Final thesis and certificate

When you have chosen the research area in which you want to write your Bachelor’s or Master’s thesis and have found someone to supervise it, you need to do the following to register:

• collect a registration form, including information on the procedure (submission,
• application for degree certificate etc.) from the Office for Student Affairs
• complete the registration form together with your supervisor
• immediately hand in your completed registration form at the Office for Student Affairs

In the download area you will find a LaTeX template for the cover of your thesis. Please note that no printed form must be submitted. Before the submission deadline (one hour) your thesis must be uploaded to the TUbama Portal. We recommend you to test the upload process well in advance. You will find detailed information via the TUbama-Portal.

The submission date depends on the starting date and length of time spent working on the theses. If the submission date falls on a weekend (Saturday or Sunday) or a public holiday, the submission date will be set on the next working day.

Since the adoption of PO 2007, ten weeks have been scheduled for Bachelor’s theses. This equates to 12 ECTS. The dissertation will be marked. The submission date is 26 weeks after the starting date as you will usually be expected to be doing other work at the same time.

For Master’s theses 26 weeks are scheduled, which explicitly equate to 30 ECTS. The submission date is also six months after the starting date, which means that you should only register once you are able to devote yourself almost exclusively to your dissertation. An introduction into research work (see below) is an integral part of the Master’s theses.

The following marks are possible: 1.0, 1.3, 1.7, 2.0, 2.3, 2.7, 3.0, 3.3, 3.7, 4.0 and “fail”.

If a Master’s or Diplom dissertation is so good that it exceeds the normal demands for a 1.0 and is therefore not fully recognised by a 1.0, this should be clearly stated in the review. Depending on the other marks, this could be decisive in granting an award.

The module entitled “Introduction into research work” helps to prepare you for writing your Master’s theses. It is not necessary to register specially for this module. Your supervisor will confirm that you have passed it when you register for your Master’s theses.

Final dissertations are marked by two reviewers. At least one of them must be a member of the status group of professors (including research associates who have completed their Habilitation and readers). If your supervisor (= 1st reviewer) is a member of the professorial group in the department, her/his signature will suffice for registration. In every other case, the Examination Board’s approval is required and both signatures must be submitted at registration.

The following points are particularly important with regard to approving the dissertation:

• scope of the dissertation
• scientific demands of the dissertation
• connection to course and appropriate mathematical depth
• evaluation criteria

There are five different constellations:

1. The main supervisor is a member of the professorial group in the Department of Mathematics (also including readers).

The supervisor becomes the 1st reviewer; the 2nd reviewer or assessor can be named after the thesis has been written.

2. The main supervisor is a part-time lecturer in the Department of Mathematics.

Part-time lecturers are entitled to examine students in the fields in which they hold the teaching appointment. They are also entitled to supervise final dissertations in this general area. If in doubt, the Examination Board will decide. The supervisor becomes the 1st reviewer. The 2nd reviewer must be a member of the professorial group in the Department of Mathematics and sign the registration. Ideally, this should be the professor who supported the part-time teaching appointment.

3. The main supervisor is a member of the professorial group in another department at TUD.

The supervisor becomes the 1st reviewer; the 2nd reviewer must be a member of the professorial group in the Department of Mathematics and sign the registration. S/he focuses on the connection to the course and appropriate mathematical depth. For this purpose, s/he can demand interim reports.

4. The main supervisor is a research associate in the Department of Mathematics.

The 1st reviewer must be a member of the professorial group in the Department of Mathematics; the 2nd reviewer/assessor can be a research associate.

5. The main supervisor is not a member of TUD (external thesis).

This could be a supervisor at a different university.

The official 1st reviewer must be a member of the professorial group at TUD; if s/he is not in the Department of Mathematics, the 2nd reviewer must be a member of the professorial group in the Department of Mathematics and sign the registration. The 1st reviewer accepts full official responsibility for appropriate supervision. In the run-up, s/he takes particular note of

• quality and intensity of supervision
• scope of the dissertation
• scientific demands of the dissertation
• connection to course and appropriate mathematical depth
• evaluation criteria

The first reviewer controls the progress of the thesis and can demand interim reports. The reviewers include the external main supervisor’s evaluation in their review. The external supervisor cannot, however, be a reviewer/assessor.