The final thesis (Bachelor or Master) should show that the student is able to work independently on a complex task related to the study program and present it in a scientifically correct manner. It does not necessarily have to be the last module in the degree program, but there are guidelines as to when it can be started at the earliest (see Planning the Thesis).
In our study programs, there is no requirement that the thesis must be registered no later than X months after the last module exam. Nevertheless, please note that the thesis must be completed AND graded by the end of the maximum study period at the latest.
How does everything work around the thesis?
- A thesis can only be started if at least 120 ECTS have been acquired in the Bachelor, and at least 60 ECTS in the Master. These ECTS must be entered on the transcript of records!
- The examiner of a thesis MUST be a professor of the Department of Computer Science. The examiner issues the topic and gives the final grade for the thesis.
- A second examiner (required for the master thesis) may come from another department / faculty of the University of Stuttgart.
- Often you will be assigned a supervisor who will give you advice and support and whom you can ask anything about your thesis. The supervisor is generally a member of the examiner's staff.
- It is possible to write a thesis in cooperation with a company. However, this is only possible if the examiner agrees. The company can at most take over the supervision, never the assignment of grades. However, since the orientation of the topics that come from companies often differs significantly from what is required as a thesis at the university, such constructs are very rare.
To find a topic, it is best to contact the professors or their staff directly. Please make sure that you have taken courses from the department you are applying to. Otherwise, it may be difficult to work on a specific research topic of the department because you lack the prerequisites in this specific area. It may be a good start to take your own performance review and see what you particularly liked and where you also performed well on exams. These departments are then worth addressing first.
We try to post offers for theses as well as contact persons for the departments in ILIAS in the computer science marketplace.
If, after two to three months of intensive searching, you still have not found a topic, you can apply to the examination board for assignment of a thesis topic along with evidence of your unsuccessful search to date.
It is important to note that you have to register your thesis with the Examinations Office no later than 1 month after starting the thesis (issue of the topic to you).
If a topic has been agreed upon, the secretary of the examiner prepares the computer science-specific contract including the license agreement (and, if applicable, confidentiality and/or language agreement) and hands out these documents to the student for proofreading. If possible, the time for proofreading and, if necessary, follow-up questions should not exceed one week. The contract documents are then signed by the student and returned to the secretary's office. If no publication is desired, the license agreement is crossed out. However, the document must remain with the contract.
At the same time, download the thesis application form from C@mpus. You can find it under the heading "My applications". If you are studying in the Master of Education, in the B.A. in Computer Science or in the B.A. minor in Computer Science, you will not receive this form from C@mpus, but directly from your exam officer. Please enter the following information in the form:
- the topic of the thesis in the original language and in English,
- the name of the examiner,
- the start date,
- sign the document and hand it in to the examiner's office.
The secretariat will have the document countersigned by the examiner and will then hand it back to you or send you a scan of it. You will then forward the document to the examination office as soon as possible. This can be done via the contact form and you can attach the scan or you can bring it personally to the examination office. There, the registration of the work will be entered into the system and confirmed on the form. Afterwards, please inform the examiner's office that the registration has been entered and that the work can now start. If the registration of the work is visible in the system (for the secretary's office), you will receive a copy of the contract.
By the way ...
- Theses can be registered at any time (even outside the exam registration period).
- In connection with the registration of the final thesis, the application for the issuance of the final documents must also be submitted. If you have any questions, please contact the examination office.
If you have any further questions, please contact the program manager or the examination board.
The thesis must be printed and bound in the required number of copies (see contract). The following must be observed:
- For all printed copies, a rigid transparent film should be used as the front cover and, if possible, a black, solid cover at the back.
- The work must not be bound with a ring binding. Any type of adhesive or glue binding is permitted - preferably with a black linen booklet spine.
- The form requirements are summarized here once again.
To ensure that everything is printed, bound and handed in on time, you should collect the required number of covers from the examiner's office approximately 14 days BEFORE handing in your thesis.
In addition to the print copies the followings things have to be submitted:
- one separately printed title page of the thesis and
- the electronic version (pdf) of the thesis and an electronic version of the abstract in txt format. If you are studying in a German-language program and the thesis was written in English, both an English and a German abstract must be submitted. The electronic files can be sent to the examiner and the secretary's office by e-mail, on a stick or on a CD. The code generated by the work, if any, will be handed over separately to the examiner.
All printed copies and the electronic version must be handed in to the examiner's office by the deadline. After the examination by the secretary's office, you will receive the separate title page signed and date-stamped as proof of submission.
Here are once again summarized all the notes (in German only)
What if problems occur?
Subsequent registration of the thesis is possible for a maximum of one month (from the date of topic assignment). After that, this is only possible upon application to the examination board and only if there are valid reasons for which you are not responsible. Otherwise, the thesis will not be evaluated and you will have to look for a new topic.
The topic of the thesis can be returned once within the first 2 months of the processing time (Bachelor thesis) or within the first 3 months of the processing time (Master thesis) without a 5.0 being recorded. After that, this is no longer possible and an abandonment leads to a "Not Passed".
The thesis can be repeated once. If you have returned the topic at the first attempt and received a new one, this is no longer possible at the second attempt.
There is no time limit within which the second attempt must be registered. However, the thesis must be passed within the maximum period of study.
If problems arise during the processing period that prevent you from devoting yourself to your thesis in a targeted manner, please contact your examiner and the examination board as soon as possible.
Contact person concerning theses
Katrin Schneider
Dr.Program Manager, Department Manager & Erasmus Coordinator of the Computer Science Department