Picking a topic

In order to decide for a thesis topic you will be given max. 4 weeks. After this period of time, you should come up with a 3-4 pages exposé of the thesis from your point of view, including a timeline (this exposé can be based on the initial description of the supervisor).

In case you want to suggest an own topic, for example in collaboration with enterprises or other scientific research institutions, please be so kind and send an e-mail request to sekretariat(at)qu.tu-berlin.de

Your topic will be forwarded internally to the corresponding scientific researchers whose field of research could match with your topic. In case your topic finds some interest and our researchers have enough capacity for the supervision, the corresponding research will get in touch with you via e-mail. We would like to point out that restriction notes and non-disclosure agreements will not be accepted in final theses.

The thesis should be registered once the agreed upon time for the exposé or the decision phase, respectively, has passed. You should prepare the registration of the thesis during the topic definition phase to ensure a smooth transition.

Registration Process

After that timeframe of 4 weeks, you have to formally start the registration procedure, namely

• Get a form via the examination office (“Prüfungsamt”)
• Fill in your personal data and the first supervisor (usually Prof. Möller) and sign the form.
• Hand in the signed form to the examination office (“Prüfungsamt”). The form will be forwarded to the first supervisor in order to fill in the final topic and name the second supervisor. Internally, we will forward the form to the chair of examination (“Prüfungsausschuss”) who will examine the application and forward it to the examination office (“Prüfungsamt”).
• You will receive an information of the official start date from the examination office (“Prüfungsamt”).

Please keep in mind that this procedure might take some time (2-4 weeks).

Altogether the time frame from the first contact between you and the potential supervisor and the successful registration at the examination office should not exceed 8 weeks.

For further information, please be so kind and also check the website of the examination office: https://www.tu.berlin/en/studying/organizing-your-studies/final-theses/

As soon as this deadline of 8 weeks has passed, Yasmin Hillebrenner will contact your supervisor as long as she hasn’t received the confirmation from the examination office (“Prüfungsamt”) that the final thesis has firmly been registered. If you cannot prove the registration, the topic will be withdrawn, and might be given to another candidate; unjustified delays will be reflected in the evaluation of the thesis.

Hand-in of the thesis

You are responsible for the timely hand-in of the thesis.

Deadline extensions are possible only given a good excuse (e.g. illness proven by certificate of disability); they need to be approved well ahead of time by the chair of examination (“Prüfungsausschuss”). The corresponding form also requires a signature by the first supervisor.

The number of required thesis copies is defined by the AllgStuPO.

All necessary electronic files (thesis text, data, programs, etc.) should be made available by you to the supervisor.

Public Defense

In case that this is foreseen by the StuPO of your study program, a public defense should take place, usually in the frame of our “Forschungskolloquium”; time slots should be arranged with Britta Hesse.

In case that the defense is not foreseen by the StuPO of your study program, you should do so nevertheless, unless there are other constraints.