How to organise the Bachelor's and Master's thesis

For a Bachelor's thesis (approx. 40 pages as a guideline), it is firstly advisable to deal with a specific subject/topical field of music teaching, which is substantiated in a first part in specialised terms and then concretised in a second part in didactic terms (less on the basis of lesson plans/outlines and more on the basis of didactic perspectives and concrete examples). Thematically, it is conceivable, for example, to deal with pieces of music, genres, composers, epochs, instruments or music education research fields. If possible, these lessons can also be carried out and reflected upon at school. An examination of different social areas of music education is conceivable without having to explicitly consider school dimensions (e.g. education programmes etc.).

For a Master's thesis (approx. 60-80 pages as a guideline), it is advisable to deal with a more abstract and complex music education-related question from a music education research field, which can be analysed empirically (e.g. guided interviews, questionnaires, document analysis, participant observation, etc.) or historically and hermeneutically.The focus is on all aspects of teaching and learning in music education, e.g. the teaching of music, the history and current developments in music education, cross-references to neighbouring disciplines. At the centre are all aspects of teaching and learning music that appear relevant in the field of school education. As in the Bachelor's thesis, it is also useful and desirable in the Master's thesis - depending on the topic - to identify specific didactic perspectives and to implement or reflect on these in the school.

In the Bachelor's and Master's thesis, the examination of the state of research as well as the personal and critical engagement with the topic are fundamental.

An overview of the requirements for theses and examinations can be found in the guidelines for theses.

How to proceed

Make initial thoughts and notes (outline, bibliography) on a topic and possible first and second supervision. Then make an appointment for a consultation, during which you will be advised on how to proceed and on topic-specific questions. Topics in which you already have prior knowledge (e.g. through university teaching (lectures/seminars) or through your own interests/experience) are particularly suitable.

Possible first examiners in music education:

Bachelor's thesis: Mario Dunkel, Rena Janßen, Lars Oberhaus, Shanti Suki Osman, Alban Peters, Clemens Schneider, Annika Ueffing
Master's thesis: Mario Dunkel, Lars Oberhaus, Clemens Schneider, Annika Ueffing

Possible second examiners in Music Education: Rena Janßen, Shanti Suki Osman, Alban Peters and the first examiners.

Depending on the subject matter, other lecturers from other departments (Institute of Music or the University) can also be considered as first and second examiners.

Preparation of presentations and seminar papers

Presentations

• Duration approx. 45 minutes, depending on the topic;

• varied design

• possibly with practical elements (work with seminar participants), followed by a discussion;

• Presentation with PowerPoint or Prezi if necessary (www.prezi.com);

• not too many slides and not too much text on slides;

• the elaboration is based on the content of the presentation, reflects the implementation in the seminar (e.g. questions, discussion) and provides in-depth insights into the topic.

Presentations with elaboration and seminar papers

• Familiarisation with the current state of research;

• Independent work on and critical reflection of the topic.

Length

• Presentations: approx. 8 pages

• Seminar papers: approx. 15 pages

Submission deadline

• usually at the end of the semester, but after consultation with the supervisor

The basic requirement for presentations and seminar papers is familiarisation with the current state of research as well as independent work on and critical reflection on the topic.

All examinations and their parts, including the presentation, must meet the criteria of good academic practice at the University of Oldenburg.

An overview of the requirements for theses and examinations can be found as a download in the guidelines for theses.

Journals

Discussion Music Pedagogy (in university library)

Journal for Critical Music Pedagogy (ZfKM) (online journal)

Beiträge empirischer Musikpädagogik (b.em) (online journal)

ACT Action, Criticism and Theory in Music Education (online journal)

Associations

Working Group for Music Pedagogical Research (AMPF)

Scientific Society for Music Pedagogy (WSMP)

Society for Music Pedagogy (GMP)