Master Thesis

Before you officially register your Master thesis at the examination office, you should be clear about your topic, the research question and the method. It is okay if you start working on your thesis before you officially register, as it is better to submit your thesis weeks before the deadline than to extend it.

 

Thesis Colloquium

You are required to attend a thesis colloquium/research seminar in which you present your research project to other students and a professor. You will receive feedback and constructive comments during the seminar. It is possible that your supervisor may ask you to write an exposé (which is recommended regardless of whether your supervisor asks for it or not). 

You should attend the colloquium of the professor whose chair you are writing your master's thesis. Currently Prof. Spencer, Prof. Schrader, Prof. Böcher and Prof. Heidbreder offer colloquia that can be attended by students of peace and conflict studies. 

 

Registration at the Examination Office

In order to register for your master thesis, you must have collected at least 60 credit points (CP). PACS is a Master program with 120 CP; you will receive 5 CP for participating in a thesis colloquium and 25 CP for writing and defending your thesis.

 

Submit the following document to the examination office: Final Thesis registration (The document can be downloaded from the website of the examination office). You can hand it in either in person or by mail (post), as a PDF via e-mail or by dropping it in the mailbox of the examination office.

The thesis registration form needs to include the title as well as the names and signature of the first and second supervisor. Be aware that until March 31st 2018, PACS students do not necessarily need a professor as their first supervisors. A doctoral degree is sufficient. The second supervisor needs to have at least a master’s degree. Be aware that the supervisors of the thesis will also be the evaluators who give the thesis the final grade.

After the registration you have 20 weeks to write your thesis. 

 

Remember:

  • The master's thesis must always be submitted in digital form to the examination office of the Faculty of Human Sciences on time - even for joint work. When registering the thesis, the reviewers can determine whether (in each case) a bound form of the thesis must be submitted. Access is deemed to have been received on time if the work has been sent electronically in full by the student from the OVGU's personal student email address in a collected email to the assessors and the responsible examination office within the submission deadline or has been submitted to the examination office via USB sticks The date of submission must be documented. If the master's thesis is not submitted on time, it will be graded as “insufficient”. When submitting the work (but no later than five days after submitting the work), the Declaration of authorship with a handwritten signature must be submitted to the examination office of the faculty. If the declaration of self-employment is missing and it is not submitted within the deadline of three working days despite a request, the work is deemed to have been failed.
  • Attach a copy of Declaration of authorship

 

Extension

In case you get ill, you can ask for an extension of your writing time. You need to hand in both a medical certificate to the examination office and an informal written request (formloser Antrag) to prolong the time frame. The office will then send you the new deadline via mail.

If you have other reasons for extending the deadline, but are not responsible for this delay, you can write a well-founded informal request addressed to the audit committee (Prüfungsausschuss). You should hand it in at the examination office.

You can extend the time frame to a maximum of four weeks.

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Master's thesis defence

The followings are highly important as per the study and examination regulations:

  1. In the defence of the Master's thesis, students have to prove that they are able to defend the results of the scientific work on a subject in a technical discussion.

  2. The prerequisite for admission to the defence is a grade of at least “sufficient” (4.0) for the master’s thesis by both supervisors. Students arrange an appointment for the defence with the supervisors. The defence must be registered in writing by the student at the examination office two weeks before the date at the latest.

  3. The defence is carried out as an individual or group examination by the supervisors of the Master's thesis. In the defence, the topic of the master's thesis and the associated remarks and results should be presented and then discussed. The total duration of the defence is 45 minutes; 90 minutes for group defences.

  4. The defence is passed if the supervisors have rated it as at least "sufficient" (4.0).

 

Also note:

After having handed in the thesis, the supervisors have eight weeks to write their evaluations (Gutachten). The grade for the thesis will then appear in HISQIS. From this point of time, the evaluations can be read in the examination office.

You are responsible for the communication with your supervisors in order to set a date for your defense. Be aware that professors and other academic staff may not be available during the time between the terms (vorlesungsfreie Zeit). 

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Exmatriculation

After you have passed your defense, your certificate will be produced within four weeks. You will be informed by the examination office as soon as your certificate is ready. You can either pick it up yourself or you can ask another person to do it for you (but only with a signed power of attorney and proof of identity).

If necessary, you can request a certificate in English. In this case, you will also need an English title for your master's thesis (if it is not written in English anyway).

If you need proof of your degree before you receive your certificate, you can request it from the Campus Service Center.

You will need a de-registration document in order to exmatriculate. The date of de-registration is automatically the date of your last academic performance (e.g. defending your master's thesis), regardless of when you submit the document. The document must be signed by the Examinations Office or by the Campus Service Center. The document must then be submitted to the Campus Service Center.

 

 

 

Last Modification: 15.10.2024 - Contact Person: Webmaster