Topics

Students can propose a topic of their choice or select a topic suggested or assigned to them by the thesis supervisor. Students should select a topic that can be completed within the agreed-upon time frame. Two or more students can work on a joint topic for their bachelor’s thesis, as long as each student’s individual contribution can be clearly identified and graded separately. The combined workload involved in writing a joint bachelor’s thesis is proportionally higher than that required for a single-author thesis. Papers which the students are required to complete as part of their coursework (e.g. project papers) may be integrated into a bachelor’s thesis. It is important to note, however, that the workload required is higher for a bachelor’s thesis than for a project paper. A bachelor’s thesis must be more than simply a slightly expanded project paper. Parts of an existing master’s thesis may not be reused as a bachelor’s thesis. Without exception, WU cannot recognize any bachelor’s theses completed at other universities.

Content-related evaluation criteria

• Independent work: A bachelor’s thesis is considered to contain independent work by the student if it is more than just an overview of different sources. The primary criterion for evaluating a bachelor’s thesis is independent work, defined as work that clearly separates content taken from other sources and the author’s own arguments. Special emphasis is to be placed on the student’s own contributions when evaluating the quality of the thesis.

• Fulfilling objectives: Did the author succeed in answering the research question specified at the beginning of the thesis? The bachelor’s thesis should deal with the research question in a way that is clear and coherent. This means that the goals set must be achieved by the end of the thesis. For this reason, the sections containing the summarized results and conclusions at the end of the thesis are particularly important for evaluating the quality of the work.

• Clear arguments: Did the student succeed in giving the thesis a coherent, logical structure and developing his or her own position based on sound arguments? The author should develop his or her ideas and arguments in a way that is consistent and guides the reader through the thesis. The arguments should be logical and coherent, not just loosely grouped together.

• Use of technical terms and literature: Are technical terms used correctly and only where useful and appropriate? Does the referenced literature show that the student has familiarized him or herself with the topic using solid literature searching skills? A bachelor’s thesis should use language that is as clear and plain as possible, without overusing technical and unusual terms. During the writing process, students should immerse themselves in their topic and familiarize themselves with the relevant literature.

• A bachelor’s thesis is generally not a suitable format for presenting an empirical study. For this reason, empirical work should preferably be done on the master’s level. If a bachelor’s thesis is nevertheless based on an empirical study, the following criteria apply: Is the choice of the method(s) used justified and suitable for the questions at hand? Did the student use the selected method(s) properly? Students should demonstrate their ability to do empirical work and to properly analyze, interpret, and contextualize the results.

Formal evaluation criteria

• Completeness of the submitted thesis (cover page, table of contents, references section, if applicable, list of abbreviations, tables and figures, annex)

• Clear thesis structure (overall structure, chapter structure)

• Correct language use and orthography

• Correct use of sources (it must be possible to find and check the referenced sources)

• Correct citations

Which conditions must be met for you to be qualified to grade and (co-)supervise a bachelor’s thesis?

• Academic staff members with a PhD or doctoral degree are qualified to grade bachelor’s theses, regardless of whether they are teaching any courses in the respective semester.

• Emeriti and retired faculty members (with a PhD or doctoral degree) may grade bachelor’s theses upon approval by the head of the respective academic unit.

• Persons external to WU (e.g. faculty members of other universities in Austria or abroad) may only grade WU theses upon approval by the Vice-Rector for Academic Programs and Student Affairs. If you have any questions in this regard, please contact the Student Support.

• All of WU’s academic staff members may co-supervise bachelor’s theses. Each bachelor’s thesis can only have one co-supervisor.

• External lecturers may only supervise bachelor’s theses if they are actively teaching courses at WU in the respective semester and appear on the list of available supervisors.

Grading and supervision obligations

The requirements and objectives to be met by the thesis must be clearly defined at the beginning of the bachelor’s thesis supervision process. The student has to hand in a short proposal, and the supervisor and the student agree on the specific topic of the thesis and discuss a time schedule for the thesis writing process. Supervision of a bachelor’s thesis includes several meetings with the student (usually about four). During these meetings, the supervisor and the student discuss the student’s progress and any questions or problems that may arise.

Once the thesis has been graded, the supervisor is required to give the student comprehensive feedback on the thesis and explain the reasons for the grade assigned.

Bachelor’s theses are not regarded as actual academic theses in the proper sense of the term and do not have to be made publicly available, and for this reason it is not possible to place bachelor’s theses under embargo.

The applicable rates for evaluating a bachelor’s thesis are specified in an operational agreement negotiated between WU, in its capacity as employer, and the Academic Staff Council.