Bachelor's theses can be empirical work in which data is collected. Under the given framework conditions, care should be taken to ensure that the research question is clearly defined and can be investigated within a reasonable time frame (e.g. integration into an ongoing project, design specified, material available or can be obtained promptly, replication of a previous study, etc.).

Many supervisors still have data from previous studies that have not yet been analyzed or not sufficiently analyzed due to time constraints or other reasons. If the task is clearly defined and the objective is clearly defined, students could be entrusted with the evaluation of this data as part of their Bachelor's thesis.

As part of the case study, students in the 5th semester work in small groups on a given question. In consultation with the lecturers, this work can be used as a preliminary study for a Bachelor's thesis.

The Bachelor's thesis does not necessarily have to be an empirical work; it can also be a theoretical work. For example, a so-called scoping review, which summarizes and discusses the current state of research on an issue, is conceivable. It is important that the topic offers a "real" gain in knowledge.

The PO stipulates (§ 22, para. 6) that a question can be assigned to two people at the same time. It is important that the responsibilities are precisely agreed and documented beforehand. Both persons are responsible for the success of the overall work and must contribute to a comparable extent. In addition, the individual contributions must also be made clear in the work and acknowledged accordingly when grading. In addition to such a joint written paper, it can also make sense to only carry out one joint data collection, but then submit two written papers on different aspects. Good consultation with the supervisors and with each other is very important.

Bachelor's theses are usually supervised by lecturers from the degree program Man and Environment. However, according to §22 paragraph 4 of the examination regulations, the Bachelor's thesis may also be carried out outside the university upon application to the examination board.

The assessment is carried out by means of a written report. The supervisor prepares one report. At the candidate's request, the Chair of the Examination Board will determine who will write the second report from among the persons authorized to conduct examinations in accordance with state law (Section 24 (1) HochSchG). One of the two assessors must belong to the Department of Natural and Environmental Sciences or the Department of Psychology.

Your first task is to find a first supervisor. You usually clarify who will take on the second supervision with the person who is responsible for the first supervision. If you do not do this, the examination board will appoint a person from among the authorized examiners who will later write the second opinion on your thesis.

To avoid any misunderstandings:

1. A good relationship with the people who supervise you does not automatically mean a good grade!
2. Intensive / frequent supervision does not mean that the result will be "perfect" (i.e. 1 or 2)!
3. Even a thorough review of individual parts by the supervisor does not mean that the result has to be "perfect" (i.e. 1 or 2)!

According to Section 22 (4), the Bachelor's thesis may also be completed outside the university with the approval of the Chair of the Examination Board.

According to §22 para. 9, the supervisor prepares one report. At the candidate's request, the second expert opinion is determined by the Chair of the Examination Board from among the persons authorized to conduct examinations under state law (Section 24 (1) HochSchG). One of the two assessors must belong to the Department of Natural and Environmental Sciences or the Department of Psychology.

Based on 12 ECTS points and an associated workload of 360 hours, the examination regulations stipulate a three-month processing time. This roughly corresponds to a daily working time of six hours (excluding weekends) and is of course only a rough guide.
It is assumed that you have discussed your research question with your supervisor. An exposé is often also required. You should allow sufficient time for this preparatory work and therefore start taking concrete steps towards your Bachelor's thesis by the beginning of your final year of study at the latest.
The three-month processing period begins with the approval of the Bachelor's thesis by the Examination Office. It is an upper limit, so it is not a problem if a thesis is submitted before this deadline. You should therefore only submit your application for admission when you can foresee that you will be able to meet the three-month deadline.

You can approach lecturers yourself and ask them for topic suggestions or propose your own ideas.

Find out about the lecturers' main areas of research on their homepage (e.g. publications, projects) and consider which topics you are interested in. Some working groups publish topic suggestions on their homepage.

Examples of working groups:

• Political communication
• Communication psychology
• Media psychology
• Political Psychology
• Social, Environmental & Economic Psychology
• Interdisciplinary Research Group Environment
• Environmental and open space planning
• Ecotoxicology & Environment
• Geoecology & Physical Geography
• Human Geography
• Social-Ecological Systems
• Molecular Ecology
• Ecosystem Analysis
• Environmental and Soil Chemistry
• Environmental Economics
• Economics Environmental Economics

Finding and formulating a topic can be quite time-consuming. You should therefore contact potential supervisors in good time and clarify the details with them. We recommend starting the search for a topic at the beginning of the final year of study at the latest, but earlier is also possible.

The topic and procedure are usually determined in an initial meeting. You should then prepare a short synopsis containing at least the following points: research question, description of the planned research and evaluation methods, timetable

If you anticipate that you will be able to submit your thesis within three months at the latest, you must submit an application for admission to the Bachelor's thesis in accordance with §22 of the examination regulations.
You can obtain the application for the topic of the Bachelor's thesis directly from the Examinations Office, provided that the necessary requirements are met. It must be completed and submitted to the Examinations Office. After processing by the Examinations Office, you will receive written confirmation of admission to the Bachelor's thesis.

You will discuss the procedure and the exact structure of the supervision with your supervisor.

There is no general rule for the desirable total scope. Please discuss this with your supervisors. In any case, quality comes before quantity!

There is no general rule for the formal requirements. Please discuss this with your supervisors.

A typical structure could be

1. Cover sheet
2. Brief summary (abstract) in German and English
3. Theoretical background incl. derivation of the research question and hypotheses
4. Method
5. Results
6. Discussion
7. Bibliography
8. Appendix
9. Affidavit

The Bachelor's thesis can be written in German or English. The choice of language must be indicated when registering for the Bachelor's thesis. If the thesis is written in German, the title of the thesis must also be given in English. If the thesis is written in English, a summary in German must be attached to the thesis.

The submission must be made to the examination office by the deadline.

Please discuss with your supervisor whether printed versions are required or whether a digital version is sufficient.

Please contact the Examinations Office for information on the form and number of print versions; a data carrier may also be required (e.g. USB stick).

For a digital submission, send an email to the Examination Office and the supervisor and attach the paper as a PDF file. You can make supplementary material such as data sets, syntax and evaluations accessible via a Seafile link (cloud at RPTU).

Further information on the submission of academic papers

As a general rule, the person supervising the work should be regularly informed about the progress of the work, any delays compared to the work plan and any difficulties. Regular contact makes it possible to react to difficulties at an early stage.
However, if difficulties arise that cannot be resolved together with the supervisor, you can contact the person in charge of the department in which your work is located. Other contacts in the event of difficulties are the members of the examination board.
The examination regulations also stipulate that the topic can be returned a maximum of once within one month of admission.

Inthe event of illness, the processing time can be extended by a maximum of half of the processing time, provided that the illness is certified by a qualified medical certificate. The certificate form and further details can be found on the website of the Examination Office.

The examination regulations stipulate that the Bachelor's thesis is usually assessed by your supervisors within a period of two months. They will prepare written reviews. One of the two assessors must belong to the Department of Natural and Environmental Sciences or the Department of Psychology.

The arithmetic mean of the grades of the first and second review forms the grade of your Bachelor's thesis, which is included in your final grade with double weight alongside the module examinations.

If the Bachelor's thesis is assessed as "insufficient" by only one of the two assessors or if the grades of the two assessors differ by two whole grade levels, a third assessment must be obtained from an examiner to be determined by the examination board.

Yes, the Bachelor's thesis must be presented in the Interdisciplinary Colloquium (see module handbook)