Find a topic

You should think about your subject area in advance and select your HTW supervisor accordingly. They will then discuss the topic and the direction of the thesis with the supervisor. Topics from business practice are recommended. If you would like to work on a more theoretical/research-orientated topic at the university, please ask the lecturers at the faculty about possible assignments. You will find an overview of the professors' subject areas at the bottom of this page.

Work with / without a company connection

The Faculty of Business Administration and Economics strives for a high number of theses that are written with or for companies, research institutions or organisations outside the university. Even if you write a thesis at the university whose problem was derived from a company, this is a thesis with a company reference, i.e. not a theoretical thesis.  If in doubt, speak to your supervisor.

You have the right to suggest the HTW supervisor and are not automatically assigned one by the faculty. Please contact a professor of your choice who is relevant to the topic. If this professor no longer has any free capacity, please contact another university lecturer or the coordinator of the subject area in which you would like to write your thesis. The list can be found on our website.

The supervisor (first assessor) can be from another faculty of the HTW or another university. The respective examination regulations of the degree programmes of the Faculty of Business Administration and Economics always apply.

Here, too, you have the right to make suggestions. In the case of practice-oriented work in companies, you should always try to appoint the second supervisor from the company. If this is not possible, please contact a university lecturer in the faculty.

Requirements Second supervisor from the company

If you choose a supervisor from practice, it is necessary to enclose a short CV (studies and professional career) and a non-certified copy of the academic certificate. Furthermore, a current company address including the supervisor's e-mail address should be provided for the purpose of sending documents.

Please point out to your supervisor that the provision of personal data is a prerequisite for the appointment as second reviewer of your thesis and will be destroyed after completion of the editing process.

Please note: Only those who possess at least the qualification to be determined by the examination or an equivalent qualification may be appointed as examiners.

The Federal-Länder Coordination Centre for the German Qualifications Framework for Lifelong Learning (DQR) has specified the applicable qualification levels.

According to this, the following are equivalent

    at "Bachelor level"

•     such as B.A., B.Sc., B.Eng. or
•     Diplom (FH) degrees

    at "Master's level"

•     such as M.A., M.Sc., M.Eng. or
•     Diploma (Univ.) degrees

This means, among other things, that examiners must hold at least the university degree that is the subject of the examination in order to be appointed.

We do not currently accept vocational academies as a qualification for assessors.

In addition, proof of at least five years of practical experience following the academic degree is generally required, of which at least three years must have been gained outside the university sector.

Change of second assessor

The second assessor may not be changed without the consent of the HTW supervisor and the Examination Board. An informal written application with detailed reasons, which must be approved by the HTW supervisor, must be submitted to the Examination Board. You will be informed of the final decision in writing.

The prerequisite for the issue of the topic is that all ECTS credits stipulated in the respective examination regulations §14 (5) of the degree programmes Business Administration, International Business, International Management, German Business Culture and International Management, Management of Medium-Sized Enterprises and Industrial Engineering and Management have been earned.

Issue of the topic

The topic will be issued promptly after review by the Chair of the Examination Board and after consultation with the Examination Office, of which you will be notified in writing.
Please submit the completed form, signed by the first assessor, together with the documents of the second assessor from the practice, to Ms Otto.

Form: Application for the issue of the thesis

You can register your thesis at any time. Please note that the processing time is 9 weeks (Bachelor's) or 20 weeks (Master's) and that the reviewers have a maximum evaluation period of 4 weeks.

Discuss with your two assessors in advance whether the thesis defence will take place in the same semester. If the date of the defence falls in the next semester, you must re-register for it.

You can only return the topic once and only within the first four weeks of the processing time and will then receive a new topic. A significant change to the topic is no longer possible after the first four weeks!

For minor changes to the wording, please submit an informal written request (no later than 14 days before submission). The changes must be approved by the HTW supervisor. The final decision will be made by the examination board and you will be notified in writing.

• Bachelor thesis              9 weeks
• Master thesis               20 weeks

If it is not possible to complete the thesis within the specified period for unforeseeable reasons for which the student is not responsible, an extension of a maximum of three weeks for the Bachelor's thesis / a maximum of two months for the Master's thesis may be granted upon written application to the Examination Board, usually after consultation with the HTW supervisor.

