Thesis
Writing a thesis can be an overwhelming task, so on the following page, we want to guide you through some of the most important organizational stepts by presenting you with:
- a timeline for completing the program
- a workflow for starting out with your thesis
- an overview of who can supervise a thesis and whom to contact with regard to statistical consulting
- the official examination regulations
- basic administrative needs
- steps to graduate
- options to join ISME as alumni
- frequently asked questions
Timeline for completing the program
to be added
Workflow for starting out with your thesis
When it comes to writing a thesis, there are several steps that you need to follow to ensure a smooth process. Which steps come first highly depends on individual cases, e.g. whether you already have a topic in mind and are looking for supervisors or whether you are open to ideas from a broad field and are looking for guidance to narrowing down a research question:
1. Think about what topics interest you the most.
Take a look at the courses you have taken and any assignments you have completed and if any of them could be exapnded into a thesis.
2. Let your academic advisors know.
Tell your academic advisors early on that you want to write a thesis in the upcoming semester. Let them know who you would like to work with as a supervisor in case you already know or in which fields you may require expertise.
3. Join the "Communicating Research" module.
This module is designed to complement your writing process in your final semester and provide peer-to-peer perspectives on your intended topic or research questions.
4. Find supervisors.
You will need to find a supervisor knowledgable in your areas of interest – both topic- and methods-wise – who can and is willing to guide you through the writing process and with whom you would feel comfortable of going through the process of writing your thesis together. Your academic advisors may help you find someone who specialiszes in your chosen topic.
5. Meet with potential supervisors.
Schedule an introductory meeting with potential supervisors to get to know each other and discuss your ideas and possible topics. At best, you have an abstract including a literature review ready to send to your potential supervisors.
With ISME being an interdisciplinary program, you may want to arrange meetings with both of your supervisors to ensure that it is clear to all involved who values what and how, and which evaluation standards apply.
6. Register your topic.
Once you have agreed on a topic, we advise you to register for your thesis by using the relevant form (LINK) which needs to be signed by the first and second supervisors, and sent to the examination office of the Department of History and Cultural Studies.
Make sure to read and understand the requirements and processing times for ISME (see below), and inform your supervisors accordingly.
After a processing time of 4 to 6 weeks, the examination committee of the Department of History and Cultural Studies, in coordination with the thesis supervisors, provides the topic of the master’s thesis and informs the student accordingly through a letter documenting the topic, the deadline for submission, as well as the modes of submission.
7. Start writing and stay in touch.
The master’s thesis should be between 15,000 and 18,000 words in length. Students have 20 weeks to work on their master’s thesis. It should be in English.
During the writing phase, keep in touch with your supervisors and ask for feedback regularly. Aim for a midterm meeting to discuss your progress. Before such midterm meetings, send an outline of your work and one or two relevant chapters to your supervisors.
8. Submit your thesis.
Once you've completed your thesis, you submit it as an electronic copy in Portable Document Format (PDF) to the Examination Office (LINK).
9. Receive the evaluation.
After you have submitted your thesis, the examination committee will assign two so-called examiners to review your thesis within 6 weeks time. Usually, your first and second supervisor, who have been working with you throughout the writing process, will be the examiners.
Both examiners will provide written evaluations of your thesis, which will be used to determine your final grade. These evaluations will be based on the quality of your research, analysis, and writing, as well as your ability to address the topic and meet the requirements of the program.
Just remember to give yourself enough time to complete your work, and keep in touch with your supervisors, peers, and other experts throughout the process.
The grade for your master's thesis will be documented in the campus management.
10. Stay in touch.
Let ISME's academic supervisors know once you have received the grade for your thesis and plan to complete the program; you may want to check out the information about graduating form ISME and joining our group of alumni.
Who can supervise a master's thesis in ISME?
You need two supervisors for your master's thesis. One of the two supervisors must be a professor teaching in ISME (in individual cases, one of your supervisors may also be a non-professor lecturer of ISME, see the information here LINK).
Below you will find a list of topics and the relevant professors and lecturers of ISME to contact for these topics (with relevant regional or language focusses in brackets). The topics tend to be specific and represent the research focusses of the relevant persons; most of the professors and lecturers would also supervise theses on neighboring topics after consultation.
