Everything you need to know for your master’s thesis.

Admission Requirements

Students are admitted to the master’s thesis if they have fulfilled the necessary requirements as stated in the examination guidelines.

Students in MSc Politics, Economics and Philosophy must have acquired at least 72 credit points, with at least 12 credit points obtained in an interdisciplinary seminar. The master’s thesis must be completed within 6 months after filing. It must be written in English. 30 credit points are granted for the successful completion of the master’s thesis.

Registration

Students may register for the master’s thesis earliest after having fulfilled the formal requirements for admission. After the successful completion of all modules, students should register within six weeks past the announcement of the last examination result.

To register, students use the form registration for master’s thesis [PDF]. Please submit the registration form and a scan of photo of your ID card/passport/residence permit to the responsible course and examinations officer( andrea.gnaida"AT"uni-hamburg.de) at our academic office by e-mail immediately after the supervisor has signed.

The course and examination officer will check whether the formal requirements for registration for the master's thesis have been fulfilled. The topic of the master's thesis and the submission deadline can be found in STiNE within a week after turning in the correct application form.

Note: After filing, students may change their topic only once, and only within the first two weeks of the writing period. Exceptions may be granted in extraordinary cases, upon request. If necessary, the examinations board may decide on the proposal. If the proposal has been decided positively, the newly agreed topic must be registered immediately; latest within four weeks after the original withdrawal.

Supervisors

Students discuss the topic of the master's thesis with their supervisor. It is strongly recommended to contact the supervisor as early as possible in order to agree on a topic. Please refer to the list of eligible supervisors [PDF]. Students have to contact the program coordinator at an early stage if they intend to write their master’s thesis with a supervisor who is not on the list of eligible supervisors for their master’s program. The suggested supervisor must be a professor at Universität Hamburg and is to be finally approved by the examinations board. The supervisor is also the first examiner of the master’s thesis.

The topic of the master’s thesis must be discussed with and agreed by the supervisor. It will be set out in writing on the registration form [PDF] and must be confirmed by the supervisor's signature. The writing period starts on the day, on which the supervisor signs the registration form.

Format of the Master`s Thesis

The Master’s Thesis may be formatted as follows (unless indicated differently be the supervisor):

Paper format A4
Upper and lower margin 2cm
Measure 15cm
Left margin 4cm, right margin 2cm
Line space 18Pt (1,5 space) for the text area
Font size 10-14 Pt. Font: no Script, Symbol or similar

The cover may be designed individually. The following information must, however, be included:

Title of the master’s thesis
Student's name and address
Student ID (matriculation no.)
Study program
Name of the examiner
Date of submission as announced by the academic office .

The last page of the thesis must include a statement on the thesis' originality, which has to be signed in handwriting.

All internet sources must be documented as follows:

Internet address, day and time of last access

Digital forms (e.g. Screenshots or pdf-files) of the used internet sources must be added to the data storage medium.

Submission

Students have 6 months time to submit their master’s thesis. Please mind that your writing period starts on the date, your supervisor has signed the registration form.

Requests for extension of the writing period must be submitted in writing to the chairperson of the examinations board immediately. Generally, a one-time extension of up to 3 weeks may be granted. Only in special cases this extension period might be prolonged. Students have to submit their request to to the academic office via e-mail.

In cases of illness, students have to submit a qualified medical certificate. Unlike the other examinations, a certificate of incapacity of work is not sufficient. Please use the form ‘Formular für den Nachweis der Prüfungsunfähigkeit (Abschlussarbeit)’ (PDF). Alternatively, the doctor can write a letter in which the severity of the symptoms regarding the ability of writing the master’s thesis is described. The ill student has to hand in the qualified medical certificate to the responsible course and examination manager within seven days via e-mail.

If an extension has been granted, the academic office informs the student about the renewed deadline for submission via STiNE. Please check your STiNE account.

The submission of the master's thesis is a two-step process:

The master's thesis must be submitted in digital form (file form: PDF) to the responsible course and examination manager of the academic office no later than 11:59 pm on the deadline date. The signed declaration is to be included either as a separate mail attachment or as the last page of the digital thesis. An early submission is possible after prior agreement with the responsible course and examination manager.
A paper copy and suitable electronic storage medium, such as a USB stick, must be submitted to the academic office afterwards. The paper copy must be bound together (no ring binding, stapling or similar). The digital version of the master’s thesis as well as additional sources, if applicable, must be stored on the storage medium. Submission may be carried out during our opening hours. For submission outside the opening hours, the large mailbox in front of the entrance of the academic office can be used. Alternatively, it is also possible to send it by post to the following address:

Universität Hamburg
Fakultät für Wirtschafts- und Sozialwissenschaften
Studienbüro Volkswirtschaftslehre
Von-Melle-Park 5
20146 Hamburg

The final documents will only be provided if the Academic Office Economics has received the bound paper copy including the storage medium.

Delayed submission may lead to failure of the master’s thesis, if the candidate can be held responsible (examination guidelines §16) [German].

Repetition

If the master’s thesis has been graded „insufficient“(5,0), it can be repeated once. The candidate must apply for a second trial, latest six weeks after the examination result has been published.