Bachelor's thesis

A bachelor's thesis can be written in all working groups of the faculty (including preclinical) as well as outside the faculty.

For working groups of the faculty see - see!

If you are interested in a specialisation or topic, please contact the relevant working group leader directly (e.g. in person or by e-mail). The group leader will then inform you of any formalities and possible time slots.

In some working groups, the bachelor's theses are distributed after completion of the respective project internships. In most working groups, however, theses are assigned throughout the year depending on student requests. In some cases, theses are announced on the notice board in the foyer of the new biology building.

If you have difficulties finding a place for a thesis, please contact the degree programme coordinator(Elisabeth.Brunner@ur.de) (opens your email program) or the chair of the examination board(bjoern.brembs​(at)​ur.de). (opens your email program)

Bachelor's theses at the Clinical Centre (e.g. human genetics, immunology) are considered external theses and must be approved by the examination board - for more information - see!

The research laboratory (6 weeks) is completed in preparation for the bachelor's thesis. The research laboratory is accompanied by a seminar (usually a chair seminar) in which a seminar presentation must be given. The research laboratory must be registered by the student in Flexnow.

At least 132 LP,

including successful completion of the following modules:

BIO-BSc-01 to 06,

• 01: General Biology - Cell Biology and Botany
• 02: General Biology - Zoology
• 03: Ecology and evolutionary biology
• 04: Morphology and systematics of plants
• 05: Morphology and systematics of animals
• 06: Plant and animal physiology

at least three modules from BIO-BSc-07 to 10,

• 07: Neurobiology, ethology and developmental biology
• 08: Genetics
• 09: Microbiology
• 10: Biochemistry

BIO-BSc-11 to 18,

• 11: Mathematics
• 12: Physics
• 13: Biological Physics
• 14: General Chemistry
• 15: Inorganic chemistry
• 16: Organic Chemistry I
• 17: Organic Chemistry II
• 18: Physical Chemistry

BIO-BSc-24

• 24: Specialisation module - practicals

When registering for the bachelor's thesis, a written exam from the 4th semester (or Biochemistry A and B) and achievements from modules 19 to 23 may still be missing:

• 19: Practical module (3 compulsory elective internships)
• 21: Key competences (2 biological seminars, professional qualification courses, design and evaluation)
• 22: Statistics and Bioinformatics
• 23: Specialisation module - lectures

See also overview of admission requirements: pdf! (opens in a new window). (This PDF is not accessible)

The missing achievements may still be missing when the bachelor's thesis is submitted. It is important that the coursework is completed before the examination deadline (eight semesters).

The bachelor's thesis takes a maximum of 10 weeks to complete.

The bachelor's thesis is assessed with 12 CP.

!!! Please note: If the bachelor's thesis is not submitted until the following semester, the semester fee must be paid for this semester. There is no grace period! For example, submission on 1 October or 1 April means that you still have to pay for the winter or summer semester. A refund is not possible. The proportionate student union fee may be refunded in exceptional cases. If you have any questions about the semester fees, please contact the Registrar's Office directly.

Extension of the submission deadline

If the candidate can prove that he/she is unable to complete the examination for reasons for which he/she is not responsible, he/she will be granted an extension upon request. The informal application must be submitted by the candidate to the relevant Examination Office immediately after the reason has arisen.

As a rule, the Bachelor's degree programme should be completed by the end of the sixth semester with proof of 180 CP. If a student is unable to provide proof of the 180 CP at the end of the eighth semester, the Bachelor's examination is deemed to have been taken for the first time and failed.

If the outstanding achievements cannot be demonstrated by the end of the ninth semester, the Bachelor's examination is deemed to have been definitively failed. (PO § 23)

If the examination deadline of eight semesters cannot be met, an extension of the deadline must be applied for at the Examinations Office. This also applies if the deadline for submitting the bachelor's thesis exceeds the examination deadline. The extension of the examination deadline can be applied for on the Bachelor's thesis registration form. See Bachelor's thesis registration form - link!

If further examinations are still outstanding after submission of the bachelor's thesis, these must also be completed within the extended examination deadline.

The examination period is determined by the examination semesters, not the subject semesters. Due to Corona, the semesters SS 20, WS 20/21 and SS 21 do not count as examination semesters. It is therefore possible, for example, that you are in the 8th semester, but only in the 5th examination semester.

The bachelor's thesis must be registered with the Examinations Office using a form before the practical work begins. The form can be downloaded from the Examinations Office website - link! (external link, opens in a new window)

The start date of the bachelor's thesis cannot be backdated on the application. The date of the application is the earliest start date.

A seminar presentation must be given to accompany the bachelor's thesis. The seminar must be booked in Flexnow.

Students must register themselves in Flexnow for the research laboratory (BIO-BSc-25), which precedes the bachelor's thesis.

