Master Theses

This page contains information for those interested in writing your Master’s thesis in communication science. All theses can be conducted and written in English or German.

For choosing a Masters’ thesis advisor, please refer to the research areas indicated in the team members‘ profiles.
Instructions for writing a thesis are described  here (in German only).

Suggested schedule for Master’s theses

The following plan indicates a rough outline for a thesis. We suggest to start working on your thesis early.

Schritt Leistung
1 Contact a researcher with fitting research areas
2 Develop a topic
3 Turn in abstract
4 Participate in colloquium
5 Register the thesis with the examination office
6 Develop methodology
7 Turn in thesis 6 months after registration with the examination office (MA) nach Anmeldung

 

Important Information

Topics

Choosing a topic

Topics can be reviewed with potential advisors at any time. If you want to suggest your own topic, please send a short outline to a potential thesis advisor via email.  Please indicate topic, research question, theoretical background, and planned method. For finding a master thesis topic, interested candidates should work closely with potential advisors. We suggest to coordinate an initial meeting to discuss with the professor or team members. To find the right advisor for your research interest, please refer to the individual profiles and publications.

Master thesis should be 40 to 60 pages long in APA7 format.

Abstract

Abstract

After the initial meeting, we ask you to write a short draft for the selected topic. The goal is to stake out the scope of the thesis and develop a common understanding of the thesis topic. In 2-4 pages the abstract should outline the research gap, perspective, and method. The abstract should contain the following:

  • Name, registration number (Matrikelnummer), degree course, current semester, contact
  • Working title
  • Research motivation, relevance, and research question (~200 words)
  • Theoretical background and short literature review (~100 words)
  • Research goals, research questions, potentially hypotheses, potentially methods
  • Draft outline (two heading levels)
  • Draft schedule for planned activities, e.g. start of data collection, etc.

Nach den ersten Vorbesprechungen werden Sie gebeten, eine Projektskizze zum gemeinsam vereinbarten Thema zu erstellen. Ziel des Exposés ist das Sicherstellen, dass der Umfang der Arbeit verstanden wurde und ein gemeinsames Verständnis des Themas vorliegt. Im Exposé erläutern Sie uns kurz in schriftlichlicher Form, in welchem Problemzusammenhang das Thema steht, welche Aspekte und Unteraspekte das Thema hat, welche Forschungsperspektive Sie einnehmen möchten und welche Methode zur Beantwortung der Forschungsfrage verwendet werden soll. Das Dokument sollte insgesamt 2-4 Seiten umfassen und folgendes beinhalten:

  • Name, Matrikelnummer, Studiengang, Fachsemester, Kontaktdaten
    Arbeitstitel (“Working Title”, der die Idee Ihrer Arbeit widergibt)
    Ausgangslage, Beschreibung des Themenfeldes und Vorschlag einer Fragestellung (etwa 200 Wörter)
    kurzer Forschungsstand (etwa 100 Wörter)
    Begründung für die Wahl des Themas, Relevanz (etwa 100 Wörter)
    Ziele, Forschungsfragen (Hypothesen), evtl. Methodik
    Grobgliederung (maximal bis Gliederungsebene 2)
    Literaturliste (erste gesammelte Literatur, Basisliteratur)
    grober Arbeits- und Zeitplan (Projektaktivitäten)

Colloquium

Kolloquium

Before registering the thesis with the examination office, there will be a short colloquium where candidates present their research. The date will be arranged via email. Participation is mandatory. Master thesis candidates are asked to present their project for around 15 minutes to the communication science team. The proposal will then be discussed with the goal to clarify and improve the project. The colloquium is meant to provide helpful suggestions to improve the thesis.