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How-to Thesis

As the final project of your Bachelor or Master degree, the thesis demonstrates what you have learned and it can be a stepping stone to your next academic or professional adventure.
We know that writing a thesis often brings a mix of excitement, anxiety, and countless questions. At the same time, it is also a great opportunity to reflect on your development, and to dive deeper into the different research fields of cognitive science.
On this page you will find general guidance on planning a thesis in Cognitive Science at the IKW and a  handy overview of how to start your thesis with the different research groups within the institute. All the best for your thesis!  

As defined in the Module handbook, by completing their bachelor's thesis

  • students prove they have comprehensive, integrated knowledge of Cognitive Science fundamentals and 
  • students show they are able to work autonomously on a clearly defined problem within a set time frame.

The topic and task of the bachelor's thesis

  • have to align with the examination purpose (impart basic competencies for scientific work, responsible professional conduct, and preparation for further studies) and
  • have to be completed from registration via research to handing in finished thesis within the allotted period (three months) and
  • the topic has to be chosen jointly with the supervisors to be feasible within the allotted period.

As defined in the module handbook,  the Master's thesis

  • shall demonstrate that the candidate has significantly deepened and/or extended the knowledge acquired at the bachelor level and
  • that the candidates are able to work independently within a prescribed time period on a problem from within the field of Cognitive Science using scientific and scholarly methods.

The Master's thesis verifies that the graduate

  • possesses the thorough subject knowledge required for entry into professional practice,
  • understands the interconnections of the discipline,
  • can work independently in scientific research,
  • can apply scientific findings
  • and recognise the significance of those findings for society and for professional practice.

The master's thesis has to be completed from registration via research to handing in finished thesis within the allotted period (six months).

  • Bachelor PO19/20: When you finished all Mandatory classes + three of the five mandatory modules
  • Bachelor PO24: When you finished all Mandatory classes + 40 ECTS of mandatory elective classes
     
  • Master PO19/20: When you have 72 ECTS assigned to the modules, but as soon as possible!! Has to handed in by September 30th 2026!!!
  • Master PO24: When you have 72 ECTS assigned to the modules

Registration documents can be handed in via email ( pacogsci@uni-osnabrueck.de). A complete list of necessary documents can be found in the programm information of your respective study regulation.

The list includes:

  • the course module assignment (please hand this in when you register, not before/after)
  • the signed confirmation of your two supervisors that they will supervise you
  • old PO: Picture still required but can be any picture.

Afterwards: Examination Office sends you a confirmation including the official end date (will not be on weekends/public holidays) per email.

  • You need two supervisors.
  • Generally, the first supervisor is supervising you during the process.
  • Both supervisors are grading your thesis. Their grading is equally weighted.

PO19

  • At least one of the examiners must be a professor or hold a Habilitation
    • The examination board shall decide on exceptions
  • A member of the Institute of Cognitive Science who is not a professor may be admitted as an examiner, provided that this person’s research achievements in the discipline or sub‑discipline to which the bachelor thesis belongs are specially recognised.
  • One examiner has to belong to Osnabrück University
  • External supervisors need hold a professorship or a Habilitation!

PO24

  • At least one of the examiners shall be a member of the status group of professors or have a Habilitation or hold an interim professorship
    • The examination board shall decide on exceptions
  • One examiner has to belong to Osnabrück University
    • They do not have to be from the IKW but the topic needs to be sufficiently relevant to Cognitive Science.
  • External supervisors DO NOT need to be habilitated!

Supervisors at the Institute

  • Professors (in alphabetical order): Elia Bruni, Nicole Gotzner, Tim Kietzmann, Peter König, Kai-Uwe Kühnberger, Rainer Mühlhoff, Sebastian Musslick, Pascal Nieters, Simone Pika, Gordon Pipa, Sven Walter, Lilian Weber
  • Interim professor: Ulf Krumnack
  • Senior researchers with "Habilitation" (in alphabetical order): Annette Hohenberger, Uwe Meyer

  • Old PO: Need to hold a Habilitation or be a Professor.
  • New PO: Need to hold at least a Master’s degree in a relevant field. Usually a supervisor with a PhD degree is recommended.

Typical difficulties with external supervisors

  • Is the topic relevant to the field of Cognitive Science?
  • The internal supervisor should be from the Institute or the adjacent faculties (e.g. Computer Science, Psychology, Philosophy,..).
    • PhD students from IKW workgroups should only be second supervisors in these cases if their PI (Professor) explicitly approves the supervision
  • Expectations of external supervisors regarding formal requirements and scientific standards may vary.
  • Finding a common topic that both supervisors can agree on can be more difficult and requires more communication.
  • Planning and preparation usually takes longer and more effort.

  • In principle possible.
  • Most fundings (e.g. Erasmus+ ) are to do a full-time internship (>30h/week) or full time semester abroad (>24 ECTS) and explicitly not to write your thesis.
    • The thesis can still be extending the research from your internship.
  • The supervisor abroad should typically be the first examiner if the research for the thesis is conducted during your stay abroad.
  • Please get confirmation by all supervisors and register your thesis before you actually start.
  • Get in touch with the Mobility Office (ikw-eras@uos.de) to clear questions.

Think about

  • what you want to write about,
  • how you want to research (experimental, theoretically, …),
  • what classes were interesting,
  • what skills do I want to improve (but already have) and
  • especially for the Master thesis, what are my next steps?

