Open Theses

Guideline for Bachelor and Master Thesis Applicants

1) Eligibility

• Open to Bachelor’s and Master’s students in the TUM School of Computation, Information and Technology (CIT).
• Strong academic performance is expected (please include your transcript of records).
• Prior experience in our research areas (e.g., software engineering, software testing, AI for software) is a plus.

2) Application Procedure

Send one email to application(at)seai.cit.tum.de using your university email account. Please include:

• Short CV (max. 2 pages).
• Transcript of records.
• Research interests (2–3 areas relevant to our group; e.g., AI code generation, automated software testing, program analysis, developer productivity, HCI and AI, ML for SE).
• (Optional) Any prior research/project experience (e.g., seminar, HiWi work, internships, open-source contributions).
• If applying for suggested topics: list the topic IDs/titles in order of preference (see our current offerings on the website). These topics are aligned with ongoing research projects; feasibility within the official time frame is essential.
• If proposing your own topic: attach a 1–2 page concept note covering: research question, brief related work (state of the literature), intended contribution, planned data sources, and methods.
• Application email: application(at)seai.cit.tum.de
  Subject: Thesis Application – [Bachelor/Master] – [Your Name]

3) Thesis Process

A) Preparation Phase

• Initial interview with research staff.
• Literature review and scoping; define research questions and draft a working plan.
• Prepare a short proposal (3–4 pages) including a temporary thesis title, matriculation ID, and the official starting date.
• Registration: Only after you successfully complete this phase and your proposal is accepted by the chair can your thesis be registered in the system.

B) Implementation Phase

• Work independently with regular check‑ins agreed with your supervisor.
• Maintain all artifacts (code, experiments, datasets, text) in a version‑controlled repository (e.g., GitHub/GitLab). Your supervisor must have access.
• Practice proactive communication: if issues arise, inform your supervisor early.

C) Final Phase

• Submit your thesis within the official period (Bachelor: 4 months; Master: 6 months).
• Deliver a final presentation (~18‑min talk + 7‑min Q&A). Depending on the arrangement with your supervisor, this takes place shortly after completion of the thesis in front of the chair’s staff. All students giving their thesis defense are required to attend the presentation onsite in Heilbronn.

4) Requirements

• Thesis language: English.
• Reproducibility & openness: Results (code, data, reports) must be documented and—where possible—published under an open‑source license (exceptions apply for data protection/NDAs).
• Style & quality: Follow the group’s presentation and writing guidelines.

5) Expectations

• Academic integrity and independent work at a high standard.
• Regular progress updates and responsiveness to feedback.
• Professional conduct and adherence to deadlines.