Master thesis

The master thesis constitutes an important element of the M.Sc. program. It represents an independent piece of scholarly work which testifies the student's knowledge of the foundations, structures, and methodologies underlying the topic. Typically, master theses at our chair are empirical (quantitative or qualitative) and/ or conceptual in nature.

Master thesis projects can be started at any time during the year.

There are two possible starting points for a master thesis project: Students can either:

• choose one of our proposals or
• come up with their own idea/ proposal.

A list of open master thesis topics – which tie in closely with our ongoing research projects – can be found in our internal ILIAS group. If you are interested in or have specific questions about any of the listed topics, please contact the indicated contact person by email. We are looking forward to visiting with you and discussing the topics in detail.

Students who would like to develop a master thesis topic based on their own ideas or wish to conduct their thesis in collaboration with a specific company have to ensure that the substantive area in which they wish to research is linked to our areas of expertise. So please check our research interests and publications before you contact us.

It is not necessary to be an expert in procurement to conduct a master thesis with our chair, but it is highly recommended to attend at least one of our master courses. At minimum, applicants should have passed one module OPM 6XX and one seminar OPM 7XX in the Area Operations Management (or equivalent courses/ modules within an exchange program).

Master thesis applications should be sent to procurementmail-uni-mannheim.de with the following documents:

• CV (including high school and B.Sc. grades)
• Current grade overview of M.Sc. studies in Mannheim
• Proposed topic (only if the topic is suggested by the applicant)

We will then contact you to arrange an appointment for a kick-off. In a next step, it is essential to draft and send us a proposal (one-pager) which includes the following elements:

• Title that clearly and succinctly conveys the essence of the study
• Description of the research problem (What is (are) the research question(s) that you plan to tackle? Why is it a problem or puzzle? Why is it relevant?)
• Intended research design and methodology (How do you plan to address the research question(s)?)

For further details on the master thesis process, please consult our master thesis writing guidelines (step 1) or contact Ruth Schültken (step 2).