Process from registering your BSc/MSc thesis to receiving your degree certificate

• To register your thesis, please use the relevant form from your degree programme page (BSc, MSc) or from the forms section. The thesis registration form must be completed by you and signed by your supervisor. ‘Supervisor’ in this context refers to the official primary supervisor, i.e. the person named as the primary supervisor on your thesis and who also prepares the initial assessment for the thesis (General Regulations, § 21 (2)).
• Please note that at least the primary supervisor should be a professor or a "Privatdozent" from your department (07 or 08). In the event of any deviations, please consult the chair of the Examination Board in advance.
• The title on the registration form is only a working title; the official title may differ, provided the underlying topic does not change.
• The start date is required to calculate the deadline for thesis submission. If you have been granted adjustments for disadvantages regarding the time required to complete your thesis, please submit the relevant confirmation together with your thesis registration.
• You may submit the form by email, provided it is fully completed.
• We will then forward the fully completed thesis registration to the chair of the Examination Board, who will calculate or confirm the submission deadline.

• We will notify you of the submission deadline in writing by email once your thesis registration has been approved, and we ask you to confirm the submission date.
• You may submit your thesis earlier, provided it has been officially registered. If you submit it later than the deadline, we will not be able to accept it.
• If the calculated submission deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, you may submit your thesis on the following working day. For submissions after the Christmas break, please check the homepage to see when the Examinations Office reopens in the new year.
• In general, we ask that you always check the homepage before submitting your thesis in person to ensure that the Examination Office is not closed on the relevant submission date, to avoid finding yourself standing in front of a locked door. You may always submit your thesis via the postboxes at the facility management’s entrance, or outside our office.
• The submission deadline runs from 00:00 to 23:59.

Affidavit

• Please use the official affidavit from our website (course of study page (BSc, MSc) or the Downloads section) to include in your thesis. The affidavit must be signed on the date you submit your thesis.
• The declaration regarding the use of artificial intelligence refers to generative AI; AI tools, e.g., for spell-checking, do not need to be listed here.

German Thesis Title

(This is assuming you have written your thesis in English. If you have written your thesis in German, exchange "German" for "English")

• Please include your German thesis title on your printed copy or attach a separate sheet with the German thesis title.
• The title on the thesis registration form is considered a working title only and therefore cannot be used to record the German title for your certificate. If we do not have a German thesis title upon submission of the thesis, the English title will also be used for the German certificate.
• The English thesis title can only be used on the German transcript if you have written the entire thesis in English.

Plagiarism

• Please note that any allegations of plagiarism regarding your thesis must be referred to the Legal Department for review. If these allegations are confirmed, you may be deemed to have failed the thesis module due to academic dishonesty.

Thesis Extension

• If you need to request an extension of the deadline for your thesis, please submit a written request signed by both you and your advisor. This request should include a justification and specify the length of the extension. Submit this request directly to the chair of your examination board or through us.
• Thesis extensions due to illness can be requested directly from us with a certificate of inability to take an examination. 

Withdrawal of the Thesis Topic

• Withdrawal of the thesis topic is permitted up to halfway through the processing period. After withdrawal, the thesis must be re-registered with a different topic, and the processing period starts over.
• Withdrawals after the halfway point of the processing period result in a failed thesis attempt.

• The Examination Office must receive a printed copy of your thesis as well as a searchable electronic version (PDF, max. 15 MB) via email. When submitting your thesis, please also remember to submit the thesis submission form. This form contains information relevant to us, such as whether you plan to take additional courses after submitting your thesis.
• Please ensure that you submit your thesis by the deadline (see submission deadline).

Printed Copy of the Thesis

• You may submit the printed copy in person at the Examination Office (Mon. and Fri., 10 a.m.–12 p.m.), by mail (the postmark date will be considered the submission date), or by dropping it in the on-site mailbox (facility management’s entrance, or outside our office).
• We have no specific requirements regarding the binding of your printed version. However, we ask that you do not submit a loose collection of sheets, but instead use at least a binder or a ring binder for your thesis. You are also free to choose the font and font size for your thesis and whether it is printed single-sided or double-sided.
• The requirements of your reviewers apply to the printed version that you send to them..
• Please include your affidavit in the thesis.
• We will only stamp the copy that remains at the Examination Office. We do not stamp copies intended for the examiners. For mail submissions, the stamp corresponds to the date of mailing. We may only stamp the thesis if all requirements have been met.

Digital Copy of the Thesis

• Please email the Examination Office a digital, electronically searchable version of the thesis (PDF, max. 15 MB).
• A QR code in the printed thesis cannot be used, and links to cloud storage services such as next.hessenbox or physical data storage media are also not permitted.
• The digital copy must be identical in content to the printed version; however, the quality of graphics may be reduced to ensure that the target size of 15 MB is not exceeded.

Copies for Reviewers

• You must send the copies to the two reviewers yourself. Please consult with your reviewers to determine the format in which they would like to receive the thesis (printed, digital, or both).

• You will not automatically receive your certificate by mail. If you would like to have your certificate mailed to you, please submit a self-addressed, stamped envelope with a stiff backing and your address clearly written on it to the Examination Office when you submit your thesis.
• If you would like to have your transcript mailed to you, please also note this on the thesis submission form.
• If you are picking up your transcript in person (Mon. and Fri. 10 a.m.–12 p.m.), we will notify you by email as soon as it is ready for pickup. Please be sure to bring a valid government-issued ID with you when picking it up.
• If someone else is picking up the transcript on your behalf, they will need power of attorney.