Master's Thesis (MT)

The last component of the Transfer Project is the Master's Thesis. It documents an application-oriented scientific research paper in which the knowledge and skills acquired during the course of study are applied to a project from the student's professional environment (i.e., companies, industries, etc.).

The two tables below contain the most important formal requirements for the Master's Thesis.

If you started your studies before April 2026 and would like to request a switch to the new Study Regulation (with the new model of Transfer Project), please submit your request here.

For students enrolled in the M.A. 1-year and all MBA study programs:

	SPO before April 2026 Applies to all students starting their studies before April 2026 (unless they explicitly request a switch to the new SPO and granted by S-Next)	SPO April 2026 Applies to all students starting their studies on and after April 2026
Size	60 Pages (from the introduction to the beginning of the bibliography)	40,000-60000 Characters (approx. 20-30 pages, from the introduction to the beginning of the bibliography)
Tolerance for size	Deviation up to +/- 10% without point deductions Deviation from +/- 20% failed	No deviation allowed
Evaluation criteria	You may refer to this Evaluation Report for the Master's Thesis	Available soon
Grading weight	Written Thesis 75% Defense 25%	Written Thesis 50% Defense 50%
Templates	The MS Word and MS PowerPoint templates are available in this folder
ECTS-Points	15 ECTS
Registration	Using the form "Master's Thesis and Thesis Defense" via the Transfer Project Registration Page, latest 5 (five) months before the desired Thesis Defense date.
Max. processing time	4 months
Format of submission	As a PDF, file name: Last Name-First Name_Master-Thesis
Method of submission	Transfer Project Submission Page If an upload is not possible for larger attachments, the Master's Thesis, including its attachments, can be sent to the Examination Management Team by email.
Additional document to submit	A 3- to 5-page summary as a separate PDF document

For students enrolled in the M.A. BOP and M.Sc. study programs:

	SPO before April 2026 Applies to all students starting their studies before April 2026 (unless they explicitly request a switch to the new SPO and granted by S-Next)	SPO April 2026 Applies to all students starting their studies on and after April 2026
Size	80 Pages (from the introduction to the beginning of the bibliography)	60,000-110,000 Characters (approx. 30-55 pages, from the introduction to the beginning of the bibliography)
Tolerance for size	Deviation up to +/- 10% without point deductions Deviation from +/- 20% failed	No deviation allowed
Evaluation criteria	You may refer to this Evaluation Report for Master's Thesis	Available soon
Grading weight	Written Thesis 75% Defense 25%	Written Thesis 50% Defense 50%
Templates	The MS Word and MS PowerPoint templates are available in this folder
ECTS-Points	20 ECTS
Registration	Using the form "Master's Thesis and Thesis Defense" via the Transfer Project Registration Page, latest 5 (five) months before the desired Thesis Defense date.
Max. processing time	6 months
Format of submission	As a PDF, file name: Last Name-First Name_Master-Thesis
Method of submission	Transfer Project Submission Page If an upload is not possible for larger attachments, the Master's Thesis, including its attachments, can be sent to the Examination Management Team by email.
Additional document to submit	A 3- to 5-page summary as a separate PDF document

If you started your studies before April 2026 and would like to request a switch to the new Study Regulation (with the new model of Transfer Project), please submit your request here.

There are no strict guidelines for the structure of the Master's Thesis. However, the current scientific conventions should be observed. As a rule, the following chapters can be found in a Thesis:

Introduction
Literature Review
Methodology
Results: answer to the research question/guide for the addressee of the thesis
Discussions
Conclusions and Recommendations

Together with the Master's Thesis, a 3- to 5-page summary in the language of the Master's Thesis must be submitted in electronic form by the deadline. This separate summary is mandatory but is not included in the evaluation. It can be created without citation from the elements of the introduction and the conclusion of the Master's Thesis. The separate summary does not require any indexes or references.