Administrative Regulations for Bachelor's Theses

Finding a topic and supervisor for your bachelor's thesis may take some time, so please start the process early. The assignment, supervision, and grading of bachelor's theses is limited to professors, junior professors, and university lecturers (Hochschuldozenten, Privatdozenten, akademische Räte).

The bachelor's thesis can be written in the following fields:
– Economics
– Statistics
– Econometrics
– Economic History
– With the consent of a professor from the respective field, the bachelor's thesis can also be written in the subjects Mathematics, Philosophy, and Business Informatics. This requires the completion of the respective minor according to the Spezifische Anlage 2, as well as available supervision capacities in the respective field.

As a rule, you are expected to suggest possible topics and the intended approach. You do not need to submit detailed concepts at this point. The focus is on giving your supervisor an idea of what you intend to do. More specific details would then be agreed upon in further exchange.

Please be aware that the supervisor can make his or her supervision dependent on your completion of suitable courses (i.e. thematically appropriate lecture and/or suitable seminar).

The prerequisite for admission to the bachelor's thesis is that you have passed at least one seminar (or if the seminar is not yet completed, it can be considered as passed) and that your entitlement for examination persists overall and for the bachelor's thesis module. It is also important whether you have already returned a bachelor's thesis topic.

To confirm the fulfillment of all prerequisites to your examiner, please send an e-mail from your Mannheim e-mail account to the Student Services (studienbuero-vwl@uni-mannheim.de), with the subject “Bachelor's Thesis” and the following content:

“Dear Sir or Madam,

I wish to write my bachelor's thesis and prove to my supervisor that I meet the admission requirements. Please confirm to me by e-mail that (1) I have passed a seminar / a seminar can be considered as passed (delete as appropriate), (2) my entitlement for examination persists overall and for the Bachelor's thesis module, (3) this is my first attempt / a repeat attempt (delete as appropriate) in the Bachelor's thesis module, and (4) I have not yet returned a Bachelor's thesis topic / I have already once returned my Bachelor's thesis topic (delete as appropriate).

Yours sincerely,

[first name, last name, matriculation number]"

Note to (1): A seminar may be considered passed before the end of the course if the majority of the work has been completed and only a final grade of 4.0 or better is mathematically possible. The examiner responsible for the seminar must have informed the Student Services about this separately before you send your e-mail to the Student Services.

As soon as you have coordinated the topic and start date of your bachelor's thesis with your supervisor, forward the reply from the Student Services from step 1 via your Mannheim e-mail account to your supervisor and precede it with the following text:
 

"[Your greeting],

I, [first name] [last name], [matriculation number], would like to formally register my bachelor's thesis with you. We agreed on the following topic:

[Title of the Bachelor's thesis in English (must always be given)]

[if the bachelor's thesis is written in German, also provide the German title]

I kindly ask you to confirm the topic, start date, and latest submission date by e-mail, with CC to the Student Services (studienbuero-vwl@uni-mannheim.de).

[Closing]"
 

Please note that the processing time starts on the day this e-mail is sent. The processing time for bachelor's theses is 10 weeks.

Your supervisor confirms to you via e-mail, with a copy to the Student Services, the topic of the bachelor's thesis and the latest submission date (start date plus 10 weeks).

If you believe there are discrepancies with the agreements made in the preliminary discussions, please contact your supervisor immediately.

The bachelor's thesis can be returned once and only within the first four weeks of the processing time to the responsible examiner. The examiner informs the Student Services of the return date. If returned in time, the examination attempt is considered not undertaken; otherwise, the examination persists.

In the case of a returned thesis, a new topic must be agreed upon. You can also choose a different examiner for this.

When repeating a failed bachelor's thesis, the return of the topic is only permissible if this option was not used in the first examination attempt.

To return your topic, quote the entire e-mail sent to your supervisor in step 2 and send it again to them via your Mannheim e-mail account, preceding it with the following text:
 

"[Your greeting],

I hereby return the topic of my bachelor's thesis [Title of the bachelor's thesis in English] with the agreed start date [Date].

As you can see from the initial confirmation from the Student Services, I have not yet returned a bachelor's thesis topic.

I kindly ask you to confirm the return of the topic by e-mail, with CC to the Student Services.

[Closing]"

Your supervisor confirms to you via e-mail, with a copy to the Student Services, the return of the topic. You now agree on a new topic and continue with the point Administrative Preparation, Step 2: E-mail to Your Supervisor. When selecting a new supervisor, you must include in your e-mail that you meanwhile returned the topic once; otherwise, it constitutes an attempt of deception.

In exceptional cases, the Examination Committee may grant an extension of up to four weeks for the submission of the bachelor's thesis. The request for an extension must be submitted at least eight days before the deadline and must be approved by the supervisor of the bachelor's thesis.

If you wish to request an extension of the processing time, please send your informal request with the specified extension period either as a signed pdf file via your Mannheim e-mail account to cischinsky@mail-uni-mannheim.de or in writing (i.e., on paper with an original signature) to the Examination Committee (Attn: Dr. Cischinsky). If you are requesting an extension due to illness, please submit the original medical certificate to the Examination Committee.

The Examination Committee will inquire about the approval of your supervisor. You will receive an answer from the Examination Board regarding your request.

Postal address of the Examination Committee:

University of Mannheim
Examination Committee B.Sc. Economics
Attn: Dr. Christiane Cischinsky
L 7, 3–5, Room 423
68131 Mannheim

The completed Bachelor thesis must be submitted to the supervisor in the form of two printed copies no later than the specified (possibly extended) submission deadline. The deadline for submission can be met by delivery to a post office, documented by certificate of posting. Please coordinate with your supervisor regarding submission in good time. He/she can appoint a substitute to receive the thesis, but this must be arranged transparently for all parties involved in advance. The uncoordinated delivery of the Bachelor's thesis to a different location than previously designated does not fulfill the requirements of the examination regulations.

The examiner may additionally require the submission in electronic form.

Neither the student nor the examiner is required to notify the Student Services of the timely submission of the Bachelor's thesis. However, the examiner shall promptly inform the Student Services of any failure to submit the Bachelor's thesis on time and the resulting grade of 5.0 in accordance with § 14 (7) of the examination regulations.
 

If you have not passed your Bachelor's thesis and still have a second attempt available, please proceed with Step 1 of the Administrative Preparation.