Planning your MA BAPS thesis

MA BAPS students are encouraged to start thinking about the topic of their thesis early and to make use of the postgraduate classes to establish contact with potential supervisors and present work-in-progress. We are committed to helping you finish your studies in a timely fashion.

In order to finish your studies during the 4 semesters (Regelstudienzeit) that the MA BAPS was designed for, you should plan to follow this approximate timeline:

End of semester 3 (circa January/February/March): find supervisor and second supervisor, finalize topic ideas, present in postgraduate class

Beginning of semester 4 (by mid-April): register thesis; students need to have finished all modules up to and including III.1 before registering for the thesis

During semester 4 (April to July): present in postgraduate class

End of semester 4 (by mid-August): hand in thesis

If you are planning to stick to this timeline, please let your first supervisor know so they can prioritize grading your thesis; in this way, you should be able to exmatriculate by the end of your fourth semester.

In general, you should plan 5-6 months for registration, writing, submission and grading.

Further information:

Please note that staff members are not obliged to accept supervision of a particular MA thesis.

Note: If you are working on a dual masters degree (MA/MEd), the process will be different: you will need to register the MEd thesis and then have it accredited as a MA BAPS thesis. Please also allow ample time for the MEd thesis and, when planning your postgraduate phase, please make sure to take extra time for paperwork and accreditation into account.