The Master's thesis is the final part of the master program and has a total of 30 credit points. It consists of an individual research project that is carried out by the student under consultation with a supervisor(s). Usually, once a student has explored possible topics for master projects (e.g., by searching through the webpages of different research groups, many of which can be found under the Internship Opportunities page on this website), the student gets into contact with a researcher to decide whether it is possible and makes sense for the student to do their master project on a particular topic. The specifics of the master project are then agreed on in consultation with the supervisors.

A Master's thesis consists of the thesis itself (i.e., the written document) and an oral defense of the thesis (i.e., presentation and oral examination).

Formal Guidelines from the University of Potsdam

The University of Potsdam provides “General Provisions for Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree Programs” on a university webpage. Unfortunately, there is currently no English translation of this webpage and it is only available in German (status: May 2020).

However, in the German version of this webpage (see link below) you can find an English translation of the “Revised version of the General Regulations for Study and Examinations for Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees (not for teachers in training) at the University of Potsdam (BAMA-O)” (see link below). In this document, under “§ 30 Master’s Thesis” (p. 18), general specifications regarding the master thesis can be found.

Excerpts from the University’s Study Regulations

Here are some excerpts from the “Revised version of the General Regulations for Study and Examinations for Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees (not for teachers in training) at the University of Potsdam (BAMA-O)”.

Keep in mind these are just excerpts! For more information please refer to the official document from the University of Potsdam: