Preparation of the Final Thesis

As a rule, students find a supervisor for their thesis on their own initiative.

• Every professor of mathematics in Bonn can of course assign topics for theses.
• Many other doctoral lecturers at Bonn Mathematics have been appointed by the Examination Board to supervise theses. You can enquire about this with the person concerned.
• One of the two reviewers must always be a professor of mathematics at Bonn University.
• If you have not found a supervisor yourself, you can also have one assigned to you by the Examination Board. In this case, please contact the Bachelor-Master Office Mathematics.

The thesis must be registered using the form Registration of the Thesis.The form must be signed by both you and the supervisor of the thesis.

• The form must state the topic of the thesis and your first supervisor.
• You also confirm that you have taken note of the requirements for the final theses of your degree program.
• At the same time, you will be registered for the seminar accompanying your thesis.
• The registration form must be submitted to the Bachelor-Master Office Mathematics immediately after the topic has been assigned and within four weeks of the supervisor's signature.
• If the registration form is received in February or August, the thesis can still be assessed in the semester in which it is submitted.

• For the accompanying thesis seminar you earn 6 credit points. It is registered for the semester in which your thesis is due for submission.
• During the time you are working on your thesis, there are usually three presentations in the thesis seminar on the topic of the thesis and the results achieved.
• The examination of the thesis seminar consists of a graded (final) presentation, which should be held shortly before or shortly after the submission of the thesis. 
• The day on which you give the graded presentation is an examination date and is therefore relevant for your degree.
• Therefore, please make sure that the presentation takes place before the end of the semester in which you wish to graduate.

• The deadline for submitting your thesis is calculated from the signature date of your supervisor plus the working time.
• You can see the submission date of your thesis in BASIS.
• The deadline for submitting your thesis is strict. If you submit the thesis after this date, it will be failed.
• Please note that you are responsible for meeting the submission deadline. Your supervisors are not necessarily aware of your submission deadline, and in no case could they change the deadline for you, as this is set by the examination regulations.
• In the event of illness, the deadline can be extended by up to six weeks.

The thesis must be submitted on time in the required number of copies together with the form Submission of the Thesis at the Bachelor-Master Office Mathematics. On the submission form, you confirm that you have written the paper independently and have not used any sources or aids other than those specified and that you have indicated any quotations.

Requirements:

• DIN A4, printed on both sides, with cover page
• in a bound version (no spiral bindings please!)
• If programming code or similar is available, it must be attached to each copy of the work on a CD or a USB stick that is as flat as possible (do not send it by e-mail). The CD or stick must be glued to the last page of a copy.
• A single copy of the submission form must be submitted separately.

Options for submitting the thesis:

• personal delivery during office hours
• personal delivery after making an appointment outside office hours
• by post to the Bachelor-Master Office Mathematics
  The date of the postmark is decisive for the submission.

The thesis is evaluated by two assessors.

• The first assessor is the person who provided the topic of the thesis.
• The second assessor must be proposed by you when you submit your thesis. You are therefore responsible for finding a suitable second reviewer. On request, the supervisor can of course help you with this.
• Both reviewers must be noted on the title page of the thesis (see templates for the title page).

As a rule, the candidate is notified of the thesis' evaluation six to eight weeks after the submission date.

The working period of a Bachelor's thesis is five months.

• The Bachelor's thesis is estimated to require a workload of 360 hours.
• Therefore it earns 12 credit points.

The text part of the Bachelor's thesis must be between 5 and 50 pages long.

• Deviations from this require the approval of the Examination Board.
• In this case, please obtain the consent of both your advisors.
• Then send an application by e-mail to the Bachelor-Master Office Mathematics.

The language of the Bachelor's degree program is German. You can write your Bachelor's thesis in English if

• your supervisor agrees with it and
• the thesis contains a summary in German.

The working period of a Master's thesis is twelve months.

• The Master's thesis is estimated to require a workload of 900 hours.
• Therefore it earns 30 credit points.

The text part of the Master's thesis must be between 10 and 100 pages long.

• Deviations from this require the approval of the Examination Board.
• In this case, please obtain the consent of both your advisors.
• Then send an application by e-mail to the Bachelor-Master Office Mathematics.

The language of the Master's degree program is English. You can write your Master's thesis in German if

• your supervisor agrees with it and
• the thesis contains a summary in English.

The title page of your Master's thesis must be agreed with your supervisor.

• In particular, make sure that you name the correct institute to which your supervisor belongs.
• Please use our LaTeX-template for the title page of your Master's thesis.

The submission deadline for the Master's thesis is 12 months after the date on which the supervisor signed the application.

• Four copies of the Master's thesis must be submitted. One copy will be made available to the Mathematics Library.

If you would like to apply for a PhD position at BIGS Mathematics you should find out about the application process at the beginning of the third Master's semester.