Master's thesis
The Master Thesis module is worth 30 ECTS credits. The Master Thesis must be written in English. The time allowed for completing the written work is five months.
Students who have earned at least 72 ECTS credits at the time of registration are eligible for admission to the Master Thesis. The credits earned must include the successful completion of at least two mandatory modules (see annex 1) as well as the Study Project module.
Currently (Summer 2026/ Winter 2026/ 2027), the following topics are offered in Faculty 5:
| chair | Name of contact person | Number of new Master Theses | Topics/Research Questions (new) |
| Intercultural Studies | Estibaliz Sienra Iracheta | 2 | cultural heritage and critical heritage perspectives, including multidisciplinary approaches, transculturation processes and postcolonial theories, as well as qualitative research methodologies and dialogical research practices. qualitative research |
| Management of regional energy systems | Paul Strikker | 1-2 | Regional economic resilience, regional structural change and transformation, political economy of water |
| Sociology of Technology and the Environment | Melanie Jaeger-Erben | 3 |
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| Economics, especially Microeconomics | Jan Schnellenbach | 3-4 |
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| Intercultural Studies | Tetiana Havlin | 1-2 Winter Semester 2026-27 only | Transnational Migration; Interculturality; Multilingualism; Uncertainty; Cultural Transformation |
| Business Informatics and Business Analytics | Mohsen Nafar | 2 | Operations Research (Combinatorial Optimisation) related topics, combining AI and OR |
| Technoscience Studies | Astrid Schwarz | 10 | Rethinking Waterscapes in Cottbus Reconceptualisation of technology-environment relations in Lusatia Transformation of the historical garden culture in Lusatia GardenKnowledge Digitalisation of collection objects in natural history museums Visual cultures of ecological research From coal phase-out to hydrogen phase-in Aquatic infrastructures in Lusatia History of technology and science research at BTU |
| General Business Administration, specialising in Investment and Financing | Simon Schmidt | 1-3 | The role of desirable futures in crowdfunding Supporting entrepreneurs’ access to resources in disrupted environments Visualising ecosystem services in small-scale private forests The dark sides of entrepreneurial ideals in corporate venturing |
| Sociology of Technology and the Environment | Samantha Schwickert | 1 | Energy Transition, Energy Justice as part of the EPOS project, must be completed by the end of 2026, as my position ends then. |
| Economic and Industrial Sociology | Janina Puder | 3 | Energy Transition, valuation of cultural labour, structural change in East Germany, all of which must be completed by the end of 2026 |
| Public Law, with a focus on environmental and planning law | Eike Albrecht | The EU Recovery Regulation, the EU Soil Directive, and the new CAP 28 – Synergy potentials and challenges | |
| Public Law, with a focus on environmental and planning law | Dirk Marx | The TransLAB at the BTU as a gatekeeper for transformative research. Transdisciplinarity as a general methodological approach for research and the university of the future Concepts of sustainability and their significance in science Citizen science as the method of choice for strengthening the transformative requirements of university operations Structural change and the energy transition; what are they and how can they be implemented in practice? Regional considerations on the edge of the lignite excavation pit against the backdrop of uncovering future potential Communication and how we interact with one another; whether within the university community or alongside entirely different actors and stakeholders – rethinking. Setting the research agenda through third-party funding is an uncomfortable challenge. How can one address this and make recommendations for changing such conditions? What embodies the essence of science? | |
| Public Law, with a focus on environmental and planning law | Steven Kramm | What is Ecosystem-Based Adaptation and how can it be successfully integrated into national climate adaptation plans? – (Based on a selected case study) | |
| Applied Media Sciences | Christer Petersen | Audio-video-based projects, topics developed on request | |
| Decarbonisation and Transformation of Industry | Anouk Kruschinski | 1 | Drivers of the Perception (Prioritisation, Threats, Future Outlook) of Sustainable Development Goals by Young Adults – Specific requirements! Students must be able to work with StudioR independently and have knowledge of statistical analysis, including regression analysis, group comparisons and effect size scores, and be able to handle large data sets |