| book and script culture | Beatrice Gruendler (Arabic); Grace Park (North-West Semitic) |
| Christian Oriental studies | Shabo Talay; Johannes Panagiotidis-Niehoff |
| cinema | Refqa Abu-Remaileh (Arab) |
| culture | Refqa Abu-Remaileh (Arab, modern, esp. Palestinian); Victoria Mummelthei (Arab, modern); Beatrice Gruendler (Arab, pre-modern); Isabel Toral (Arab, pre-modern); ... |
| dialectology | Shabo Talay (Arabic and Aramaic) |
| digital methods | Victoria Mummelthei (esp. Arabic); Simona Olivieri (esp. Arabic) |
| encyclopedias and anthologies | Isabel Toral; Beatrice Gruendler |
| folklore and oral history | Monsterrat Rabadan (Arab); Khanna Usoyoan (Near East, esp. also Kurdish) |
| gender, diversities, intersectionalities, sexualities | Schirin Amir-Moazami; Victoria Mummelthei |
| global contexts of the Middle East | Ulrike Freitag (the Arab world; limited supervisorial capacities); Florian Zemmin (Islamicate world) |
| history | Shoghig Hartmann (Armenian and Ottoman); Florian Zemmin (Islamic); Isabel Toral (Arab); Johannes Panagiotidis-Niehoff (Byzantine); Lukas Muehlethaler (Jewish); Ulrike Freitag (Arab, modern, esp. also urban; limited supervisorial capacities) |
| history of science | Cale Johnson (Babylonian); Lukas Muehlethaler (Arab, Islamicate; Jewish) |
| intellectual history | Florian Zemmin (Islamic, modern) Lukas Muehlethaler (Islamic, Jewish); ... |
| Islamic movements in Europe | Schirin Amir-Moazami |
| language and linguistics, also comparative | Shabo Talay (Semitic); Simona Olivieri (Semitic); Monsterrat Rabadan (Arabic); Grace Park (Biblical Hebrew; Ugaritic; North-West Semitic); Lukas Muehlethaler (Judeo-Arabic); Isabel Toral (Arab, pre-modern) |
| literature | Lukas Muehlethaler (Judeo-Arabic); Beatrice Gruendler (Arabic, pre-modern); Refqa Abu-Remaileh (Arabic, modern, esp. Palestinian); Isabel Toral (Arabic, pre-modern, al-Andalus ); Monsterrat Rabadan (Arabic, modern, al-Andalus); Victoria Mummelthei (Arabic, modern, diaspora); Khanna Usoyan (Kurdish) |
| minorities | Shabo Talay |
| Orientalism | Victoria Mummelthei; Schirin Amir-Moazami |
| paleography | Beatrice Gruendler (Arabic); ... |
| philology | Beatrice Gruendler (Arabic); Alberto Cantera Glera (pre-modern Iranian) |
| philosophy and thought | Lukas Muehlethaler (Arab and Arabic, Jewish and Hebrew); Florian Zemmin (Arab and Islamic) |
| political theories and social topics (identity, nationalism, ...) | Schirin Amir-Moazami (Islam in Europe); Florian Zemmin (Islamic, esp. secularism and reformism); Victoria Mummelthei |
| traditions of texts and knowledge | Cale Johnson (Babylonian); Islam Dayeh (Arab and Islamicate; esp. also Qur'an and Hadith); Lukas Muehlethaler (Arab, Islamicate; Jewish); Grace Park (the Hebrew Bible); Alberto Cantera Glera (Iranian, esp. also Zoroastrianism); Grace Park (Ugaritic); Khanna Usoyan (Iranophone, esp. Yezidism) |
| translation studies | Beatrice Gruendler (Arabic, pre-modern); Johannes Panagiotidis-Niehoff (Hebrew-Greek); Lukas Muehlethaler; Isabel Toral (Arabic, pre-modern); Victoria Mummelthei (modern, esp. Arabic) |
In other departments and Berlin universities, you may find expertise in the following topics and/or regions; please read the personal websites of the scholars carefully to learn about their areas of research and decide whether they could supervise you thematically, regionally, or methodologically when writing your thesis; please note that none of these scholars are obliged to supervise your thesis:
| anthropology | Kai Kresse (esp. Muslim societies of sub-Saharan Africa or Southeast Asia, but open for projects concerning all regions); Claudia Liebelt (esp.political); Samuli Schielke |
| body, aesthetics |
Claudia Liebelt (societies of the Middle East and North Africa); Katrin Bromber (East Africa and the Indian Ocean) |
| communication and media |
Carola Richter (Media systems and communication cultures in the Middle East, Asia and Africa) |
| gender and sexuality |
Claudia Liebelt; Hansjörg Dilger (esp. masculinities); Andrea Fleschenberg dos Ramos Pinéu |
| history |
Mohammad Gharaibeh; Hannes Grandits (esp. history of the Balkans); Sebastian Conrad |
| intellectual history |
Mohammad Gharaibeh (esp. Islamic theology); Sebastian Conrad |
| Islam |
Claudia Derichs (esp. Southeast Asia) |
| linguistics |
Katrin Bromber (esp. East Africa and the Indian Ocean) |
| migration and mobility | Gülistan Gürbey; Hansjörg Dilger; Samuli Schielke; Kai Kresse; Manja Stephan-Emmrich |
| Muslim life | Kai Kresse; Mohammad Gharaibeh (esp. in Germany); Stefan B. Kirmse (esp. Eurasia); Dietrich Reetz (esp. India and Pakistan as well as Europe) |
| networks and social movements | Claudia Derichs (esp. Southeast Asia); Andrea Fleschenberg dos Ramos Pinéu; Dietrich Reetz (esp. India and Pakistan) |
| peace and conflict | Andrea Fleschenberg dos Ramos Pinéu; Nora Lafia (esp. Cairo, Aleppo, Tunis); Dietrich Reetz |
| political Islam | Claudia Derichs |
| politics | Cilja Harders; Gülistan Gürbey (esp. Turkey, Cyprus, Kurdistan-Iraq) |
