Faculty I: Registration for the Master's thesis
(Exceptions: M.A. Roads to Democracies, M.A. Media and Society, M.Sc. Digital Public Health)
As soon as you meet the requirements, you can register your Master's thesis at any time. Send us the completed and signed form by e-mail. For organizational reasons, the writing period can start at the earliest 4 weeks after registration at the Examination Office.
We will confirm your registration by e-mail and send you the letter of admission to your student e-mail address approx. 1 week before the start of the writing period.
We will ask your first examiner for the topic. They will also let us know whether your Master's thesis is empirical.
Documents
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- The provided documents are in German. Please contact the Examination Office if you need help.
Registration
Topic and first examiner have been found: Register your thesis at the Examination Office.
Writing Period
Write your thesis within 18 or (for empirical work) 26 weeks.
Submission
Hand in your thesis as a PDF by e-mail and two bound printed copies to the Examination Office by the deadline.
Oral Exam
Final spurt: The oral Master's examination is about your Master's thesis and topics from your degree program.
Requirements
Start of studies from winter semester 2011/12
"Admission to the Master's thesis is granted to students who have completed at least 72 CP (four-semester M.A.) of the entire degree program (if an internship has been completed, mandatory including the successfully completed internship) and are enrolled at the University of Siegen for the degree program or at the partner university in the double degree program or are admitted as a second student in accordance with Section 52 (2) HG. Further details can be found in the "Subject-specific provisions" (Framework Examination Regulations for Master's Degree Programs §11 para. 1).
Start of studies from winter semester 2023/24
"Admission to the Master's examination is granted to those who fulfill the requirements in accordance with § 13 RPO-M and have earned at least 63 credit points (seven completed modules) of the total credit points required for successful completion of the degree program (including the nine credit points for the internship in the case of a compulsory internship). In the Social Sciences in Europe degree program, there are no prerequisites for admission to the Master's examination" (PHIL-FPO-M §11 para. 1).
Additional requirements in M.A. Philosophy (Model A):
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At least four completed modules amounting to 36 CP in the subject, including at least two modules from 1PHILOMA01 to 1PHILOMA03.
Additional requirements for M.A. History of Modernity:
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Successful completion of 1HISMA01
First and second examiner
First examiner
Professor, Junior Professor, PD (of the University of Siegen) or lecturer with a PhD (the latter with the appropriate examination authorization) who offer courses in the core subject.
Second examiner
Lecturers of the core subject (at least with a PhD)
Important: If staff members do not yet have a doctorate, the relevant Examination Board can issue an examination authorization for a second opinion at the request of the lecturer (!).
In the degree programs Literary Studies: Literature, Culture and Media, Applied Linguistics: Communication and Foreign Languages in the Profession, Linguistics: German, English and Romance Languages and Linguistics: Digital, Applied, Structural it is also the case that lecturers may take on first or second assessments regardless of their language specialization. Depending on their status, however, an examination authorization may be required.
Formalities
Writing period
You have 18 or 26 weeks (for empirical thesis) to complete your thesis if you are studying full-time. After 2/3 of the processing time, you may hand in your thesis early.
Illness
If you fall ill during the writing period, please contact the Examinations Office by e-mail with your medical certificate. We cannot request medical certificates from your health insurance company.
Withdrawal
You can withdraw from the Master's thesis at the Examination Office up to 1 week before the start of the writing period without giving reasons.
You can only return your topic once and only within 1 week of the start of the writing period.
You can also withdraw from the Master's thesis during the writing period for valid reasons. The written request must be submitted to the Examination Office at least one day before the deadline, together with supporting documents (e.g. medical certificate). If the Generel Examination Board recognizes these reasons, the Master's thesis is deemed not to have been undertaken.
Length
As a rule, the Master's thesis should not exceed 80 pages (excluding lists and appendices) or a total of around 30,000 words. A larger deviation in the scope (more than +/- 10%) can be included in the assessment by the examiners.
Declaration of plagiarism
Include the following signed declaration of plagiarism in the PDF and the printed copies of your Master's thesis:
"I certify that I have completed the written work independently and that I have not used any auxiliary means other than those indicated. All passages that are taken from other works in terms of wording or meaning (including translations) have been clearly marked as taken from other works in each individual case, with precise indication of the source (including the World Wide Web and other electronic data bases). This also applies to attached drawings, images, sketches and similar. In particular, I affirm that I have indicated all literal and semantic adoptions from other works as well as the use of AI-based text generators. I take note that the proven omission of the indication of origins will be considered as attempted fraud."
Submission of the Master's thesis
Submission
Send your Master's thesis as a PDF by e-mail to the Examination Office by the submission date at the latest. Remember the signed declaration of plagiarism. Also submit 2 bound printed copies (no spiral or saddle stitching). You can submit the copies in person at the Examination Office, drop them in the postbox or send them by post. The decisive factor for submission is the receipt of the PDF at the Examination Office. We will forward your Master's thesis to the examiners.
If you would like to provide your examiners with additional data (e.g. for empirical work), please add a separate data carrier (e.g. USB stick).
Reviews
As a rule, the examiners prepare the assessments within 6 or 8 weeks (depending on the Examination Regulations). If it takes longer, you are welcome to ask. However, it is not unusual for examiners to overrun the deadline.
After the result has been announced, you can request to see the assessments.
Oral Master's examination
The oral examination can take place during the writing period or the assessment phase of the Master's thesis, but must be held no later than eight weeks after the written notification from the Chair of the General Examination Board that the Master's thesis has been accepted (= passed).
Arrange an examination date with your examiners and submit the completed and signed registration form to the Examination Office at least 10 days before the examination date.
Please note: If the date of the oral Master's examination is not in the same semester as the submission of the Master's thesis, but in the following semester, you must re-register for the next semester.
