Master's Thesis

Examination Regulations

Module title	E5999 Master's Thesis or E5899 Master's Thesis (Economic Research)
Type	Written thesis
Credits	30 ECTS credits or 20 ECTS credits (Economic Research)
Completion Period	23 weeks (Economics and Competition and Regulation Economics) or 14 weeks (Economic Research)
Initial Requirements	The master’s thesis cannot be started before the fourth semester. In addition, you must have completed at least one seminar and have obtained at least 45 ECTS credits during the specialization phase.
Fields	Economics, Statistics, Econometrics, Economic History
Topic	You and your supervisor discuss potential topics. You may suggest a topic.
Supervision	The assignment, supervision, and grading of master's theses is limited to professors, junior professors, and university lecturers (Hochschuldozenten, Privatdozenten, akademische Räte). They may issue a topic, or accept a topic suggested by a student, and must limit the topic, assignment, and scope of the thesis so that its completion is possible within the given completion period. Supervisors are responsible for supervising the student during the writing process and assessing the thesis after its submission.
Registration	After you and your supervisor agreed on a topic and starting date, the thesis can be registered. Registration of the master's thesis requires a confirmation of the Student Services (see below: Administrative Preparation, Step 1: E-mail to the Student Services).
Changing Topic	The topic may be returned once within the first four weeks of the completion period. A new topic then has to be assigned/chosen and registered. Upon registration of the new topic, the completion period shall start again.
Extensions	In exceptional and justified cases, the examination committee may extend the deadline by up to four weeks. Written permission from the examination committee is required. To request an extension, the candidate needs to get written approval from his/her supervisor, and file an application for an extension to the examination committee. A template can be found below. The application must be filed no later than one week before the end of the original completion period.
Declaration of Academic Integrity	The master’s thesis must include a list of references containing all sources and aids used. Additionally, you must also sign a written declaration confirming that: the thesis has been written independently and that no other sources have been used except for those listed, all passages that have been directly or indirectly taken from the works of others have been labeled as such, and the thesis has not been submitted in this form, or a similar form, to any examination authority before. Example: “I, [name], hereby declare that the master’s thesis entitled “[title]” is entirely my own work, and that I have employed no sources or aids other than the ones listed. I have clearly marked and acknowledged all ideas and illustrations that have been taken directly or indirectly from the works of others. I also confirm that this thesis has not been submitted in this form, or a similar form, to any other academic institution.”
Submission	Two paper copies of the completed master’s thesis are to be submitted to the supervisor. The date of submission must be recorded. The examiner may also require submission in electronic form.
Assessment	The master’s thesis is assessed by the thesis supervisor using the grading scheme given in the section of the Examination Regulations entitled “Assessment of Examinations”. If the thesis is graded as failed (5.0), an additional examiner, designated by the examination committee, shall be consulted. If the two assessments differ, the average of the grades determined is considered the final grade (and rounded to the nearest available grade). In cases of doubt, the better grade is to be awarded. If the thesis is submitted after the deadline has passed, it is automatically graded as failed (5.0), without consulting a second examiner. The candidate is to be informed of his/her grade no later than two months after the thesis was submitted. The following grades are to be used: 1.0 (very good), 2.0 (good) 3.0, (satisfactory), 4.0 (fair), 5.0 (failed). For further differentiation between these grades, 0.3 can be added or subtracted. However, the grades 0.7, 4.3, 4.7 and 5.3 cannot be used. The minimum grade required to pass the master’s thesis is 4.0. If passed, the candidate earns the respective number of ECTS credits.
Re-takes	A failed master’s thesis can be re-taken once. A new topic is issued for this second attempt. If the master’s thesis is passed, it cannot be re-taken.
Software	Students writing a thesis in which data analysis plays a central role can request a STATA licence. Since these licences expire mid September independent of the starting date, they can only be requested from mid September to May. Please ask your supervisor to send a request to Dr. Thorsten Lindenbauer at the Dean's Office, also providing your 8-letter university ID, but no matriculation number.

Thematic Preparation
Finding a topic and supervisor for your master's thesis may take some time, so please start the process early. The assignment, supervision, and grading of master's theses is limited to professors, junior professors, and university lecturers (Hochschuldozenten, Privatdozenten, akademische Räte).
The master's thesis can be written in the following fields:
– Economics
– Statistics
– Econometrics
– Economic History
As a rule, you are expected to suggest possible topics and the intended approach. You do not need to submit detailed concepts at this point. The focus is on giving your supervisor an idea of what you intend to do. More specific details would then be agreed upon in further exchange.
Please be aware that the supervisor can make his or her supervision dependent on your completion of suitable courses (i.e. thematically appropriate lecture and/or suitable seminar).
Administrative Preparation, Step 1: E-mail to the Student Services
The master's thesis can be started in the fourth semester at the earliest. The prerequisite for admission to the master's thesis is that you have passed at least one seminar (or if the seminar is not yet completed, it can be considered as passed) and that you have obtained 45 ECTS credits in the specialization phase. It is also important whether you have already returned a masters's thesis topic.
To confirm the fulfillment of all prerequisites to your examiner, please send an e-mail from your Mannheim e-mail account to the Student Services (studienbuero-vwl@uni-mannheim.de), with the subject “Masters's Thesis” and the following content:

