Requirements register
Which rules apply to the fictional thesis, where they come from, how sure we are, and which Issue covers them.
A plan becomes reliable when each requirement has a source, an applicability, a status, and a linked Issue. This page lists the requirements of the fictional thesis in that form. It is the worked example for exercise X2.
Rules versus plans
Three kinds of statements appear in a thesis plan, and they have different authority.
- Course rules govern this workshop. They come from the KSL entry of the course. They say nothing about your thesis.
- Thesis rules govern the master’s thesis in one study programme. They come from the study plan of that programme and from the faculty regulations. They differ between programmes.
- Plans and practices are decisions that you take, for example a data management plan, a rule for AI use, or the date of a milestone. They are context-dependent tasks, not universal exam rules.
The fictional student studies the MA Digital Humanities as a Major. The rules below apply to that programme only. A student who takes DH as a Minor or as an elective writes the thesis in another programme and must use the rules of that programme.
Sources
| ID | Document | Retrieved |
|---|---|---|
| SP-DH-2025 | Studienplan für die Studienprogramme der Digital Humanities vom 17. Februar 2025 (in Kraft am 1. Februar 2026) | 2026-10-12 |
| RSL-PH-21 | Reglement über das Studium und die Leistungskontrollen an der Philosophisch-historischen Fakultät (RSL Phil.-hist. 21) vom 15. März 2021 | 2026-10-12 |
Both documents are in German. The summaries below are English paraphrases. The German text is authoritative.
Thesis rules for the DH Major
Status values: verified means that the text was checked in the cited document on the retrieval date. unconfirmed means that the rule exists, but a detail (usually a date) is not in the cited source. fictional means that the workshop replaces a real value with an invented one.
| ID | Rule (paraphrase) | Source | Status | Issue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-01 | The thesis rules of RSL Arts. 29–32 and 53–57 apply. | SP-DH-2025 Art. 15 Abs. 1, p. 5 | verified | — |
| R-02 | If the student chose a specialisation, the thesis lies within it. | SP-DH-2025 Art. 15 Abs. 2, p. 5 | verified | E01-T4 |
| R-03 | The thesis has 160,000 to 200,000 characters, counted with spaces, footnotes, title page, table of contents, and code, without appendices and bibliography. | SP-DH-2025 Art. 15 Abs. 3, p. 5 | verified | E05-T3 |
| R-04 | The student has six months from registration to write the thesis. | SP-DH-2025 Art. 15 Abs. 4, p. 5 | verified | M1, M3, E06-T3 |
| R-05 | Before registration, at least two thirds of all other compulsory and elective-compulsory courses, and any conditions, are complete. | SP-DH-2025 Art. 15 Abs. 5, p. 5 | verified | E01-T1 |
| R-06 | An insufficient thesis can be repeated once. | SP-DH-2025 Art. 15 Abs. 6, p. 5 | verified | — |
| R-07 | If the written part is at least sufficient, an oral examination of 30 minutes follows, in which the student defends the thesis (disputation). The supervisor examines; an assessor writes a protocol. The thesis grade is one sixth oral and five sixths written; both parts must be sufficient. | SP-DH-2025 Art. 16, p. 5 | verified | E07-T1, E07-T2 |
| R-08 | The student registers the thesis on time at the Dean’s Office with complete documents. The registration is binding. The dates are in the official registration documents of the Dean’s Office. | RSL-PH-21 Art. 55, p. 17 | unconfirmed (dates) | E01-T3 |
| R-09 | For the master’s thesis, the deadlines of the Dean’s Office apply. | RSL-PH-21 Art. 29 Abs. 2, p. 9 | unconfirmed (dates) | E06-T2 |
| R-10 | The thesis ends with a dated and hand-signed declaration of independent work, in the prescribed wording. | RSL-PH-21 Art. 30, p. 9 | verified | E06-T1 |
| R-11 | The thesis is in German, French, or English by agreement; other languages need the supervisor’s agreement. A joint thesis needs approval before the work starts. | RSL-PH-21 Art. 54, p. 17 | verified | E02-T5 |
| R-12 | The thesis is submitted to the Dean’s Office within the deadline. For an important reason (Art. 35 UniV), the supervisor can extend the period once by one semester. The Collegium Decanale can grant further extensions of one semester each, on a written and justified request that the supervisor supports. A late thesis is graded 1. | RSL-PH-21 Art. 56, p. 17 | verified | E06-T3, E06-T4, X6 |
| R-13 | The submitted thesis goes to the institute after the diploma. With the consent of the author and the supervisor, the library can make it accessible. The author holds the copyright. | RSL-PH-21 Art. 32, p. 10 | verified | E08-T2, E08-T4 |
| R-14 | The supervisor writes a report with a grade proposal; the Collegium Decanale decides. | RSL-PH-21 Art. 57, p. 17 | verified | — |
WarningUnresolved
- Real dates. No real registration or submission date is in the cited sources. The workshop uses the fictional dates 2026-12-01 and 2027-06-01. A real student asks the Dean’s Office.
- Which study plan applies. SP-DH-2025 Art. 26 (p. 7) says that students who start Digital Humanities from spring semester 2025 fall under this plan, and that Minor students under the plan of 9 November 2020 transfer to it. The cited text does not state the case of Major students who started earlier. Such a student checks with the programme.
- A cross-reference. SP-DH-2025 Art. 16 Abs. 1 refers to “the written work according to Article 16”; the written thesis is regulated in Article 15. The register reads it as a reference to Article 15. Confirm with the programme if it matters.
- Format. The cited sources set length and language, but no citation style, layout, or number of copies. Those come from the supervisor or the Dean’s Office.
Course rules (KSL)
These facts govern the workshop, not the thesis. They come from the KSL course entry. See the syllabus.
| Fact | Source |
|---|---|
| 0.5 ECTS, passed or failed | KSL |
| Type of exam: not defined | KSL |
| Pass rule: attend the full session and show the minimum deliverable | Instructor (syllabus) |
| Room: Seminarraum F 001, Hörraumgebäude Unitobler | KSL |
Context-dependent tasks
These tasks appear in the plan because good practice or a third party may require them. They are not exam rules of the DH Major. Each one needs its own source when it applies.
| Task | When it applies | Issue |
|---|---|---|
| Data management plan | A funder, a project, or the institute requires it. | E02-T2 |
| Ethics review | The research involves people or sensitive data. | E02-T3 |
| Rules for AI use | Always agree them with the supervisor; university guidelines may apply. | E02-T4 |
| Rights and access decision | Before anything is published. | E08-T2 |
| Release and deposit | Only after the rights decision. | E08-T3, E08-T5 |