Writing a thesis in our group

Are you a student at Heidelberg University and are interested in software engineering in general or in software analytics in particular? Then please reach out to us to discuss potential thesis topics!

Please read this entire page carefully before you reach out to us. It explains what we expect from students and how a thesis project in our group works. After reading this page, you can send your request to our team assistant, Ms. Sokoll, and include the information listed under Application. We will not consider incomplete requests.

Table of contents

1. Topics
2. Prerequisites
3. Application
4. Thesis Proposal
5. Thesis Registration
6. Research and Supervision
7. Thesis Template
8. Submission and Final Presentation

Topics

Our thesis topics are usually related to our current research. When writing your thesis in our group, you as a student will independently conduct research. However, we will advise and guide you in this endeavor. A thesis project in our group usually involves writing code, and we will support you with that as well. Depending on the outcome of your research, there might even be the chance to publish your work at an international conference or in a journal. We provide a list of potential thesis topics here (contact our team assistant, Ms. Sokoll, to get the password). Ms. Sokoll can also give you the password to our full thesis list (planned, proposed, ongoing, and completed projects). The thesis Q&A explains how students can propose their own topic. All topics should be aligned with the research areas we cover.

Prerequisites

Minimum Expectations

We expect all students who write their thesis in our group to have:

• successfully completed our lecture Software Engineering (ISE) or Advanced Software Engineering (IASE), or an equivalent lecture at another university,
• the software development skills required to build tools and analyze data,
• familiarity with Git,
• interest in empirical research, and
• good language proficiency in English.

The working language of our group is English. As outlined above, our thesis topics are usually connected to ongoing research projects, and English is the primary language used in this context. If you are not comfortable communicating in English or writing your thesis in English, our group may not be the best fit for you.

Selection Criteria

We can only supervise a limited number of thesis projects in parallel. Beyond the minimum expectations, students who write their thesis in our group should bring outstanding skills in one or more of the following areas:

• modern software engineering
• quantitative data analysis
• qualitative data analysis
• machine learning/artificial intelligence, in particular natural language processing
• information visualization

While there is no formal requirement to do your seminar or practical course in our group before starting your thesis project, doing so increases your chances of being admitted and allows you to start developing your thesis proposal earlier. Having passed our lectures, seminars, or practical courses with a good grade is of course an important selection criterion for us.

Topic-Specific Experience

Depending on the topic, experience with the following is helpful but not required:

• Python, Java, TypeScript, or Kotlin
• AI coding agents, language models, and GenAI tools
• empirical methods such as benchmark construction, human annotation, controlled experiments, and formative evaluation
• analyzing software repository histories and using GitHub APIs
• statistics, hypothesis testing, and machine learning evaluation
• software testing, code review, and continuous integration
• text analysis and clustering
• process mining, including object-centric event logs (OCEL)
• software architecture and domain modeling

Application

If you meet the minimum expectations and are interested in writing your thesis in our group, please send an email to our team assistant, Ms. Sokoll. Your email has to include:

• a list of the software engineering courses that you have attended
• a brief motivational statement outlining why you would like to write your thesis in our group
• your current transcript of records, which must show all attempts, including failed ones, not only the courses that you passed

If you have experience developing software in open-source projects, companies, or organizations, please also include a CV that lists it.

We will reach out to the students for whom we see a good fit.

Thesis Proposal

Together with a supervisor from our group, you will develop a thesis proposal. The supervisor, who is typically a doctoral or postdoctoral researcher in the group, will support you in drafting the proposal and will also advise you throughout your thesis project. Drafting your thesis proposal is the first step of your thesis project. A thesis proposal is usually not longer than four pages. Your thesis proposal serves as a blueprint for your thesis project and will also considerably help you to write your thesis later on. We provide a repository that you will use when starting to work on your thesis proposal. It contains a template with all sections that are required for a thesis proposal to be submitted.

Thesis Registration

Once a first draft of your thesis proposal has been agreed upon with your supervisor, you can register your thesis. Check the instructions provided on the university website, in particular regarding the process of registering and submitting a thesis (see the corresponding information for bachelor and master students).

Research and Supervision

After registering your thesis, you will start tackling your research question(s) by collecting data, implementing a tool, setting up experiments, or whatever is outlined in your thesis proposal.

• Meetings: While you work on the project, we usually schedule meetings every second week in which you report on your progress and clarify open questions. The thesis Q&A explains how to prepare for these meetings.
• Scientific writing: The general Q&A explains how to cite correctly, and the thesis Q&A covers topics such as thesis length and the number of references.
• Academic integrity: The rules in the Declaration of Originality apply throughout your project, and you will confirm that you followed them when you sign your thesis. The general Q&A explains to what extent you can use GenAI tools.

Thesis Template

You must write your thesis in LaTeX, for which we provide a thesis template. The general Q&A describes the formatting requirements and the baseline structure of a thesis.

Submission and Final Presentation

The university pages linked under Thesis Registration describe how to submit your thesis. You will present your thesis project in a colloquium. The thesis Q&A describes how long the colloquium lasts and what the presentation should cover.