With the WiSo Ethics Award, the WiSo Faculty recognises outstanding theses dealing with ethics and responsibility. The award goes to one Bachelor's and one Master's thesis. The WiSo Ethics Award is presented at the Graduation Ceremony to graduates whose final examination has been received by the Examination Office in time for the respective examination ceremony. The first awards will be presented at the graduation ceremony in summer 2025. The exact deadline will be announced.
When submitting their theses, the students decide themselves whether their work shall be considered for the WiSo Ethics Award. The basic requirement for participation is that the methodology complies with the ethical principles of research, which are also followed by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences of the University of Cologne ("Ethical Review Committee for Research in Social and Behavioral Sciences of the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences (ERC-FMES)").
Criteria
The supervisors evaluate the papers based on four criteria. A maximum of 25 points can be awarded per criterion, up to a total of 100 points.
- Motivation: How strongly is the work motivated by an ethics issue? How strong is the general reference of the work to ethics? (0-25 points)
- Issues/research questions: Does the thesis address one or more specific issues/research questions related to ethics? (0-25 points)
- Results: To what extent do the results of the work generate new scientific knowledge in the field of ethics? (0-25 points)
- Implications: What does the work recommend for (corporate) practice, and are recommendations for action in the field of ethics elaborated? How strong is the relevance for society? (0-25 points)
Selection procedure
Preselection
The three best-rated bachelor's and master's theses are forwarded to the ERS Commissioner of the WiSo Faculty (Prof. Dr Bernd Irlenbusch, Chair of Corporate Development and Business Ethics). In the event of a tie, the lot decides.
Final selection
From the six nominated theses, the ERS Commissioner and his team select one bachelor's and one master's graduate as the winners of the WiSo Ethics Award, based on the criteria of overall quality of the thesis, originality (topic and method), and potential for tomorrow’s impact.
I want to PARTicipate!
Submit your thesis to the examination office via the WiSo inbox. Fill out the first page of the form to participate in the WiSo Ethics Award and send the signed form to ethics-award@wiso.uni-koeln.de after submitting your thesis to the examination office. You only have to send the form to the given mail address (not the thesis). You will be informed of whether your thesis has been selected for the WiSo Ethics Award shortly after the application deadline in early summer 2025.