You must provide a comprehensive written explanation and evidence of the reasons for the extension. Use the form "Application for extension of the processing time for the thesis".  In this case, please submit the application at least two weeks Bachelor's / three weeks Master's before the deadline. In the case of extensions, the new submission deadline will be communicated in writing.

Form:  Application for extension of the processing time for the thesis

In the case of illness, the relevant proof (medical certificate form) must be submitted to the Chair of the Examination Board (Ms Otto) immediately after the illness is discovered. Periods of illness reported in due time and form and confirmed by the Examination Board will be counted towards the extension periods according to § 14 para. 7 PO.

Form:  Medical certificate

The signature of the student, a company representative and the first reviewer must be present for the blocking notice to be valid.
A place of jurisdiction outside Germany is generally not accepted in the blocking notice!
The embargo notice must be signed at the beginning of the thesis processing period and will be included in all copies of the thesis.

Form:  Blocking notice

At the end of each thesis, you must sign and date an affidavit in which you confirm that you have completed this thesis independently and have only used the sources listed in your thesis.

The Bachelor's thesis (labelled on one side) should be between 40 and 60 pages long.
The Master's thesis (labelled on one side) should be between 60 and 80 pages long.

The thesis must be submitted by the deadline on the last day of the processing period. In principle, it is possible to submit the thesis before the actual deadline, but this should not be significantly later.
If the thesis is submitted more than 3 weeks before the official submission deadline, the Chair of the Examination Board can check whether the topic has already been fully processed before the official deadline.

The thesis is not submitted via your assessors, but via Mrs Otto. All formalities for submitting your thesis can be found in the letter from the Examination Board "Application for the issue of the thesis", which you received after applying for the topic.

Please hand in your thesis at the latest on the day of submission to the HTW between 9:30 - 10:30 am or 1:00 - 2:00 pm in the post office (basement/Z036) of the HTW as a parcel/in a sealed envelope, stating the faculty.
In the case of postal delivery, the date of the postmark is the date of submission. The burden of proof for the submission or posting of the thesis lies with you.
The thesis can also be handed in by a person you trust.

You will receive a corresponding confirmation of receipt by e-mail.

Please return the completed form, including the deregistration in the library, to Ms Otto on the day of the defence at the latest or hand it over to the first reviewer before the defence.

Form:  Confirmation of deregistration/declaration of student discharge

After submitting your thesis, please contact your assessors to arrange a defence date.
In principle, it is possible to take part in the defence of theses that are not blocked.
Individual arrangements must be clarified in advance with the HTW thesis supervisor or the student.
You can book our conference room (Z 621) for your defence via Ms Otto. The conference room is equipped with a notebook, ceiling projector with sound system, HDMI and VGA cables. There are no adapters available for borrowing!

Reviews

After submission of the thesis, a copy will be sent to both assessors. The final thesis is to be graded on the basis of reviews, which are generally to be prepared by two examiners (HTW supervisor, second/practical supervisor). As a rule, the assessment procedure may not exceed four weeks. If one of the grades is worse than "sufficient", the candidate has failed. Otherwise, the grade of the thesis is determined by the arithmetic mean of the assessments of the reviews. (PO §14 (10, 11, 12))

Grading

The overall grade of the Bachelor's/Master's thesis is calculated from the weighted average of the grade of the Bachelor's/Master's thesis and the overall grade of the defence. The defence is made up of 50% presentation and 50% discussion. The grade of the Bachelor's/Master's thesis is given a weighting of 3 and the overall grade of the defence is given a weighting of 1. (PO §14 (13)

Poster

When the result is announced, the candidate may be asked to prepare a documentation or a poster for the faculty. The costs of the poster are covered by the faculty.

Please enquire with your first supervisor.

Certificate / diploma / certificate of exmatriculation

Once the completed documents have been submitted by both assessors, they will be sent to the Examinations Office, which will issue the certificate and diploma promptly.

Retention period

The thesis will be kept by the faculty for at least five years after the author's de-registration and will then be destroyed.

Below you will find possible topics for theses. The topics are to be understood as examples and can also serve to develop your own questions. If you have your own ideas that differ from the topics listed, you can discuss them together. To do so, please contact Professor Baierl directly.