“Dear Sir or Madam,
I wish to write my master's thesis and prove to my supervisor that I meet the admission requirements. Please confirm to me by e-mail that (1) I have passed a seminar / a seminar can be considered as passed (delete as appropriate), (2) I have obtained 45 ECTS credits in the spezialization phase, (3) my entitlement for examination persists overall and for the master's thesis module, (4) this is my first attempt / a repeat attempt (delete as appropriate) in the master's thesis module, and (5) I have not yet returned a master's thesis topic / I have already once returned my master's thesis topic (delete as appropriate).
Yours sincerely,
[first name, last name, matriculation number]"

Note to (1): A seminar may be considered passed before the end of the course if the majority of the work has been completed and only a final grade of 4.0 or better is mathematically possible. The examiner responsible for the seminar must have informed the Student Services about this separately before you send your e-mail to the Student Services.
Administrative Preparation, Step 2: E-mail to Your Supervisor
As soon as you have coordinated the topic and start date of your master's thesis with your supervisor, forward the reply from the Student Services from step 1 via your Mannheim e-mail account to your supervisor and precede it with the following text:

"[Your greeting],
I, [first name] [last name], [matriculation number], would like to formally register my master's thesis with you. We agreed on the following topic:
[Title of the Masters's thesis]
I kindly ask you to confirm the topic, start date, and latest submission date by e-mail, with CC to the Student Services (studienbuero-vwl@uni-mannheim.de).
[Closing]"

Please note that the processing time starts on the day this e-mail is sent. The processing time for master's theses is 23 weeks.
Confirmation by Your Supervisor
Your supervisor confirms to you via e-mail, with a copy to the Student Services, the topic of the master's thesis and the latest submission date (start date plus 23 weeks). If you believe there are discrepancies with the agreements made in the preliminary discussions, please contact your supervisor immediately.
Maybe: Return of the Topic
The master's thesis can be returned once and only within the first four weeks of the processing time to the responsible examiner. The examiner informs the Student Services of the return date. If returned in time, the examination attempt is considered not undertaken; otherwise, the examination persists.
In the case of a returned thesis, a new topic must be agreed upon. You can also choose a different examiner for this.
When repeating a failed master's thesis, the return of the topic is only permissible if this option was not used in the first examination attempt.
To return your topic, quote the entire e-mail sent to your supervisor in step 2 and send it again to them via your Mannheim e-mail account, preceding it with the following text:

"[Your greeting],
I hereby return the topic of my master's thesis [Title of the master's thesis in English] with the agreed start date [Date].
As you can see from the initial confirmation from the Student Services, I have not yet returned a master's thesis topic.
I kindly ask you to confirm the return of the topic by e-mail, with CC to the Student Services.
[Closing]"
Maybe: Confirmation by Your Supervisor
Your supervisor confirms to you via e-mail, with a copy to the Student Services, the return of the topic. You now agree on a new topic and continue with the point Administrative Preparation, Step 2: E-mail to Your Supervisor. When selecting a new supervisor, you must include in your e-mail that you meanwhile returned the topic once; otherwise, it constitutes an attempt of deception.
Maybe: Request for an Extension of the Processing Time
In exceptional cases, the Examination Committee may grant an extension of up to four weeks for the submission of the master's thesis. The request for an extension must be submitted at least eight days before the deadline and must be approved by the supervisor of the master's thesis.
If you wish to request an extension of the processing time, please send your informal request with the specified extension period either as a signed pdf file via your Mannheim e-mail account to econgrad uni-mannheim.de or in writing (i.e., on paper with an original signature) to the Examination Committee (Attn: Sebastian Herdtweck). If you are requesting an extension due to illness, please submit the original medical certificate to the Examination Committee.
The Examination Committee will inquire about the approval of your supervisor. You will receive an answer from the Examination Board regarding your request.
Postal address of the Examination Committee:
University of Mannheim
Examination Committee M.Sc. Economics
Attn: Sebastian Herdtweck
L 7, 3–5, Room 405
68131 Mannheim
Submission of the Master's Thesis
The completed master's thesis is to be submitted to your supervisor no later than the specified (possibly extended) submission deadline in duplicate form as two paper copies. The submission deadline can be met by delivery to a post office, documented by certificate of posting.
The examiner may also require submission in electronic form.
If you have not passed your master's thesis and still have a second attempt available, please proceed with Step 1 of the Administrative Preparation.

Master's Thesis

Examination Regulations

Thematic Preparation

Administrative Preparation, Step 1: E-mail to the Student Services

Administrative Preparation, Step 2: E-mail to Your Supervisor

Confirmation by Your Supervisor

Maybe: Return of the Topic

Maybe: Confirmation by Your Supervisor

Maybe: Request for an Extension of the Processing Time

Submission of the Master's Thesis

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