The seminar for the bachelor's thesis (BIO-BSc-26.1) is registered in Flexnow by the examination office and must be booked by the chair.

The bachelor's thesis comprises a practical part, the results of which are presented in a written paper. The formal requirements for the written thesis are specified by the respective supervisor.

The bachelor's thesis can be submitted in German or English and must contain both a German and an English summary.

A declaration of independence must be included in the thesis. The wording can be found in the letter of admission from the Examinations Office.

The bachelor's thesis must be submitted in bound form in duplicate (in triplicate only for external theses) to the Biology Examinations Office by the deadline. The Examinations Office will forward the thesis to the reviewer for correction.

You have the following options for submitting your bachelor's thesis:

• personal submission at the Examinations Office - link! during opening hours
• Sending by post (the postmark is then decisive), possibly by registered mail (so you also have proof of timely dispatch)
• Posting in the deadline letterbox in front of the university administration building Posting in the letterbox in front of the Biology Examination Office is NOT permitted.

Supervisors of the bachelor's thesis can be all university lecturers (Prof. or PD) of the Faculty of Biology and Preclinical Medicine, as well as habilitation candidates after a positive interim evaluation and junior research group leaders who are funded by the Emmy Noether Programme, the Sofja Kovalevskaja Programme, the Heisenberg Programme or equivalent elite programmes, subject to the requirements of the HSchPrüferV. In addition, university lecturers from other faculties who have habilitated at the Faculty of Biology and Preclinical Medicine may be admitted as supervisors. The candidate is free to choose the supervisor. (Section 11 (2) of the Bachelor's examination regulations dated 3 May 2016; amended by the statutes dated 2 June 2022)

(e.g. at the Regensburg Clinical Centre)
In exceptional cases, the bachelor's thesis can be completed outside the Faculty of Biology and Preclinical Medicine with the approval of the examination boards, provided that it is carried out there under the supervision of a university lecturer (professor or PD) who prepares a second opinion. However, the supervision and thus also the first assessment of the bachelor's thesis must be carried out by a university lecturer from the Faculty of Biology and Preclinical Medicine. The university lecturer must agree in writing to supervise the thesis before the topic is issued.

If the research laboratory is also completed externally, this must be noted on the application. Here too, supervision must be provided by the university lecturer from the Faculty of Biology and Preclinical Medicine and approved by them on the application. In Flexnow, the research laboratory and the bachelor's thesis seminar are booked with the supervisor of the Faculty of Biology and Preclinical Medicine. Please register there in Flexnow and ask the supervisor to book the internship and the seminar.

Exception: Research internships and bachelor's thesis seminars at the clinical centre in human genetics, immunology and medical microbiology can be booked directly by the supervisor at the clinical centre.

In addition to the form "Antrag auf Zulassung zur Bachelorarbeit Biologie", the form "Antrag auf Zulassung einer externen Bachelorarbeit Biologie" must be completed and submitted to the Examinations Office - link! (external link, opens in a new window) before starting the thesis.

Download the applications: see!

Calculation of the overall Bachelor's grade (opens in a new window). (This PDF is not accessible)

The issue of the Bachelor's certificate must be applied for at the Biology Examination Office (Application Examination Office - link! (external link, opens in a new window)).

As the new examination regulations for the Master's degree programme in Biology will come into force in the summer semester 2018, additional credits earned in the Bachelor's degree programme can only be used as early credits for the Master's degree programme to a limited extent.

Please note that if courses can be used for the Master's degree programme in Biology, this must be noted in the application for the Bachelor's certificate. The courses will then be rebooked in FlexNow as early credits for the Master's programme and will not be shown on the Bachelor's certificate.
Please note: Once the Bachelor's certificate has been issued, it is no longer possible to transfer from the Bachelor's programme to the Master's programme or vice versa!

If, after receiving your Bachelor's degree certificate, you take courses as early credits for the Master's programme, these must also be booked as such in FlexNow. Otherwise, these courses cannot be transferred to the Master's programme.

At the time of submission of the bachelor's thesis, credit points may still be missing. However, these must be completed within the examination deadlines (see above).

If you would like to complete your degree in the summer semester, you should start your bachelor's thesis by mid-June at the latest. Even if you are still doing project internships in the summer semester, it is still possible to complete your degree in the summer semester (by the end of September).

See a possible timetable here: PDF (opens in a new window). (This PDF is not accessible)

If you wish to complete your studies in the summer semester, the thesis must be submitted to the Examinations Office by 30 September at the latest, and in the winter semester by 31 March at the latest. The correction of the thesis will no longer count towards your study period and you no longer need to be enrolled.

Academic writing counselling for biology students - link!

Info lecture on the bachelor's thesis (opens in a new window). (This PDF is not accessible)