Thesis Guide

Conducting a thesis project at the Social Computing Group

 

Finding a topic

If you are interested in one of our open thesis topics, or if you have a thesis idea that fits to our research portfolio and want to be supervised by us, please do not hesitate to contact us with a short CV and a copy of your grade transcript. Check out our theses overview page for more details on how to apply.

You can contact us at any time. Ideally, for writing your thesis during the summer semester, please contact us in February / March and for the winter semester in August / September, so you can turn in your thesis and give your talk before the end of the semester.

 

Preparation time

You have approximately 1 month to get familiar with the topic (literature, related work, programming environment) and work on your thesis proposal.

 

Proposal

You need to prepare a proposal document with a minimum of 5 pages describing the motivation and goals of the thesis, the related work and how does the thesis go beyond the state of the art, the conceptual approach, the research and technical methods to be used, as well as the time plan of the thesis. You will then give a proposal talk (10 minutes presentation + 10 minutes feedback), in which you present your thesis proposal and discuss it with our group members and fellow students.

 

Registration

The registration form must be brought to the proposal talk. It will be then completed and sent to the examination office by us. The second examiner must have confirmed at this time. Once registered, you have 3-6 months (depending on the thesis type and study program) until you must submit your thesis.  

 

Processing time

The official end of the processing time will be communicated to you in a letter from the examination office. Inform your supervisors of this due date. During this time, you work on your thesis, have regular meetings with your supervisors to discuss your progress and any encountered issues, talk to other students, and attend our monthly colloquium.

 

Final talk

Your final talk (20 minutes presentation + 10 minutes feedback) should take place few weeks before the final submission of your thesis. In the final talk, you present your findings with a focus on the conceptual, implementation, and evaluation results and discuss them with our group members and fellow students.  

 

Grade

The review and grading of your work take around 6 weeks. After completion of the review by the first and second examiner, the grade will be sent to the examination office.

 

Meetings and talks

Regular meetings need to be scheduled with your supervisors. Every working day from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm our Learning Lab Room LE 403 is open for you to work on your thesis, discuss with fellow students, and talk to your supervisors. Proposal and final talks always take place in our monthly colloquium on the last Thursday of the month. The attendance of these talks is mandatory for all students conducting thesis projects at our group.

 

Additional information