Thesis Prof. Piening

Places are allocated via a central allocation procedure carried out by the Dean's Office. The allocation procedure for the  summer semester of 2026 as well as the winter semester of 2026/2027 will take place in January 2026.

Once the Dean's Office has completed the allocation of students to the specific institutes, you will receive further information on the preparation and supervision of your bachelor's thesis at the Institute for Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior. This also includes the allocation and selection of the topic of your thesis.

Prof. Piening and his team supervise bachelor theses in the following subject areas:

•     Personnel selection and recruitment
•     Personnel and organizational development
•     Motivation and incentive design
•     Group dynamics and teamwork  
•     Leadership
•     New work environments
•     Corporate social responsibility & sustainability
•     Nonprofit management

You will have choose your respective topic preferences once you have been assigned to our institute by the Dean's Office. You will receive the necessary form for communicating your preferences alongside a confirmation of your place for writing a bachelor theses at our institute. In this form, you will also inform us of your preferred start dates for your bachelor's thesis. We offer the following dates for starting and registering your bachelor theses: April 1, May 15, July 1, August 15, and October 1.

The exact topic will be developed in direct consultation and collaboration with your supervisors at the Institute for Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior. We are happy to take your topic ideas into account when selecting a topic. You are also welcome to suggest your own topics given they are clearly aligned with the subject areas of the Institute for Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior. You may also consult our topic suggestions for master's theses when thinking about choosing a topic for your bachelor thesis. 

If you plan to write your master's thesis at the Institute for Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior, you can apply for a place each year from 01.01.-21.01 of each year. The application procedure at our institute is part of the central registration process for the “Strategic Management” area. Please note that there is only one registration period in January of each year. When applying, you can specify whether you would like to write your master's thesis in the summer semester (official start date: March 31st) or in the winter semester (official start date: October 1st).

Please follow this LINK to the registration page, which will be activated on January 1.

The basis requirements for writing a master thesis at the Institute for Human Resource Management and Organizational Behavior are as follows: Successful participation in at least one seminar at the institute and participation in the course “Wissenschaftliches Arbeiten und Publizieren” (it is also possible to take the course while writing your master's thesis). Your application should include a short CV and current transcript of grades (please send your transcript separately by email to: ), a short letter explaining your motivation for writing your master's thesis at the institute as well as your your preferred topics (please indicate priority 1-3).

Please note that the Area Strategic Management has a joint application procedure for master's theses. You can apply by indicating your preferences regarding the institute at which you would like to write your thesis via the following LINK . The application documents must also be submitted using the form linked above. Please send all required documents in a single PDF file with the title “Last name, first name_matriculation number_applicationMA.” You will be notified if you have been accepted for writing your master theses at our institute by February 1st.

Students who would like to suggest their own topic or plan to write a thesis in collaboration with a company should contact Dr. Kandel (kandel@pob.uni-hannover.de) prior to applying in order to discuss their ideas.

The time period for writing your thesis begins on March 31st or October 1st, as agreed upon. Individual start dates are not possible (this also applies to the new examination regulations). Students who have been given a place to write their master's thesis at the institute are expected to participate in the institute's master's colloquium. During this event, which takes place approximately 6-8 weeks after the start of the writing period of the summer semester, students present the current status of their master's thesis.

In the summer semester of 2026 the master colloquium will take place as an external event from May 27th to May 29th in Altenau.

We look forward to receiving your applications!

We are happy to take your own suggestions into account when selecting the topic of your master's thesis. This particularly applies to master's theses written in collaboration with companies. You also have the option of choosing from the list of topics suggested by the institute.