Information on the Bachelor's / Master's thesis


Registering your Bachelor's or Master's Thesis

You can request the registration form for your Bachelor's or Master's thesis by e-mail from your specific advisor in the → Examination Office (HPA).
After receiving the form to register your Bachelor's or Master's thesis, please print it out, complete it and sign it. Then forward the complete form as a scan to your first and second examiners. The examiners can then send a confirmation e-mail together with your scan to the responsible advisor in the Examination Office. The processing time begins from the date of the confirmation e-mail from the first examiner. Alternatively, it is of course also possible to send the form with the signature of the examiners by post. In this case, the examiners must enter the date and signature in the respective name field on the form. The submission deadline is calculated from the date entered by the first examiner.

FAQ Bachelor's/Master's Thesis

Can I register my Bachelor's/Master's thesis before I have completed all other examinations?

Yes, you can register for your final thesis once 100 LP (credit points) have been completed in the Bachelor's programme and 40 LP (credit points) in the Master's programme (an exception: Master of Education Realschule Plus requires 30 LP). It does not necessarily have to be the last examination.

Who is eligible to be an examiner for my Bachelor's/Master's thesis? What requirements do the examiners have to fulfil?

The final thesis must be supervised by two examiners. For the Bachelor's thesis, the examiner must have at least a Bachelor's degree, for the Master's thesis at least a Master's degree. For the Master's thesis, at least one of the examiners must be a university lecturer (i.e. professor or junior professor*) or a qualified professor. The first examiner must be an examiner in the subject and be employed at Trier University at the time of taking over the supervision. Examiners can be: University lecturers, post-doctoral lecturers, academic staff with duties according to § 57 Paragraph 1 Sentence 2 HochSchG, lecturers, lecturers for specialised subjects and retired university lecturers.

How do I proceed if I want to choose an external second examiner for my Bachelor's/Master's thesis?

Before registering the thesis, the external second examiner must be approved by the chairperson of the examination board. For this purpose, a corresponding application must be submitted to the chairperson in advance.

Where can I find the declaration of academic integrity affidavit?

Please remember to include or attach the original hand-signed affidavit (→ template)

Does the affidavit have to be signed by hand? Is a copy or digital signature sufficient?

Yes, the signature must be handwritten and original! A copied/scanned signature is not valid. All three copies must be signed by hand.

How must the thesis be bound?

The thesis must be bound in such a way that it is not possible to remove or add pages afterwards. Examples of this are book binding, adhesive binding or metal ring binding.

What should the cover page of my thesis look like?

An example of what the cover page of the thesis might look like can be found → here.

When do I have to hand in the thesis?

The processing times prescribed by the General Examination Regulations of Trier University are three months (B.Ed.) or four months (B.A. or B.Sc.) for Bachelor's theses and six months for Master's theses. The submission date will be entered in PORTA by the advisor in the Examination Office after the application has been processed and you will be informed of this by e-mail.

Where do I submit my thesis?

In accordance with the General Examination Regulations, the thesis must be submitted to the Examination Office in bound form and in triplicate. It can be deposited in the Examination Office post box located in the foyer of Building V during the building’s opening hours.

Can I also submit my Bachelor's/Master's thesis by post? What do I have to bear in mind?

Yes, when submitting your thesis by post please use the following address:

Hochschulprüfungsamt
Universität Trier
54286 Trier.

If sent by post, the date of the postmark is considered the date of submission.

Do all three copies of the Bachelor's/Master's thesis have to be sent to the Examination Office?

Yes, the Examination Office will document the timely receipt. The Examination Office will forward the two examiner copies.

How do I proceed if electronic data devices are submitted as an attachment to the thesis?

If data devices (CDs, USB sticks, ...) are enclosed with the thesis, these must also be enclosed in triplicate.

Can I submit my thesis in digital form only?

No. A digital submission is not permitted and is also not sufficient to meet the deadline. The thesis must be submitted in bound form and in triplicate. If the bound copies are not available on the submission date, the thesis is deemed not to have been submitted!

Will I receive a confirmation of receipt when I submit my Bachelor's/Master's thesis?

No, you will not receive a confirmation of receipt. You can see the date of submission in PORTA, where it is stored as the examination date.

How can I apply for an extension for my thesis?

Upon receiving a written request from the student, the deadline to submit the thesis can be extended by a total of up to six weeks. The following distinction must be made:

Extension of the processing time for reasons of illness:

If the student is prevented from working on their thesis due to illness, they must prove this by means of a medical certificate. This certificate must be submitted immediately to the Examination Office. Certificates submitted too late can no longer be considered! The student will receive written notification of the new submission date. If the student falls ill during the thesis writing time for a period of more than six weeks, it is possible to withdraw from the thesis. The student must declare the withdrawal in writing, submitting the medical certificate(s) and before the expiry of the latest submission date to the Examination Office.

Extension for exceptional circumstances:

If there are exceptional circumstances that make it impossible for the student to complete the thesis within the specified timeframe, the thesis examiner may grant an extension.For this purpose, the student must explain the reason(s) to the supervisor. The supervisor can decide whether and to what extent they will extend the processing time. It is important to note that the extension may not exceed a total of six weeks! If you were already ill for three weeks, you can apply for a maximum of another three weeks extension for exceptional circumstances!

Do I have to be enrolled to submit my Bachelor's/Master's thesis?

Yes, you must be enrolled at the time of submission. The situation is different for the awarding of grades, which can also take place if you are already de-enrolled.

The thesis was rejected (not passed), what now?

You will receive a notice about the thesis did not meet a passing grade and so was rejected/failed. A failed thesis can be repeated once with a new topic. The candidate must register for the repetition of the thesis within six weeks of receiving notification of the failure.

Questions about the topic of certificates?