Submitting your thesis in Thuringia: what universities require

How many copies? Which binding? Printed, digital or both? In Thuringia every university decides that for itself — and often every faculty separately. We have collected what the ten state universities currently require, with a source for every figure.

One thing upfront: your examination or doctoral regulations always take precedence. Requirements change, and many of the rules below apply to one faculty or one degree program — not to the whole university. So check the details with your examination office before you print.

The requirements at a glance

Details, exceptions and sources follow in the sections below.

Bauhaus-Universität Weimar

At the Faculty of Media you hand in your Bachelor's thesis in three printed and bound copies plus a digital version on a data carrier (CD or USB stick) at the dean's office on Bauhausstraße 11. The signed declaration of authorship must be firmly bound into every copy — a loose sheet is not enough. The faculty does not prescribe a binding type.

Other faculties regulate the details differently; check the pages of your own program. Source: Faculty of Media, "BA-Arbeit anmelden".

Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena

This is where you see how much single faculties differ. At the Faculty of Economics the Master's thesis is submitted digitally as a PDF by email to the examination office — plus one bound copy for the archive. Bachelor's theses are submitted electronically. Individual chairs add their own binding requirements and sometimes rule out ring binding, so ask at your chair if in doubt.

Source: Guide to writing Master's theses, Faculty of Economics (April 2024 edition).

Technische Universität Ilmenau

TU Ilmenau's examination and study regulations require submission in three firmly bound copies plus an electronic version — in a format that allows automated text extraction. A searchable PDF is therefore mandatory; a scan of the printed pages will not do.

Source: Examination and study regulations, general provisions (2026 edition).

Universität Erfurt

Erfurt turns the order around: submission is digital in every case, via the WISEflow/UNIwise examination platform, as a single PDF of no more than 20 MB. Only the digital timestamp counts for the deadline. You need a printed copy only if your examiners ask for one; you then hand it in at the office within three working days of the digital submission — not directly to the examiners.

Source: Erfurt School of Education, "Abgabe und Fristen".

Fachhochschule Erfurt

Much like the university: the thesis is submitted digitally and — if the reviewers wish — in bound form. The digital submission is what meets the deadline. If printed copies are requested, you hand them in no later than three days after the digital submission at the faculty office. An external second reviewer who wants a bound copy receives it directly.

Source: Notes on submitting theses, FH Erfurt.

Ernst-Abbe-Hochschule Jena

EAH's framework examination regulations require the Bachelor's thesis in two copies — where exactly you submit them is set by your program's specific provisions. The responsible examination board may additionally require an electronic version so the work can be checked with technical aids. The written declaration of authorship is part of the submission.

Source: Framework examination regulations, Bachelor (reading version) (2022 reading version).

Hochschule Schmalkalden

The Faculty of Business Administration puts it refreshingly clearly: Bachelor's and Master's theses are submitted in one copy and in a suitable electronic form (Word or PDF) and are bound as a matter of principle. In their words: "the type of binding is irrelevant." For term papers a simple folder will do.

Source: Guidelines for academic writing, Faculty of Business Administration.

Hochschule Nordhausen

The Bachelor's thesis has to be submitted bound and in three copies at the student service centre, and the time of submission is put on record. With the examiners' consent, two of those copies may be digital — as a keyword-searchable PDF plus an anonymized version of the same file. The sworn declaration is enclosed with the thesis.

Source: Official announcements no. 03/2026, examination regulations (March 2026).

Duale Hochschule Gera-Eisenach

Dual studies add a twist: the Bachelor's thesis is written during the practical phase and submitted four times over — three printed, bound copies plus an electronic version. On top of that comes the declaration about handing a bound copy to the practice partner. So plan for one copy more than you might expect.

Source: Notes and recommendations on academic writing (social studies) (2025 edition).

Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar

The HfM is the one Thuringian university in this overview with a concrete binding requirement: both Bachelor's and Master's theses are submitted in three copies in perfect (glue) binding plus a write-protected digital copy at the examination office. Turn up with ring binding here and you will be ordering twice.

Source: HfM Weimar, "Bachelorarbeit / Masterarbeit".

Dissertations: the deposit copies

Doctorates follow their own rules — and here the university libraries have a say. At the University of Jena the Thuringian University and State Library (ThULB) regulates submission centrally:

• 3 printed copies + an identical electronic version (published in the Digital Library of Thuringia) — or 8 printed copies
• Format DIN A4 or A5, single- or double-sided on standard paper
• Perfect binding is mandatory — ring, velo and clamp bindings are not accepted
• Examination and deposit copies must be identical, including color printing
• The signed declaration of authorship must be firmly bound into every copy

Source: ThULB dissertation checklist.

At Bauhaus-Universität Weimar several faculties require four printed, bound copies plus an electronic version — or three publisher's copies if the dissertation appears with a publishing house. Your doctoral regulations are what count.

The most common pitfalls

1. Look at the faculty, not the university. The biggest differences in this overview are not between Weimar and Jena, but between two faculties of the same university.
2. Bind the declaration in. Where it is required it has to be signed and bound in — an enclosed sheet can invalidate the submission. Bring it along or include it in your file and we'll bind it in.
3. "Digital" doesn't mean "whatever". Searchable PDF, maximum file size, anonymized second version, write protection — the digital requirements are often more specific these days than the printed ones.
4. All copies identical. Especially for deposit copies: same print, same colors, same page numbers. With us your copies come from a single print run as a matter of course.
5. Deadlines are digital. In Erfurt the timestamp of the online submission decides; the printed copies follow afterwards. Don't count on the print run to save your deadline.
6. Allow lead time. Embossed hardcovers and larger runs take time. Once your date is fixed, we plan backwards together.

Once more, because it matters: this overview is orientation, not a substitute for information from your university. Only your current examination or doctoral regulations and your examination office are binding — ask there before you have copies printed and bound.

Printed and bound – a few steps from campus

Whatever your regulations say, we bind to them. Perfect binding for the ThULB, embossed hardcover for your shelf, ring binding for the term paper — and if you're unsure, we'll tell you honestly what you need and what you can skip.

• Bachelor's thesisThe classic with embossed hardcover
• Master's thesisMore volume, several copies — properly planned
• DissertationDeposit copies in perfect binding, larger runs too
• Term & seminar papersQuickly bound, often while you wait

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