Research & Master Thesis

The crown jewel of any master programme is its thesis trajectory. This is certainly true for OCC. The OCC master thesis is the culmination of a full year of hard work. Every OCC thesis reflects genuine scientific interests, independent thought, sound methodological choices, and clear contributions to scholarly and managerial practice. None of these qualities materialises automatically in a thesis – all of them are the result of hard and dedicated work. The instructors of the OCC programme help you plan and execute this work in two complementary ways. 

First, several core courses emphasise the development of methodological skills, and Core Course 3 is entirely devoted to them. Such skills are essential to a successful thesis trajectory because they serve as a link connecting topics and theories to empirical facts and situations. Separate methodological skill sets will be taught so students can study modern, symbolic, or post-modern change situations. 

Second, many students prefer to choose a traditional and individual thesis trajectory for themselves. Like any other master programme, we warmly welcome such students. However, there are also students who prefer a more collaborative trajectory, or who appreciate additional structure and methodological guidance. In contrast to many other master programmes, the OCC master offers students the possibility to enrol in one of six more structured thesis groups. Each thesis group, hosted by members of our teaching staff has up to six students. The group offers a broad ‘umbrella’ topic for research, serving as an intellectual capstone for the individual theses, and shares the empirical efforts of all students, who jointly enjoy additional methodological training and guidance by the supervisors. The groups thus offer a more collaborative and structured environment for your thesis research.