1.) Systematic evaluation of selected methods, tools and concepts in business development

2.) Possible applications and limitations of translation software for medium-sized companies

3.) Entrepreneurship Education in Digital Environments

4.) Digital key competences, classic competences and transformative competences: Which requirement profile results?

5.) Selected aspects of service management

6.) Meta-study on team composition (heterogeneity vs. homogeneity) and performance

Below you will find possible topics for theses. The topics are to be understood as examples and can also be used to develop your own questions. If you have your own ideas that differ from the topics listed, you can discuss them together. To do so, please contact Prof. Swen Günther directly.

The following topics can be worked on in German or English.

1. Transfer: Methods and approaches for the determination of key figures in knowledge and technology transfer (Master)

2. Digitalization: Cost-benefit-analysis of optimization projects in the field of digitalization/ automation (Master)

3. Process management: Goals and contents of process-oriented management concepts in German companies (Bachelor)

4. Quality Management: Implementation and application of specific QM-Tools in corporations (Bachelor)

5. Management Concepts: Empirical Research regarding new concepts and current trends in business management (Bachelor/ Master)

Please note: In the area of "Process, Quality and Innovation Management", there are regular topics for processing without company participation. These arise in the context of current research activities/projects. Please do not hesitate to contact me.

Below you will find possible topics for theses. The topics are to be understood as examples and can also be used to develop your own questions. If you have your own, differing ideas on the topics listed, you can discuss them together. To do so, please contact Prof. Torsten Gonschorek.

MASTER -  Themes

• Market and competition analyses for a start-up project in the field of sustainable resource use (application-oriented work with practice partner)
• Family governance - influence of non-active family members on the management of family businesses (meta-analysis of empirical studies) (research-oriented work)
• Investigation of the market for early warning systems as an element of the risk management system of medium-sized companies (research-oriented work)
• The new pre-insolvency restructuring procedure - analysis of the consequences for business practice (research-oriented thesis)
• Development of an Environmental Social Governance (ESG) Dashboard (research-oriented work with practice partne

BACHELOR - Themes

• Market and competition analyses for a start-up project in the field of sustainable resource use (application-oriented work with practice partner)
• Recording sustainability aspects in the accounting of medium-sized companies (sustainability accounting) (research-oriented work with practice partner)
• Investigation of the market for early warning systems as an element of the risk management system of medium-sized enterprises (research-oriented work)
• Further development of the marketing concept for the marketing of further education offers (application-oriented work with practice partner)

Below you will find possible topics for theses. The topics are to be understood as examples and can also be used to develop your own questions. If you have your own, differing ideas on the topics listed, you can discuss them together. To do so, please contact Prof. Stefan Handke.

1) New Public Management: Quality Assurance in Public Administration and Public Enterprises

2.) The state as a customer: Business services for the public sector

3) Digitalisation of the public sector: Cooperation between private and public actors

4) Trust in administrative action: Authentication of physical and electronic documents

5) Climate-friendly public procurement

6) Social Media, Reputation and Bureaucracy

Below you will find possible topics for theses. The topics are to be understood as examples and can also be used to develop your own questions. If you have your own, differing ideas on the topics listed, you can discuss them together. To do so, please contact Prof. Evelyn Hartmann.

1.)  ... Currently no theoretical topics

Below you will find possible topics for theses that you can work on together with a practice partner (company/organisation). The topics are to be understood as examples. You are welcome to select different topics from everyday business life together with your practice partner and discuss them with Prof. Haubold. The topics must have an empirical component, i.e. they must allow for the analysis of either existing internal company data or new data on the topic collected as part of the thesis. It is advisable to tailor the respective topic to a (possibly exemplary) part of the HR organisation or the employee structure in order to enable a meaningful treatment within the framework of a thesis. Please understand that for capacity reasons Prof. Haubold can currently only supervise theses that are written together with a practice partner. Contact: Prof. Anne-Katrin Haubold.

