Find your thesis supervisor(s) and examiner

This page helps students who study Political Science (incl. Cultural Studies, PPE, CPEL, Global Studies, and the Dual Degree MA) or LUMACSS find a suitable match for thesis supervision as well as oral and written final exams. We kindly ask students to follow the steps indicated below, check the list of potential supervisors and examiners in the relevant section, and learn about their availability, topical interests, methodological specialisations, and specific requirements.

Please note

  • Please start searching for suitable supervisors/examiners early (ideally 3 months before the registration deadline).
  • Besides professors and other members of the Department of Political Science, regular external lecturers can also act as thesis supervisors and, in some cases, as examiners. You can find all eligible supervisors and examiners in the lists below under the section that applies to your study program below. The profile of each person contains what they offer (i.e. only thesis supervision or also oral/written exams).
  • When writing e-mails to potential supervisors/examiners that are external lecturers, we recommend using their institutional e-mail address (a quick online search will get you there) rather than the address ending in @doz.unilu.ch, as most lecturers only check this address rarely. Please use your @stud.unilu.ch account for sending your message and consider asking for a “reading confirmation” (Lesebestätigung) through your e-mail programme to help incentivize timely responses.
  • We list only German and English as the most common language options, but you may ask supervisors/examiners if it is possible to write the thesis or do the exam in another language.
  • More details on how the procedure for the thesis and examinations (Abschlussverfahren) works at the KSF can be found here.

First steps: identify suitable and available persons

  • Check in their profile below whether the person mentions a topic of interest and methodological specialization that overlaps with your interests.
  • Check whether the person requires having visited one of their courses or having written a seminar paper with them as a precondition for supervision/examination.
  • Check whether the potential supervisor/examiner is still available during your envisaged final examination period for supervision or exams by consulting this Availability Spreadsheet.

Next steps for thesis supervision

  • Contact a suitable and available supervisor by sending them the specific materials they request in their profile below.
  • For the Master thesis, limit your first contact to the first supervisor and then discuss with that supervisor who would be a suitable second supervisor, though you may suggest options yourself.
  • For the Master thesis, at least one of your two supervisors must be included in the profiles below. If you plan to choose one supervisor that is not on this list, contact your study advisor as early as possible, as this has to be approved.

Next steps for oral and written exams

  • Contact a suitable and available examiner by sending them the specific materials they request in their profile below.

What to do if you cannot find anyone

  • Please contact the study advisor of your degree programme as early as possible.
  • Note that we cannot guarantee that we can find a suitable and available person, especially when dealing with last-minute requests before the registration deadline.