she and a co-author did not copy to parts of another student’s thesis from 2015.

Kjerkol has been in office since October 2021 when Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre presented a coalition government of his own Labor party and the junior Center Party.

The conclusion of Thursday’s probe immediately prompted the opposition to urge Gahr Støre to say whether he has trust in Kjerkol.

Jan Tore Sanner, a senior member of Norway’s main opposition party, Hoeyre, told Norwegian news agency NTB, that the prime minister must address “the matter of confidence” in Kjerkol.” Sylvi Listhaug, the leader of the anti-immigrant Progress Party, also called on Gahr Støre to “assess whether he has confidence in her.”

Kjerkol is the second government member to be entangled in academic plagiarism allegations this year. In January, Sandra Borch stepped down as minister for research and higher education after a student discovered that parts of Borch’s master’s thesis, including spelling mistakes, were copied without attribution from a different author.

Gahr Støre’s coalition has seen the departure of several ministers in recent months over other wrongdoings. In September, it was revealed that the husband of then Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt had been trading in stocks for years behind her back and that could potentially enrich her.

The ruling social democratic Labor party was defeated in September in local elections by the Hoeyre for the first time since 1924. The party, which for decades was Norway’s largest party in local elections, came in second in the Sept. 11 elections for local councils in Norway’s 356 municipalities and 11 counties .

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