Final theses

General information on Bachelor's and Master's theses

If you are planning to write your thesis at the Chair of International Law, European Law and Public Law, please contact your potential supervisor at an early stage - ideally before writing an exposé - in order to agree on the topic and timetable. Please send your application with a proposed topic and a supervisor preference to Prof. Dr. Steiger for registration. After the final topic agreement and the signed application, it will be forwarded to Ms. Born by the chair's secretariat. The ZIS Examination Office will then obtain the approval of the Examination Committee and you will be informed by e-mail about the admission and the submission deadline.

You are expressly encouraged to propose your own topic, which is based on the Chair's research and teaching focus. Alternatively, you can also apply for a topic from the published list of topics. For Master's theses, a topic proposal is mandatory. The supervisors decide on the assignment of topics and inform you about the acceptance of the topic. Further information and forms, e.g. on sick leave, registration or submission formalities, can be found on the ZIS website for Bachelor's and Master's theses.

For a Bachelor's thesis in the degree program "International Relations" in the field of international law, a length of 6500 words in the main text is expected (excluding footnotes, bibliography and appendix). The processing time is 5 weeks. For a Master's thesis in the degree program "International Relations" in the field of international law, a length of 50 to 80 pages is expected (including footnotes, excluding bibliography and appendix). The processing time is 18 weeks (examination regulations for the Master's degree program in International Relations dated September 18, 2017) or 22 weeks (examination regulations for the consecutive Master's degree program in International Relations dated July 11, 2022).

The binding formalities of the thesis correspond to the Binding Guidelines for Writing a Paper in International Law. Please also note the guidelines for Bachelor's and Master's students when writing the exposé.

There are no requirements regarding the number of ECTS credits or courses taken in order to register for a Bachelor's thesis in international law. However, it is generally recommended to have attended additional courses in addition to the compulsory courses in international law. This is particularly recommended if you are interested in topics such as international humanitarian law and commercial law. The topic of the Master's thesis will be issued if the student has achieved 75 credit points at the time of registration.