You are probably reading this page since you are a student who wants to write a final thesis or conduct a project. As the Interaction Lab group has some specific procedures, we list here the main issues that should be followed:
When writing a thesis or conduct a project supervised by Interaction Lab group, of course all rules, terms and conditions of the respective courses apply. In addition, we require to present two presentations (intermediate/final) at the Interaction Lab colloquium. The students are expected to attend the weekly colloquium and not only the sessions where they present their own topics.
| Type | Processing time | workload | Extent of elaboration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fachstudie (Bachelor/Master) | 6 months | 6 LP / 4 SWS | Paper |
| Prozessanalyse | |||
| Projekt INF | 6 months | 6 LP / 12 SWS | 3 participants; paper for internal conference (max 8 pages) |
| Bachelor thesis / Bachelorarbeit | 6 months | 12 LP / 8 SWS | about 15.000-18.000 words (40-50 pages) |
| Master thesis / Masterarbeit | 6 months | 30 LP / 20 SWS | about 25.000-35.000 words (75-100 pages) |
- 1 LP = about 25-30 h (B.Sc., M.Sc.)
- 1 SWS = about 45 h (Diplom)
Theses
Preliminary steps
- Ensure that you have achieved the minimal amount of credit points before start with a thesis.
* Bachelor Thesis: 120 LP * Master Thesis: 60 LP
- Generic hints for conducting final theses are given by the Computer Science department of University of Stuttgart
- Elaborate a topic with your supervisor
- Prepare a written description of your topic. If the thesis will be written in English, make sure that you include a German title in your description. If you’re enrolled in a non-international program but want to submit your thesis in English, please follow the instructions to submit a thesis in English: Aufgabenbeschreibung.docx
- Visit the secretary’s office and let the professor sign your registration formula
- Register your thesis at Prüfungsamt
- Sign the contract with the university: Visit the secretary’s office again. Make sure to bring your description of the topic (two copies please), a copy of your registration formula from Prüfungsamt and two signed copies of Lizenzvereinbarung
- Send an email to your supervisor containing following data: matriculation number, start and end dates of your thesis (some supervisors want to have a skype-id or (if you are willing to) cellphone number for emergencies. Ask them what they want)
- Sign up to our Mailinglist
- It is expected that you attend our MCI-Kolloquium whenever possible. Normally, students do their presentations of their work in this lecture
- It is necessary to get lab access
- Working in the Lab is highly recommended! (You can ask fellow students for help and in case of emergency or just for discussions regarding your topic the way to your supervisors office is very short)
- If you use services on one of our servers, be aware that there will be regular system updates.
- Have a look on other thesis. Ask your supervisor for good ones or have a look on Publications
How to register a thesis
- Part 1: Get the registering formula:
There are 2 options to get the formula: - For BA and MA, Log in the LSF, download prefilled formula (at the "Leistungsübersicht" page)and print it. - For Fachstudie/Prozessanalyse/ProjektINF you only need the Ersatzformular - Download the formula from the websites of the "Prüfungsamt", print it and fill it the first two paragraphs handwritten. Visit the "Prüfungsamt" and let the employee there sign your formula.
- Part 2: Fill the registering formula with details about your thesis:
Add the following stuff: - Title of your thesis in English and German - Name of the examiner - sign the formula (with the current date) - visit our secretary and let the professor sing the registration formula
- Part 3: Visit the “Prüfungsamt”:
Bring the registering formula to the "Prüfungsamt". The employee there will add your thesis to the system and approve this on a formula.
- Part 4: Visit the secretary’s office
Please bring a copy of the registering formula with you to sign the contract. Please bring two copies of your description and two copies of the Lizenzbedingungen.
Congratulations: Your done and can start with your thesis 😉
The thesis itself
- Start writing early!
- Use the Thesis Template
- Since 2017 there will be no thesis number on the thesis cover anymore. - The CR number is most of the time H.5.2, for further information please visit: The ACM Computing Classification System (1998)
- The abstact should contain at max 250 words
- If the thesis is written in English, a German abstract has to be added to the thesis as well as an English one
- Look at other final theses that were conducted at our institute. If you need hints to example theses, please contact your supervisor.
- Let your friends proof-read your thesis! Nothing is worse than having typos in your final thesis. Make sure your thesis is in good quality.
- Send your thesis as soon as you finished a chapter to your supervisor (at latest 2 weeks before the deadline). We need that time to provide helpful feedback. The first chapters should be finished latest after 3 months.
- Go to our secretary to pick up your cover sheets.
- If you print your thesis at the Kopierlädle copy shop, hand it in there more than one day prior to your deadline as they need at least one day to tie your thesis. No matter where you tie you must tie your thesis with a “Kaltleimbindung” (“cold glue binding”).
Thesis delivery
- The university wants to have a CD with thesis in pdf file format and your abstract in txt file format
- Make sure to gather all software (complied and source code) and materials (High quality images/used questionnaires/data) and burn them onto the “supervisor CD” – this is a CD/DVD that is attached to your supervisor’s version of your thesis.
Presentation
All students who write their thesis at the Interaction Lab group are required to give two presentations:
- Bachelor/Master/Diploma: Interim presentation (after roughly half of the time)
- Final presentation (about 2-4 weeks after your submission deadline)
General information’s about the talk:
- PRACTICE your talk! Please don’t embarrass yourself and your supervisor (!!!) by giving a crappy talk. Also, check the timings during your rehearsal talks!
- Slides should be in English Template 16:9 Template 4:3
- You may present either in German or in English
- Prepare a talk for exactly 15 min. There will be no extension since the other presentations are delayed otherwise.
- Please speak proper English or German (a Swabian dialect is discouraged(!!!))
- After the presentation there will be a slot of 5 min for discussion with the audience
- The time slot for presentation is every Tuesday from 9:45 to 11:15 a.m.
- Contact Yomna to get a time slot for your presentation(s)
- Please send the slides of your presentations to your supervisor at least three days before your presentation!
How to submit a thesis in English
For the non-international study programs, you need to ask your examiner for the permission to write your thesis in English. You may use the following template to do so:
- Replace the xxx with the title of your thesis in the text below
- Send the text by email to your professor, cc our secretary.
“Sehr geehrter Herr Professor Henze, Ich möchte meine Arbeit mit dem Titel XXX in englischer Sprache verfassen und bitte um Ihre Genehmigung. Mit freundlichen Grüßen”
Literature
- How to Design and Report Experiments by Andy Field and Graham J. Hole, ISBN: 978-0-7619-7382-9
For English writers:
- Writing and Presenting in English The Rosetta Stone of Science by Petey Young, ISBN: 978-0-444-52118-7 PDF