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WiSo Ethics Award

The WiSo Faculty awards the WiSo Ethics Award to recognise outstanding theses that demonstrate a thorough and reflective engagement with ethical issues and societal responsibility. The aim of the award is to highlight academic work that makes a substantial contribution to the responsible shaping of business, society, and organisations.

One Bachelor's thesis and one Master's thesis are awarded each term. The WiSo Ethics Award is presented at the graduation ceremony to graduates whose final examination component has been submitted to the Examinations Office in time for the respective ceremony. For the award presented at the graduation ceremony on 4 July 2026, the thesis must be assessed by mid-May 2026. The submission deadline will be announced separately.

When submitting their thesis, students may indicate whether they would like their work to be considered for the WiSo Ethics Award. A prerequisite for participation is that the research methodology complies with ethical principles of good academic practice. The relevant standards are those of the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne (Ethical Review Committee for Research in Social and Behavioural Sciences – ERC-FMES).

Criteria

Zwei Preisträgerinnen des WiSo-Ethics-Awards mit ihren Urkunden vor einem Wiso-Roll-Up

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 and/or sustainability 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!

Icon featuring a trophy, an open book and a speech bubble – Icon Ethics Award from the Faculty of Management, Economics and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne

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 (20th May 2026).