| post-colonial experiences | Kai Kresse |
| religion | Hansjörg Dilger; Kai Kresse; Claudia Liebelt; Mohammad Gharaibeh; Samuli Schielke; Manja Stephan-Emmrich |
| social practices | Kai Kresse |
| women and Islam | Claudia Derichs |
| youth cultures | Manja Stephan-Emmrich |
In individual cases, the examination board of the Department of History and Cultural Studies can approve external supervision through a professor from another university in Germany or abroad (informal application with CV of the desired person and a justification; the person must be authorized to conduct examinations, e.g. through teaching and/or supervisory activities at another university).
Statistical consulting
If you're looking for help with statistical questions, fu:stat (LINK) has got you covered. This team of experts is dedicated to providing advice and guidance to students no matter what your project entails: from short consultations to help you get started, to supervising your empirical work (like your thesis), to tackling complex projects. So if you need some help crunching numbers, don't hesitate to check out fu:stat's consulting services – they're sure to have just the expertise you need to succeed.
Official examination regulations
Legally binding are the regulations in German (LINK). Below a translation:
(1) The goal of the master’s thesis is to demonstrate that students can perform advanced academic work on their own in interdisciplinary studies of the Near and Middle East, including North Africa and the Horn of Africa, covering areas such as language, culture, and history. Furthermore, they should be able to present their work appropriately in writing, situate it within an academic context, and to document it accordingly.
(2) Students will be admitted to work on a master’s thesis by submitting a request provided that at the time of the request:
1. They were most recently enrolled in the relevant master’s degree program at Freie Universität Berlin.
and
2. They have completed at least 30 credits in their core area module as well as at least 15 credits in an additional module in their specialization area within the master’s program.
(3) The admission request for the master’s thesis must be accompanied by proper documentation of the prerequisites listed in para. 2, as well as confirmation from an instructor who is authorized to administer exams that he or she is willing and able to act as a supervisor for the master’s thesis. This confirmation must be no older than four weeks old at the time the request is submitted. The relevant examination committee is responsible for approving requests. If the request does not include confirmation from an instructor as described [[just above]], the examination committee will appoint a supervisor. Students can propose topics for their thesis; however, there is no guarantee that their proposed topics will be approved.
(4) The examination committee, in coordination with the thesis supervisor, provides the topic of the master’s thesis. The topic and assignment must be designed in such a way as to ensure the work can be completed before the deadline. The assignment and compliance with the submission deadline must be documented and kept on file.
(5) The master’s thesis should be between 15,000 and 18,000 words in length. Students have 20 weeks to work on their master’s thesis. It should be in English. If a student is hindered from working on their master’s thesis for more than three months due to mitigating circumstances, the examination committee will decide whether the student must start the master’s thesis process again. If the Examination Committee demands that the master’s thesis must be submitted again, the previous steps in the master’s thesis process do not count as an official examination attempt.
(6) The work period for the master’s thesis begins with the date that the topic is assigned by the examination committee. The topic can be declined once within two weeks of being assigned, in which case it will be deemed not issued. When the students submit their master’s thesis, they must include a written statement confirming that they alone are responsible for the content of the thesis and that they only used the sources or references listed in the thesis. Students must submit three bound copies of their master’s thesis as well as an electronic copy in Portable Document Format (PDF).
(7) The examination committee will appoint two examiners, who must be qualified to perform assessments at the university, to evaluate the master’s thesis. Their written evaluations must be submitted within eight weeks’ time. One of the examiners should be the student’s supervisor for the master’s thesis. At least one of the evaluations should be from an instructor from the Department of History and Cultural Studies who is qualified to perform assessments and whose primary employer is Freie Universität Berlin.
(8) A grade of ‘sufficient’ (4.0) or higher is a passing grade for a master’s thesis.
