FAQ Master: Graduation

Last change: November 2019

1. How can I register for the final oral exam?
2. What can I do when my term paper or thesis has not been marked in a long time?
3. Are there any constraints or rules for the written form of the thesis?
4. How do I find a supervisor?
5. What can I do when I have problems or difficulties with my thesis?
6. How do I write the thesis?

1. How can I register for the final oral exam?

   Download the corresponding form from the Examination office (Gemeinsames Prüfungsamt) and fill it in as far as possible. You will also need to collect signatures of your thesis advisor and/or examiner for the oral exam. Once this is complete, hand in the form to the secretaries in Computational Linguistics who will check everything and hand it to the institute director to sign. You can then recollect the form and go to the examination office with it. Please note that the date on the form counts as the beginning of your final thesis phase ("Abschlussphase"), not the hand-in date at the examination office.

2. What can I do when my term paper or thesis has not been marked in a long time?

   If the marking of your thesis exceeds the official periods given in the examination regulations, then please contact the administrative office, then the module leader and enquire politely after the reason. If this does not help, you can also ask the student representatives ("Fachschaft") or study advisor for help. As a very last resort, you can also ask the institute director for assistance. In case of final bachelor or master thesis it is also possible that the thesis has been marked but that the examination office has not yet entered the mark.

3. Are there any constraints or rules for the written form of the thesis?

   There are no general institute-wide rules. The form, especially length and structure, should be discussed with the supervisor. Here is a LaTex that you can use for inspiration.

4. How do I find a supervisor?

   Supervisors have to be (honorary of full) professors at ICL, or group/project leaders of an ICL project with special permission to supervise theses. The main supervisor has to be chosen before registration ("Anmeldung") of the thesis, the second supervisor has to be chosen before submitting the thesis. At least one of the superviros has to be fully employed at the ICL. See "Folien zur Abschlussphase" (slides about graduation), page 6 for a complete list. Some supervisors provide a list of specific topics online. Usually it helps to take a look at the topics of previous theses and to match them with your own interests, to get a feeling for topics per supervisor, in order to discuss them in person (during office hours).

5. What can I do when I have problems or difficulties with my thesis?

   First try to talk to your supervisor directly, especially when it's about the contents of your thesis or organizational issues: Often there are misunderstandings and unclear details, that are easy to fix as soon as you talk about them - don't be scared! Furthermore, you can contact abschlussarbeiten@cl.uni-heidelberg.de, the Fachschaft or study advisors (list).

6. How do I write the thesis?

   Here's a collection of tipps and guidelines: Leitfaden zur Abfassung wissenschaftlicher Arbeiten, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Katarina Klein, Leitfaden zur Abfassung wissenschaftlicher Arbeiten, TU Dresden, Maria Lieber, Dos and Donts, Uni Heidelberg, Anette Frank.

   If you have more general questions about writing your thesis (structuring, making figures, or if you want to receive feedback about 2 or 3 pages of your draft, contact abschlussarbeiten@cl.uni-heidelberg.de wenden.