Information for the preparation of theses (Bachelor’s / Master’s thesis)
On the websites of the University of Potsdam and the Faculty of Economics and Social Sciences you will find all information regarding formal requirements, deadlines, and procedures.
Requirements for your final thesis at the Chair of Politics and Government in Germany
Depending on your thesis, successful participation in the following courses is strongly recommended:
- BA: one seminar in the module "Research-oriented in-depth seminar Politics and Governance in Germany and Europe",
- MA: one seminar in the module "Politics and Governance in Germany and Europe" + one seminar in the module "Government, Governance, Organization".
Finding a topic for your thesis
We supervise theses that deal with the following topics (Please note: We cannot supervise all topics that are part of the chair's teaching, this list applies instead):
- Electoral behavior and political (party) communication
- Institutions of governance at the state and federal level (parliament and parliamentary groups, government, or cabinet, etc.)
- Dynamics and modes of interaction of governance (esp. federalism, policy formulation, executive-legislative relations)
- Effects of governance (e.g., on legitimacy or trust)
Contact and exposé for your thesis
If you are interested in being supervised by the chair, please write an informative exposé (see template) and send it by e-mail to the desired supervisor with the following deadlines:
- Writing semester (and submission) of the thesis in winter semester: until May 31.
- Writing semester (and submission) of the thesis in summer semester: until November 30.
Subsequently, the internal coordination of the theses takes place - taking into account the thematic suitability (see list of topics) and the available capacities - and the prompt sending of the confirmation or rejection of the supervision (in case of a rejection, there is still enough time to find an alternative supervision).
The topic assignment form for your thesis (Only for first reviews!)
As part of the formal registration process (see faculty comments), a topic assignment form is required. If the first review is written at our chair, please submit this Topic Assignment Form to the chair's assistant by mail (ls-regieren@uni-potsdam.de) after receiving your confirmation of supervision.
Colloquium
It is strongly recommended to attend the colloquium at the chair parallel to writing the thesis. In the colloquium the writing of the thesis is actively accompanied. Please note the registration deadlines for PULS.