1.) New ways of solving the shortage of skilled workers in occupation/field of activity x using the example of XYZ GmbH

2.) Challenges of personnel management in virtual work settings using the example of the ABC department of XYZ GmbH

3.) Potentials and challenges of the use of AI in the recruitment of trainees/specialists/managers using the example of XYZ GmbH

Below you will find possible topics for theses. The topics are to be understood as examples and can also be used to develop your own questions. If you have your own, differing ideas on the topics listed, you can discuss them together. To do so, please contact Prof. Kerstin Kreul.

1.) Topic from the field of data protection law in the broadest sense, eGovernment, technology law, media law, freedom of information, information security

2.) Topic from the field of environmental law (immission control law, waste law, water law, nature conservation law, etc.)

Below you will find possible topics for theses. The topics are to be understood as examples and can also be used to develop your own questions. If you have your own, differing ideas on the topics listed, you can discuss them together. To do so, please contac Prof. Stephan Kühnel.

1.) Accounting

• Accounting and valuation of intangible assets
• Estimated values in accounting
• Business combinations (incl. common control)
• Mapping of deferred taxes
• Empirical analysis of management reports
• Impairment tests/impairment of assets
• Analysis of restatements

2.) Auditing

• Information quality and the role of the audit
• Audit-related services / Assurance services
• Empirical study on the audit opinion of public interest entities
• Audit of appraised values
• Assumption of going concern in auditing
• Concept of materiality

3.) Management Consulting

• Corporate use of online learning for education/further training
• Strategic concepts
• Design of the internal control/management system
• Interdisciplinary concepts (e.g. Professional Service Firm)
• Corporate use of online learning for initial and continuing training
• Aspects of setting up a company and financing growth

4.) Mergers&Acquisitions

• Choice of legal form from the perspective of income taxation
• Tax treatment of a company acquisition
• Taxation of financial instruments
• Individual issues of international income taxation
• Design parameters for reorganisations
• Concepts of tax due diligence

Below you will find possible topics for final theses. The topics are to be understood as examples and can also serve to develop your own questions. If you have your own ideas that differ from the listed topics, we can discuss them together. To do so, please contact Prof. Gerard Lewis directly.

Prof. Lewis has the following topics available for Bachelor and Master Dissertions:

1. The implications of Artificial Intelligence for Strategic Analysis, Development and Implementation.

2. The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on a firm's value chain and competitive advantage.

3. Measuring the Sustainabilty of the Enterprise.

4. Strategies for non-growth businesses.

5. The Resource Based View: An Evidence Based Critique.

6. Strategic Decision Making under Uncertainty: A Evaluation of the Tool Kit.

7. Porter's Five Forces: An Evidence Based Critique.

8. Porter's Value Chain: An Evidence Based Critique.

9. Do Responsible Corporations Deliver Sustainability?

10. The Business Model: 'I know one when I see one', but what is it!

Each of the dissertation topics can be structured to meet student's personal interests and their stage of academic development (Bachelor or Master).

For further details please send an email.

Below you will find possible topics for theses. The topics are to be understood as examples and can also be used to develop your own questions. If you have your own ideas that differ from the topics listed, you can discuss them together. To do so, please contact Prof. Christoph Mayer.

1. Implications of DIN 77230 "Basic financial analysis for private households" for the financial sector
2. Opportunities and limits of P2P lending
3. Benefits and risks of robo-advisory
4. Comparison of cryptocurrencies
5. Investigation of the short- and long-term influence of company-specific, macroeconomic and regulatory events on the share price of a company
6. [Other capital market topics, especially emprical (performance) studies]

Below you will find possible topics for theses. The topics are to be understood as examples and can also be used to develop your own questions. If you have your own, differing ideas on the topics listed, you can discuss them together. To do so, please contact Dr. Meyer-Ross:

1.)

2.)

3.)

Below you will find possible topics for theses. The topics are to be understood as examples and can also be used to develop your own questions. If you have your own, differing ideas on the topics listed, you can discuss them together. To do so, please contact Prof. Nicola Neuvians.

Leadership & organisation in for-profit or non-profit organisations

for example

•     Management orientation (e.g. public value), foundation management, common good economy
•     Management responsibility, corporate governance, compliance (e.g. in non-profit organisations)
•     New Work (e.g. in nonprofit organisations), organisational design (e.g. fractal organisations), organisational culture, change management
•     Modern leadership models
•     Diversity, organisational justice
•     Family business "

Below you will find possible topics for theses. The topics are to be understood as examples and can also be used to develop your own questions. If you have your own, differing ideas on the topics listed, you can discuss them together. To do so, please contact Prof. Wolfgang Ortmanns.

