info for students

Office Hours

If you’d like to book a slot during my office hours (offline or online), please use my Calendly page:

How it works:

  • Appointments are first come, first served.
  • If you need to cancel, please do so directly in Calendly -> no need to email me.
  • We can meet on-site in room 03.033 (Bergheimer Str. 58, 69115 Heidelberg) or online (see the Zoom link on the Calendly page).
  • If the appointment is scheduled as a face-to-face meeting on campus but you would prefer to meet online, please send me an email or indicate this preference through the Calendly interface.

Supervision of Theses

Interested in having me supervise your BA or MA thesis?

  • Please first review my research topics on the home page and check my recent publications.
  • I generally supervise theses only if your topic aligns with my research interests.
  • Supervision is possible in both English and German.

Exposé

  • As a first step in the thesis-writing process, you will need to prepare an exposé of no more than two pages.
  • I expect that in this exposé you dedicate one paragraph to each of the following points:

    • your research question
    • the main theoretical perspectives (with references)
    • the type of data you are considering using
    • the type of analysis you are planning to conduct
    • what results you expect and how they relate to the literature
    • one or more “model studies” that exemplify the type of approach you have in mind
    • a preliminary table of contents with the main chapter headings (this can be in addition to the two pages)

Formatting of Term Papers / MA / BA Theses

  • Title page: include the paper title, course name, semester, your name, student ID, department/institution, and email address.
  • Font & spacing: use a 12-point serif font (e.g., Times, Palatino) with 1.5-line spacing; footnotes in 10-point font, single spacing.
  • Margins & layout: all margins should be at least 2.5 cm.
  • Page numbers: number all pages (except the title page) consecutively, placed at the bottom center or bottom right.
  • Structure: include a table of contents with section and subsection titles and page numbers. Use meaningful headings (avoid generic ones such as “Section 1, 2, 3”). You do not need to number sections or subsections.
  • Abstract: all papers must include an abstract of no more than 250 words. See my recommendations on writing a suitable abstract below.
  • Sections: the paper should consist of an Introduction, Main Body, and Conclusion. Use subsections as needed, but avoid over-fragmentation. Format headings as follows:
    • Level 1 – 14-point bold
    • Level 2 – 12-point bold
    • Level 3 – 12-point italic
      Do not use more than three levels.
  • Figures and tables: all figures and tables must have a number, a title, and a note. Each should be self-explanatory. If you use color, ensure that it remains distinguishable when printed in black and white.
  • Citations & footnotes: mark all non-original arguments or borrowed ideas with citations, ideally using the Chicago citation style. I recommend using a reference manager such as Zotero (see below).
  • Bibliography / References: at the end, list all sources cited in alphabetical order. Do not include works not cited in the text.
  • Appendices: appendices (if needed) do not count toward the main text length; label them clearly (Appendix A, Appendix B, etc.).
  • Declaration of originality: include a short statement (on the title page or at the end) confirming that you have written the paper independently and used only the stated sources.

Recommendation Letters

  • As a general rule, I only write recommendation letters for students from whom I have read at least one term paper.
  • Please try to contact me at least one week in advance of the letter submission deadline.

Software Recommendations

I use Google Scholar and Zotero (both freely available) for literature searches. For note-taking, I use Obsidian (also freely available). I recommend that you learn how to use these tools (or their alternatives), as the investment pays off later in your studies. YouTube has many helpful tutorial videos, and I am happy to help if you have questions.