Theses & Study Work
We supervise bachelor and master theses as well as study work (Studienarbeit) projects on statistical, stochastic and data-driven methods for water and climate risk. We can accept only a limited number of students and select among the requests we receive, so please read this page carefully before contacting us: it will help you decide whether our institute is the right place for your project, what we expect from you, and what to include in your request.
1. Is our institute the right place for your project?
We only supervise projects that fall within our research areas. Please check them first:
Hydro-Climatic Extremes and Flood Risk
Statistical models for extreme precipitation, streamflow and drought; tail behaviour, intensity-duration-frequency analysis, compound events.
Climate Change and Water-Related Risk
Translating climate projections into probabilistic risk estimates for engineering and planning.
AI-Data-Driven and Operational Hydrology
Stochastic simulation, machine-learning surrogates and hybrid models, combined with probabilistic foundations.
Uncertainty, Risk, and Decision Support
Quantifying and communicating uncertainty, from model parameters to engineering design quantities.
More details on the Research Areas page.
Typical topic areas include:
- statistical analysis of floods, droughts and extreme precipitation;
- climate change impacts on water-related risk;
- stochastic simulation and data-driven / machine-learning methods in hydrology;
- uncertainty quantification for engineering design.
The specific topic is agreed with you individually.
If your idea lies outside these areas — for example water and wastewater treatment processes, water chemistry or hydraulic structures — another TUHH institute will be a better match. Please consult overview of TUHH institutes before contacting us.
2. Bachelor thesis, study work or master thesis?
Bachelor thesis
The final project of your bachelor's programme: 12 credit points, i.e. about 360 hours of work (nine weeks full-time, or up to six months if you are still attending courses). The topic is scaled to this workload. We do not offer literature-review theses: every bachelor thesis is hands-on work on a concrete problem, typically the analysis of real data, so familiarity with statistics and data analysis is required. You investigate a clearly defined question, apply and justify suitable methods, interpret your results, and present your work in a written thesis, followed by a presentation. You work under closer guidance than in a master thesis. The thesis is written in English, and supervision and all communication are in English. You can normally start once you have earned at least 126 credit points in your bachelor's programme.
Study work (Studienarbeit / project work)
An independent project of substantial size, usually carried out in the later part of your master's programme. You work on a defined scientific or engineering question: you identify and use relevant literature and data, develop an appropriate methodology, analyse the results, and document your work in a written report, followed by a presentation. Credit points, duration and format are set by the regulations of your study programme (see Useful links).
Master thesis
The final, substantially larger independent research project of your master's programme: 30 credit points, corresponding to six months of full-time work. You formulate and investigate a well-defined scientific question, engage critically with the literature, select and justify appropriate methods, analyse and interpret your results independently, and present the work in a scientific thesis. You can normally start once you have earned at least 60 credit points in your master's programme.
Bachelor and master theses are formally issued and assessed by Prof. Papalexiou; day-to-day supervision may be provided by any member of the team.
In short: a bachelor thesis shows that you can apply scientific methods to a clearly defined problem with guidance; a study work shows that you can carry out a focused scientific project with supervision; a master thesis requires a deeper and more independent research contribution.
3. What we expect
We expect students to work independently. Supervision means discussing the research question, the methodology, your progress and the difficulties you meet; it does not mean step-by-step instructions for every part of the project.
- Background: you have completed one of our courses, or you have a background in topics related to our research areas.
- Scientific and quantitative skills: you are comfortable reading scientific literature and working quantitatively.
- Computational work: our projects involve data analysis and programming (e.g. R or Python), increasingly with AI-assisted tools.
- Bachelor thesis: familiarity with statistics and data analysis is required; basic programming experience helps, and we expect the willingness to learn the required tools during the project.
- Study work: prior experience helps; the willingness and ability to learn the required tools quickly are essential.
- Master thesis: we normally expect evidence that you can already carry out independent analytical or computational work, for example from a study work, a course project or previous employment.
4. How to apply
- Check the fit with our research areas (section 1) and our expectations (section 3).
- Prepare a short project sketch (required). In about half a page to one page, explain:
- the problem or question you would like to investigate;
- why it is scientifically or practically relevant;
- what data you could use;
- which methods might be appropriate;
- what you expect the project to produce.
- Send your request via mail to igws@tuhh.de. Please include:
- your study programme and the credit points earned so far;
- your transcript of records;
- whether you are applying for a bachelor thesis, a study work or a master thesis;
- which of our research areas interests you, and why;
- your preferred start date;
- your experience with programming and data analysis;
- your project sketch (Step 2).
- We review requests regularly as a team and will get back to you. Our supervision capacity is limited, and we cannot accept every request, even when the fit is good. We select on the basis of fit with our research, academic preparation, the quality of the project sketch, and available supervision capacity.
5. After acceptance
- We agree on the topic, a work plan and regular meetings with your supervisor.
- Official registration is your responsibility and follows TUHH procedures: for bachelor and master theses, download the registration form in TUNE and submit it to the Examination Office (see links below).
- Study work, bachelor theses and master theses all end with a presentation of your results.
6. Useful links
Questions not answered on this page: contact address.