(9) A student’s work on a master’s thesis elsewhere can be recognized/transferred to Freie Universität. The recognition request should be submitted to the examination committee. For the master’s thesis to be recognized, the examination conditions and the assignment of the submitted work must not differ substantially in terms of quality, level, learning outcomes, scope and profile when compared to the examination conditions and the assignment of a master’s thesis completed in this master’s program, which are essential to the professional qualification conferred by this master’s program.
Administrative needs
Fill out this form (LINK), have it signed by the first and second supervisors, and send it to the examination office of the Department of History and Cultural Studies.
Steps to graduate
Submit the application for graduation (LINK) to the examination office once you have completed your last assignment or examination. However, you do not have to wait until your grade(s) have been reported to campus management.
Join ISME as alumni
to be added
Frequently asked questions
to be added
A thesis in ISME is a written academic work that demonstrates a student's ability to conduct research and produce a scholarly argument on a particular topic. The main objective of the master's thesis is to showcase that students possess the ability to conduct advanced academic research independently in various fields related to the Near and Middle East, including North Africa and the Horn of Africa. These fields may include language, culture, and history, among others. Additionally, students are expected to present their findings in a written format that conforms to academic standards, demonstrate an understanding of the broader academic context of their research, and provide proper documentation to support their arguments.
The steps involved in starting out with your thesis include thinking about what topics interest you the most, informing your academic advisors, joining the "Communicating Research" module, finding supervisors, meeting with potential supervisors, registering your topic, starting to write and staying in touch, submitting your thesis, receiving the evaluation, and staying in touch.
By the beginning of the 4th semester at the latest, you should have started thinking about topics and contacted possible supervisors. However, at best, you already make initial preparations for your subject-related or project-related thesis during your studies by setting certain focal points in your term papers and presentation topics or in the project seminar or internship.
A colloquium specially designed for students of the master's program ISME takes place during the 4th semester, so in the summer semester. In the colloquium, you will learn different aspects of communicating your topics and research questions as well as your plans for your thesis. Participation is obligatory.
Think about which topic you are particularly interested in. Which previous course did you find exciting, which lecturer particularly appealed to you? Consider whether you can take up the topic of a particularly successful term paper and develop it into a master's thesis. You can already think about a topic very precisely and then discuss it with your potential supervisor. In principle, any topic is possible, provided that you receive a supervisory commitment for it. You can also approach a supervisor with an approximate idea: "I am interested in this topic, which aspects or questions could I work on in my master thesis?". You can also develop the thesis from any module or course, or choose the topic and supervisor completely freely, without a connection to any course you have attended.
On a form (LINK) that you submit with the registration, you formulate the topic (intended title of the thesis) in consultation with the supervisors of the master's thesis. The topic formulated in the application is binding; however, you may add a headline and a subtitle to specify the topic.
You can propose topics for your thesis; however, there is no guarantee that your proposed topics will be approved. Officially, the topic is provided by the Examination Committee in consultation with the supervisors. Usually, this topic is the one propsoed by the students in accordance with the supervisors in the course of the master's thesis application process.
Finding the right supervisor is crucial for the success of your thesis. Your supervisor will be your main guide and mentor throughout the writing process, so it's important to find someone who has expertise in your area of interest and who you feel comfortable working with. Talk to your academic advisors and potential supervisors to get a sense of their availability, working style, and expectations.
Yes, there are certain deadlines you need to be aware of when it comes to completing your master's program and writing your thesis. Firstly, you need to register your topic with the examination office of the Department of History and Cultural Studies about 4-6 weeks prior to the start of your thesis. Once your topic is registered and has been provided to you by the Examination Committee, you have 20 weeks to complete and submit your thesis.
When it comes to evaluating a master's thesis, there are a few things that are taken into consideration. The examiners will look at the quality of the research, analysis, and writing presented in the thesis, as well as the student's ability to effectively address the chosen topic and meet the requirements of the program.
It's important to note that the specific evaluation criteria may vary depending on the topic or method. As such, it's important for students to discuss these criteria with their supervisors and examiners to ensure they have a clear understanding of what is expected of them and how their work will be evaluated. So, don't hesitate to ask questions and seek clarification to ensure you're on the right track.
It's important to meet the submission deadline for your thesis, as failing to do so can result in failing the examination, having to start the process all over again with a new topic, in a delay in graduation or even the loss of your funding. If you're struggling to meet the deadline, talk to your supervisors and academic advisors to see if there's any flexibility or if you can request an extension.
In other departments and Berlin universities, you may find expertise in the topics and/or regions not covered by ISME. To find out, please read the personal websites of the scholars carefully to learn about their areas of research and decide whether they could supervise you thematically, regionally, or methodologically when writing your thesis.