1.) Are business students the greater egoists?

A decision-theoretical experiment in which a selfish and an altruistic alternative course of action is offered in a decision situation and this question is tested for significant differences between business students and non-business students.

2.) Gender differences in the Prisoner's Dilemma.

A test of whether the choice of alternative actions in a prisoner's dilemma situation show a significant difference between women and men.

3.) Risk attitudes of the sexes

Survey on risky decision-making behaviour in which the hypothesis of gender differences is examined.

4.) Decision-making criteria of job choice of students from different degree programmes.

Survey on the important criteria for choosing a job and whether these are dependent on the degree programme.

Below you will find possible topics for theses. The topics are to be understood as examples and can also be used to develop your own questions. If you have your own, differing ideas on the topics listed, you can discuss them together. To do so, please contact Prof. Thorsten Richter.

Sample topics from previous semesters, latest first:

• Labour Law 4.0 - Guidelines for drafting a company agreement on mobile working
• The Problems of Interactive Music Streaming Services in Managing their Relationships with Music Publishing Copyright Holders
• Basics of setting up a business - legal challenges of setting up a business using a fictitious example
• Legally compliant creation of personality, behavioural or movement profiles (profiling) by collecting and processing personal data in the online marketing of B2B companies, taking into account legal aspects
• Discrimination in the labour market according to the General Equal Treatment Act (AGG): Mere prejudice or pure reality? The example of mothers and childless women of Generation Y
• Home office, the new world of work - legal framework conditions as well as opportunities and risks for employees and employers in the home office
• Analysis of "loot boxes" in video games in relation to German law with recommendations for action for companies, legislature and consumers using the example of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and FIFA 19

Below you will find possible topics for theses. For this please contact directly Prof. Wolfgang Sattler.

1.) Operational controlling with the help of common-sized P&Ls (bachelor thesis)

2.) Strategic Controlling 3.0 - Challenges and New Tools (Bachelor/Master)

3.) Risk and Uncertainty in Strategic Controlling (Bachelor/Master)

Below you will find possible topics for theses. The topics are to be understood as examples and can also be used to develop your own questions. If you have your own, differing ideas on the topics listed, you can discuss them together. To do so, please contact Prof. Seydewitz-Gellert

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2.)

3.)

Below you will find possible topics for theses. The topics are to be understood as examples and can also be used to develop your own questions. If you have your own, differing ideas on the topics listed, you can discuss them together. To do so, please contact Prof. René Thamm.

1.) ESG - Influence of EU taxonomy on investment behaviour

2.) Entrepreneurship Education and the Influence on Start-up Motivation and Activities

Below you will find possible topics for theses. The topics are to be understood as examples and can also be used to develop your own questions. They are related to current research projects. It is also possible to work on related topics together with companies. If you have your own ideas that differ from the topics listed, you can discuss them together. For this purpose, please contact directly Prof. Rüdiger von der Weth. For Bachelor's theses, I expect knowledge in the area of systematic scientific literature research. Those working on Master's theses should have knowledge of qualitative and quantitative research methods or be willing to familiarise themselves with them. 

1.) Effects of digitalisation on human work: efficiency, motivation, necessary qualification, health consequences.

2.) Development of strategies for the introduction of new technologies in companies

3.) Qualification and recruitment strategies, especially for SMEs in digital innovations

Below you will find possible topics for theses. The topics are to be understood as examples and can also be used to develop your own questions. If you have your own, differing ideas on the topics listed, you can discuss them together. To do so, please contact Prof. Angela Wienen.

• The impact of economic embargoes on the example of Russia
• Critique of the European Central Bank's new strategy.
• New trends in globalisation (in English if possible).
• The impact of covid on the international division of labour (e.g. the impact of difficulties in supply chains with examples)
• The effectiveness of climate change conferences for global warming:
• The theory of cooperation applied to climate change conferences
• Current proposals, instruments for sustainable climate protection