Final theses

Requirements

We preferably accept students with a major in Finance and Accounting (seminars and/or lectures) as well as former project study participants.

Nevertheless, we are always happy to receive excellent applications by students with other focus areas/ qualifications. 

The number of available topics for theses is limited by the capacity of the chair. If the number of applications is exceeding the capacity of the chair, theses will be allocated according to your previous studies, elective courses, and personal interests.

Application

Applications for theses can be handed in anytime. The decision regarding the acceptance of applications and responsible supervisor for the thesis takes place every three months. The resulting deadlines are as follows:

To apply, the following documents must be submitted to the chair via the following link, each as a PDF and each including leading named with "Lastname_Firstname_":

• Current Transcript of Records / Examination Report
• Curriculum vitae
• Exposé (only for non-chair internal topics)

Please do not contact us for preliminary requests without submitting your complete application via the online form. Decisions regarding theses at our chair are made only on basis of complete applications. In case of questions or problems, you can reach out to us via: abschlussarbeit.controlling@wi.tum.de 

In case you have been denied twice (either with your own proposal or with your application for a Master thesis) please contact the Department Head Accounting & Finance (Prof. Dr. Reiner Braun, reiner.braun@tum.de). In cooperation with the involved chairs, he will assist you in finding an adequate master thesis topic for you. (However, we are unable to guarantee that you will be able to work on your own proposal.)

Duration

Following the exam regulations of the faculty, the time limits are:

• Master thesis (TUM-BWL/TUM-WIN/TUM-NAWI/TUM-WITEC/MBA/EMBA): six months
• Bachelor thesis: three months

Topic

The selection of topics needs to take place in consultation with the chair. The same topics may be used for bachelor theses and master theses in MBA and EMBA with less detail-orientation.

It is possible to write your thesis in cooperation with a company. The company partner can be suggested by the applicant. The thesis should cover a relevant existing challenge in industry. However, a scientific contribution is essential.

Topics from any field with a reference to controlling are possible. If suggesting your own topic, please provide an Exposé (1-3 pages). Please follow our guide for formal and other requirements. The exposé is the basis for the final topic and the process between applicant, chair, and company-partner.

Topic Overview

• open topics
• examples of past topics

Procedure

The applicants receive a notification with a positive or negative result.

In a positive case, the applicant should contact his advisor. The topic may be edited in consultation with the advisor. The concrete research topic should be reported to the examination office within 4 weeks. During the work on the thesis, the student must ask actively for feedback.

Thesis defense

For all theses, an oral presentation / defense is not mandatory but can be requested by the supervisor.

Formal Requirements

Please mind our formal requirements (english version). These requirements are mandatory for a scientific work at our chair. The following tips and hints are optional but might be helpful. If you plan to use LaTex for your thesis, feel free to use the following template .

The submission is made by email to the Grade Management (grademanagement@mgt.tum.de), not to the supervisor. It will be forwarded by Grade Management to the supervisor after review and approval by Grade Management:

The following must be submitted 

• Thesis with signed Declaration of Authorship (digital signature is sufficient)
• Permission to view... (as an extra PDF) www.wi.tum.de/downloads/

JUMS Publication

Junior Management Science is the academic journal to publish outstanding theses in business and management. Further exemplary theses can be found on their website JUMS - get inspired!“

Soley Tech Award (former prevero award)

The Soley GmbH rewards a prize to the best thesis of the chair each year. The prize is worth 1.000,-€.

Past winners:

2023: Jakob Klar, "A Cost-Effective Future for Electricity Storage – An Examination of LCOS Studies on Stationary Applications"

2018: Carolin Halemba, "Conception of an overhead cost budgeting & allocation methodology in the sales division to improve cost efficiency and strategic focus – A case study at BMW Group"

2017: Fabien Rozzi, "The Impact of the Gig-Economy on U.S. Labor Markets: Understanding the Role of Non-Employer Firms using Econometric Models and the Example of Uber"

2016: Valeriy Izrailevych, "Funktionen und Prozesse des Marken-Controllings - ein case-basierter Vergleich"2017: Fabien Rozzi, "The Impact of the Gig-Economy on U.S. Labor Markets: Understanding the Role of Non-Employer Firms using Econometric Models and the Example of Uber"

2015: Johannes Weindl, "Potenziale von Batteriespeichersystemen zur Regel-Energiebereitstellung"

2014: Julian Hall, "Dynamic Transfer Pricing - Trade-off zwischen effizienten Investitions- und Mengenanreizen bei kostenbasierten Transferpreisen"

2013: Milos Rusic, "Szenarien der Stromversorgung durch Windenergie in Deutschland"

2012: Alexandra Zehe, "Entwicklung eines Steuerungsmodells für den Malteser Hilfsdienst"

2011: Christopher Scheubel, "Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance in the Automotive Industry – Do Social and Environmental Outperformers also Outpace Financially?"

2010: Constantin Tabor, "Gasbeschaffung und Anlageneinsatzplanung vor den Hintergründen eines liberalisierten Gasmarkts"

2009: Valentin Faust, "Eignung wertorientierter Unternehmenssteuerungskonzepte bei langfristig ausgeprägten Geschäftsmodellen am Praxisbeispiel der MTU Aero Engines"

Contact for theses

Point of contact for theses: Sophie Westphal (abschlussarbeit.controlling@wi.tum.de)