Writing a BSc/MSc thesis consists of two phases:

1. Seminar phase with a thesis proposal and intro talk
2. Thesis phase with a concluding colloquium

In the following, you’ll find more information on the individual steps of these phases. This is largely based on the process outlined by Prof. Zeller.

In the seminar phase, you are supposed to prepare your thesis. The seminar phase comprises the following steps:

Attendance

You have to attend the BSc/MSc seminar regularly. Details will be sent to you by the seminar organization.

Preparation

Your advisor will give you literature to read and make you build a prototype or perform some preliminary experiments. This is important to help you understand your topic. You conduct this significant part of the seminar primarily in self-study.

Thesis Proposal

You have to write a thesis proposal that describes the goals of your thesis and the steps required to achieve those goals. See below.

Intro Talk

Once the proposal is done, you have to give a talk in the BSc/MSc seminar. Upon completing those steps, you get a certificate (Schein) for the seminar.

Your proposal serves as a contract between you and us. It describes a well-defined task and its outcome as well as possible risks. This helps you finish your thesis on time and protects you from unexpected changes.

A thesis proposal is usually between 8 to 10 pages long and consists of the following:

1. Cover page including
   • thesis title
   • your name
   • date
   • revision information, if appropriate
   • names of supervisors and advisors
2. A short abstract (1-2 paragraphs)
3. An introduction into the field, the problem (including the research questions), and the proposed solution. (max. 1.5 pages)
4. A discussion of the related work that has been conducted before. Discuss how your proposed work is related (and how it advances the state of the art).
5. The method you want to use to address the problem. Explicitly state verifiable hypotheses.
6. The evaluation you want to use to assess how well your solution works. Provide details on verifying the stated hypotheses (experiments, subjects, measures, …)
7. A schedule with verifiable milestones to be reached on a specific date. State potential risks for the proposal and their impact, as well as how to mitigate them, including alternatives.
8. Explicit success criteria that will help to assess your thesis, as a list of items:
   • Must-have criteria: Things your thesis must cover to be successful
   • May-have criteria: Things your thesis can cover to improve its value
   • Must-not-have criteria: Things your thesis will not cover (although one may think so)
9. A bibliography listing all references.

A proposal typically undergoes a number of revisions between you and your supervisor; once it is officially handed in, it serves as a blueprint for the thesis. Your proposal will be graded as part of the Seminar.

The earliest you can start working on your thesis is right after you hand in your thesis proposal and present the proposal at the BSc/MSc seminar. Once you get the certificate for the seminar, you have to register your thesis in the same semester or the semester after you got the certificate.

After registering your thesis, you have to submit the thesis within the deadline set in the registration. For BSc students, this will typically be three months; for MSc students, this will be six months.

Successful completion of a thesis consists of the following steps:

1. Implementation. Typically, a thesis investigates a hypothesis. Depending on the concrete topic, you’ll have to implement a tool and possibly infrastructure to conduct experiments that prove or disprove the hypothesis.
2. Thesis. Once you have completed your experiments and collected the results, you can start writing the thesis.
3. Colloquium. You will present the results of your thesis in a 30-minute talk in the seminar. Once you finish the steps described above, you will get a certificate (Schein) for the thesis.