Master's Thesis

Type

Conventional master’s thesis

ECTS

30

Completion Period

Four months

Initial Requirements

The master’s thesis cannot be started before the fourth semester. In addition, the candidate must have completed at least one seminar and have obtained at least 45 ECTS credits during the specialization phase. Moreover, students in the Competition and Regulation Economics Track are required to have an adequate attendance of the „Mannheim Competition Policy Forum“.

Fields

Economics, Statistics and Econometrics, Economic History

Topic

After choosing a field, the candidate is assigned a topic by a thesis supervisor. The candidate may also suggest a topic. The topic must then be registered (see “Registration”).

Supervision

Only professors, junior professors, and affiliated professors can supervise master’s theses.

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. They can also require the candidate to attend an accompanying master’s colloquium.

Registration

As soon as a topic has been agreed by the student and his/her supervisor, it must be registered. A registration form can be found below. The original version of the registration form must be submitted to Student Services (Studien­büro I) and a copy sent to the Program Manager.

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 (see “Registration”). 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.

Guidelines for the master’s thesis

Please refer to the 'Guidelines for Bachelor’s Theses'. These guidelines define basic rules and requirements for submitting a scientific paper agreed by most of the senior and junior staff members at the Department of Economics. Please speak to your supervisor to find out if any other rules apply to your thesis.

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 copies of the completed master’s thesis are to be submitted to the supervisor. The date of submission must be recorded. One of the two copies received by the supervisor should then be passed on to Student Services. The examination committee may also ask the student to submit a digital copy.

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 number of ECTS credits allocated for the master’s thesis.

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.