General advice: The thesis is too late to tackle a completely new skill (i.e. programming, statistical analysis) or it will require a lot more work which is typically not feasible within the fixed time frame.

  • Don’t send the same email to various people. Pick your favourite, approach them first, if don’t get a reply/ it does not work out, repeat/approach the next one.
  • State your prefered timeframe.
  • State relevant classes and experiences (e.g. by attaching CV/transcript).
  • Ideally: Bring an idea. Even more ideal: show how your idea fits into their research.

Computational Neuroscience (Musslick):

  • Look at the website ( https://www.ai4cogsci.com/) and contact the researcher working on the topic you are interested in and ask for availability.

Neurobiopsychology (König):

  • Onboarding Week, once or twice a year. Click  here for more information.

Cognitive Modelling (Weber):

  • Check ongoing research on  website and contact the researcher with an idea related to their work. List will possible topics will be added soon. 

Psycho- and Neurolinguistic (Gotzner):

  • Only topics from list are accepted, detailed info  here.

Comparative Biocognition (Pika):

Philosophy of Mind (Walter):

  • Check out the recommended topics and contact the corresponding instructors. If none of these quite align with your interests, reach out to the philosophy instructors with whom you have taken the most courses to discuss possible directions. More info  here.

Ethics of AI (Mühlhoff):

  • Requirements: Have attended the lecture "Introduction to the Ethics of AI" and at least 1-2 seminars of the research group "Ethics and Critical Theories of AI". More info  here.

Natural Language Processing (Bruni):

  • Contact researchers for available topics or propose your own topic.

Machine Learning (Kietzmann):

Neuroinformatics (Pipa)

  • Write the researcher with an idea, show how your idea fits into their research.

Neurocomputation (Nieters):

  • Write the researcher with an idea, show how your idea fits into their research.

Artificial Intelligence:

  • Write the researcher with an idea, show how your idea fits into their research.
    • Thelen: Bring an idea if you want or just email him that you would like your thesis with him.

Guidance in finding a realistic research topic:

  • Talk to your supervisor(s) about the scope of the research topic of your thesis, to jointly broaden it or to narrow it down to be suitable to be pursued within the time frame of the thesis of 3 months (Bachelor) or 6 months (Master). Usually, a written abstract that tries to frame your ideas and a list of initial literature might be a good starting point for a meeting

Guidance during the thesis project:

  • During the thesis, practical supervision depends on the research topic, required facilities, and the supervision methods of the supervisor(s). Number of meetings vary.

General Advice:

  • Talk about expectations beforehand with your supervisors (e.g. how many meetings, how hands on will they be,..)

  • Debugging help
  • Detailed comments and suggestions on preliminary drafts of the thesis for further revision
  • Proof reading of the complete thesis

If there are serious and insurmountable conflicts with the supervisor

Depending on the problem please contact:

  • Carla Högemann (Examination Office and officer for equal opportunities). Contact info  here.
  • Dean of Studies & Coordinator for Individual Study Planning. Contact info  here.

  • On time (not more than three weeks before deadline, nor after)
    • To get an extension: You can get one e.g. due to sickness (hand in documents with examination office) or unforeseen circumstances if your supervisor applies for it with the examination board.
  • Always at examination office. They need the thesis physically and digitally by the deadline. CC your supervisors in the email.
  • The stamp on the printed version is proof you handed in on time (either postal stamp or when you handed it in at the examination office/their post box)
  • You do not have to include a USB code with your code (compressed file of code with the digital version is sufficient).
  • You will not get an automatic confirmation that you handed in

  • Celebrate – you did it!
  • No defence or presentation is necessary. Some groups hold lab meetings where results can be presented though.
  • Grades should be given within six weeks (Bachelor) or eight weeks (Master) after the hand-in deadline.
  • Grade will be entered to EXA once both supervisors decided on it (no email or letter to notify you).
  • If you need a confirmation that you passed earlier, contact your supervisors and the examination office and ask for it.
  • Your supervisor’s feedback will not be send to you but you can read it at the examination office.
  • Once everything is done (e.g. handing in last modules), check your transcript and let Examination Office know you want the final certificates issued. You will get an email once they are done.
  • You can publish your thesis with  PICS for others to read it, too.
  • Apply for thesis awards – for example “Förderpreis der Unigesellschaft”, sponsored among others from the CogSci Network e.V. for outstanding bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral theses each endowed with 500€. (Note: Even though usually supervisors have to recommend you, it helps to specifically ask your supervisor to nominate you).

Can I change the topic/title when I already registered the thesis?

  • PO24: Yes, during the first third you can change the topic. But only once.
  • The title can be changed later, too, but this has to be approved by the first supervisor. The topic needs to remain the same.

What happens if I do not pass?

  • You can repeat the thesis once with a new topic. Register your new thesis not less than 6 weeks and not more than a year after you get the notification.

Do I have to be enrolled when I hand in my thesis?

  • Yes, to hand-in you need to be enrolled. But not when you wait for your grade. You can get your matriculation fee back if you exmatriculate during the first month of lectures

Are there any formalities or specifications regarding e.g. page numbers, layout, citation style?

  • Ask your supervisors about their preferences.
  • The university forbids using the UOS logo on bachelor’s and master’s theses.