Final theses
The chair generally supervises topics from the entire spectrum of management accounting. Students writing a Bachelor's or Master's thesis at the chair are asked to suggest a topic; see below for details. This proposal serves as a guide for the supervisors; there is no guarantee that you will be able to write a thesis in your preferred subject area or on the topic you have proposed.
For orientation, we recommend that you review the course materials for the Chair's Bachelor's and Master's courses (Cost and Performance Accounting and Basic Controlling in the Bachelor's program, Value-based Controlling and Management Control, Coordination and Incentive in the Master's program).
Bachelor's theses
Topics for Bachelor's theses are developed in consultation with the supervisors in the department. We generally recommend that all students develop their own topic suggestions. Topics can be developed in three ways:
- You write your thesis based on the basic Controlling course. To develop your own proposal, please refer to the materials provided for the course.
- You write a thesis on a subject area in which dissertations or other research work is currently being carried out in the department. The current topics are: a) performance management systems; b) targets and performance assessment; c) pro forma indicators; d) voluntary reporting; e) controlling and digitalization. Here, too, you can suggest your own topic for one of the subject areas.
- You formulate your own topic proposal beyond the topic areas of points 1. and 2. In this case, the preparation of an exposé (see below for further information) is mandatory.
In each of the three cases, please send your topic proposal to Monika Schramm (monika.schramm@uni-osnabrueck.de). You will only be assigned a supervisor once the topic has been sufficiently narrowed down.
Master's theses
Master's thesis topics can be assigned from the entire spectrum of the subject. They are always developed on the basis of an exposé. If the proposed topic matches the subject area and the supervisor's current research interests, a corresponding thesis can usually be written. If the topic does not fit, the department will make a counter-proposal. Send your synopsis to Monika Schramm (monika.schramm@uni-osnabrueck.de) as early as possible, but no later than six weeks before the planned start of the processing period. You will only be assigned a supervisor once your topic has been found.
Practical work
We also supervise Bachelor's or Master's theses at the department that are written during or after practical work in a company and are co-supervised by company representatives. The prerequisite for the allocation of a practical topic is the submission of an exposé. In addition, support from the company must be guaranteed. As a rule, it is advisable to contact the department at an early stage to check the suitability of the planned topic.
Exposé
Your synopsis should be no longer than one page and contain
- A suggested title for the thesis
- One (up to a maximum of three) research question(s) that you want to address in your thesis.
- Three scientific sources that address your research question. These should have been published in a high-ranking scientific journal (this corresponds to at least a B ranking in JOURQUAL, usually in the field of accounting or organization). We will assess the suitability of your proposed topic in particular on the basis of the selection of your scientific literature.
- A brief description of the topic (abstract, approx. 5-10 lines), which contains a problem definition and explains the practical significance of the topic.
- An explanation of what content from courses in the subject area the topic relates to.
- In the case of practical work, a brief description of the practical case.
The faculty-wide rules apply to the awarding of theses. In addition, the department selects Master's students if the number of applicants with a first preference for the department exceeds the number of places in the department. The selection criteria include the study profile, academic achievements and the degree to which the applicant profile matches the possible topic of the thesis.
Students who have applied for a Master's thesis in the central allocation procedure at the department are requested to send a current transcript of records and (if already known) a brief description of the preferred topic of the Master's thesis by e-mail to the department immediately after the application deadline (controlling@uni-osnabrueck.de).
After the allocation of places for Master's theses, students who have been allocated a place must submit an exposé as described above no later than eight weeks before the start of the processing period.
The start dates for Bachelor's and Master's theses can be chosen flexibly. The earliest start of the processing period (13 weeks for Bachelor's theses and 20 weeks for Master's theses) is approx. 4 weeks after the assignment, the latest start is before the start of the assignment procedure in the following semester.
The department regularly organizes a thesis colloquium for all students writing a Bachelor's or Master's thesis. We expect you to take part in the colloquium during the completion period and to present the progress of your work once during the completion period. For Bachelor's theses, this presentation should take place approx. 4-6 weeks before submission, for Master's theses approx. 6-9 weeks before submission. Further information on the thesis colloquium and the dates of the colloquium can be found in StudIP.
Staff member responsible: Monika Schramm
If you need literature for your thesis that is not available in the library, you are welcome to contact us with a suggestion for a book purchase. The chair provides a certain amount of funds to order the desired books. Please send an email to: monika.schramm@uni-osnabrueck.de.
Here you will find the chair's additional instructions for the preparation of term papers and theses (PDF, 156 kB). Please also note the formal requirements of Professor Hoppe's department, including the format template provided there.
A non-exhaustive overview of the formal design of your thesis, including helpful tips for literature research, can be found here (PDF, 1.63 MB).
For the use of AI within the theses, please refer to the regulations of the examination office of the school. Further information can be found on the website of the Examination Office, which you can find here.