Katharina Kohls

Head of System Security Chair
Ruhr University Bochum


How to Write a Thesis Proposal


This overview will guide you through the process of preparing a proposal for a bachelor's or master's thesis at our group. The proposal is an important document for various reasons. First, it helps you to define a framework for your thesis by describing the general context and motivation, discussing the current state of the art, and outlining a rough timeline for approaching the involved research question. Whatever you promise in the proposal will be part of your thesis and, therefore, will be considered in the grading. Second, the proposal serves as the main registration requirement for the thesis. The quality of the proposal allows your supervisor to judge your understanding of the topic, which is a crucial step before deciding whether a thesis can be registered (and has the potential to be successful). The following provides you with general information about the proposal process and helps you creating a first draft of the document.

Overview of the Process

  1. Pick a topic: Choose a topic that aligns with your interests and strengths.
  2. Prepare a proposal: Draft a structured proposal using the template.
  3. Submit first draft: Send your draft to your advisor or supervisor for comments.
  4. Update proposal according to feedback: Revise your proposal based on the received input.
  5. Resubmit: Submit the revised version for final review.
  6. Go or No-Go decision: We evaluate whether the proposal quality suggests a likely successful thesis outcome.
  7. Registering the thesis at the examination office: Once approved, you can officially register your thesis.

Orientation and Topic Selection

The actual work will be tailored to the specific topic you choose and its requirements. We have a lab where experiments can be conducted — but in some cases, this won’t be necessary. You are welcome to work on-site, but working from home is also possible.
We usually have a biweekly meeting to discuss your current progress. In addition, students have access to our Slack workspace, where they can ask questions at any time.

How to Choose a Topic

When selecting a topic, you should think about:
  1. What topics sound interesting to you?
  2. What are your strengths and weaknesses, and how could you leverage these in your thesis?
I recommend taking a look at the available topics and then getting back to me with a bit of information about points 1 and 2. Based on that, we will plan the next steps together.

Writing the Proposal

After selecting a topic, you will create a proposal — a 1-2 page document that presents the motivation, context, research question, and a rough plan for your work. Once you’ve completed the document, we will provide you with feedback. This feedback will either point out open issues that need to be addressed, or confirm that the proposal is already good to go.
If you receive feedback, you will have the opportunity to revise the proposal and send an updated version. If the revised version is approved (or if the first version was already fine), your project is ready for official registration.

Structure of the Proposal

Writing Tips

Download Thesis Proposal Template

Use the provided 📄 LaTeX Template (.tex) template: