Faculty of
Life Sciences Faculty of Life Sciences

In order to apply to complete your final thesis, you must have completed all of the prerequisites outlined in the applicable course and examination regulations

You then need to have the 'Application for issuance of a final thesis' and the 'Declaration of consent for publication of a final thesis' forms signed by the first and second markers, as well as by the chair of the examinations committee. The latter will assess the suitability of the title and of the markers and will assign binding start and submission dates.

The time allotted for the Bachelor's thesis is 10 weeks, or 8 weeks for the Health Sciences and Nutrition and Home Economics degree courses. A period of six months is allocated for Master's theses. If additional exams also need to be completed during the same period, the time available to work on the thesis can be extended depending on the overall workload. The start date can be backdated a maximum of four weeks with the agreement of the examinations committee chair.

Please submit the application – signed by the two markers and the examinations committee chair – together with the accompanying sheet to the Faculty Service Office. If either of the markers have not previously served as a marker for HAW Hamburg, you will also need to submit a copy of their academic degree. Thesis registrations involving external markers that do not include proof of their academic qualifications cannot be accepted.

Once your application has been processed you will receive a copy of the registration with the submission information.

Information about writing a thesis

Our application for the issue of a thesis contains a clause that excludes any publication of the contents of your thesis or disclosure to third parties if this is requested. For this purpose, a field is provided in the application that can be checked by both you and the reviewers (thus also by the company) if publication or disclosure is to be refrained from. It is sufficient for one of the parties involved to check this box - this sets in place a corresponding automatic mechanism that protects the content.

Since we as a university also have a strong interest in cooperating with external companies, we are highly sensitive when it comes to handling externally collected data and results.

Declaration of consent for publication of a final thesis

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Department of Health Sciences

• Health Sciences "Antrages auf Ausgabe einer Abschlussarbeit", in german only
• Health Sciences Application form – Bachelor's thesis
• Master of Health Sciences and Master of Public Health Application form – Master's thesis

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For the following Bachelor's and Master's degree courses, please use this "Antrages auf Ausgabe einer Abschlussarbeit" , in german only

• Biomedical Engineering
• Biotechnology
• Environmental Engineering
• Food Science
• Hazard Control
• Nutrition and Home Economics
• Pharmaceutical Biotechnology
• Process Engineering
• Renewable Energy Systems
• Rescue Engineering

You can also use the english version: Application

Extending the submission deadline

If you become ill during the period allocated for work on your thesis, please submit a sick note (Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung) to the chair of the examinations committee as soon as possible (deadline: one day after the final date listed on the sick note). The time available to work on the thesis will be extended by the number of sick days.

If you need an extension for other reasons, please first obtain the approval of the markers and submit this, together with a brief explanation of why you need an extension and how long you would like the extension to be, to the chair of the examinations committee. The chair will then notify the Faculty Service Office, which will send you confirmation of the new submission deadline via email.

Changing the thesis title

If you have already registered your thesis and want to change the title, please obtain approval to do so from the markers and submit this to the chair of the examinations committee for their permission. The chair will then notify the Faculty Service Office, which will send you confirmation via email that the change has been approved.

Please remember to print out the 'Application for issuance of a final thesis' again with the new title so that all of the formal documents list the correct title. You do not need to obtain the signatures of the markers a second time.

The submission date is binding. It is possible to submit Bachelor's theses a maximum of one week before the due date. Master's theses can be submitted a maximum of three weeks before the due date.

For the Nutrition and Home Economics Bachelor's degree course and the degree courses in the Department of Health Sciences, submission is possible only after half of the allocated completion period has passed.

Theses submitted outside of these time periods will not be accepted.

Theses submitted after the deadline will be given a 'fail' and the numerical grade 5.0.

If the submission deadline falls on a Sunday or a holiday, the next workday will be considered the deadline.

You can submit your completed thesis – two print copies, together with a digital version of your thesis (on a CD, memory card or USB stick) and the examination file (which contains five documents: examination file form, signed declaration, assessment templates 1 and 2, and the confirmation of submission) – in one of three different ways:

• In person at the Faculty Service Office (See our opening hours; outside of these hours you will need an appointment.)
• Via regular mail (The postmark will be considered the submission date. Please be sure to keep your receipt from the postal service as proof. We recommend using registered mail.)
  
  Address for letters and registered mail:
  HAW Hamburg, Fakultät LS
  Fakultätsservicebüro
  Postfach 10 03 61
  20002 Hamburg
  
  Address for packages:
  HAW Hamburg, Fakultät LS
  Fakultätsservicebüro
  Ulmenliet 20
  21033 Hamburg
   
• Via the Faculty Service Office house mailbox (#160, in front of the cafeteria) during the building's opening hours

After the thesis has been submitted, the markers have six weeks to evaluate it. The assessments will then be sent to the Faculty Service Office. When both assessments have been received, the Faculty Service Office will forward them to the chair of the examinations committee. The grade will then be posted on myHAW.

Information about re-registration:

You are not required to re-register if you have completed all of your exams and you submit your thesis before the end of the current semester.

The application for transcripts and certificates can be submitted before the final thesis has been graded. However, the grades for all other assessments must have been posted to myHAW.

Transcripts and certificates will be generated using the first and last names recorded in myHAW. If you have more than one first or last name and these are not listed in myHAW, please include a copy of a valid ID document listing your current names with your application.

As soon as the signed transcript and certificate are ready, we will inform you via email. You will be given the option of picking up the documents at the Faculty Service Office or having them sent to you via registered mail.

Please use the following form for all Bachelor's and Master's degree courses: Application for transcripts and certificates