A bachelor’s thesis at a German university begins with the formal issue of a topic. At the University of Göttingen, the 2003 rules for agricultural studies said the first examiner assigns the topic after hearing the student and puts it on record, aktenkundig gemacht. The working period of twelve weeks started that day. The topic could be handed back only once, and only within the first third of the period. A 2025 amendment at the Georg Agricola University of Applied Sciences in Bochum allows a return only within the first two weeks.