The Master's thesis takes up the 4th semester and completes the Master of Science in Economics.
The rules and regulations for the Master's thesis are stipulated in the course description, which you can find under the other course descriptions for your programme under programme structure.
Read about formalities for written assignments here.
Schedule for the Master's thesis
30 ECTS equivalent to 6 months fulltime work are set aside for working on the Master's thesis including time for grading and defence. The process runs in the autumn from July to 2 January with defence in January and in the spring from November to June with defence in June. Enrolment for the course and allocation of supervisor takes place in the semester before the thesis work takes place. Notice that the supervisor agreement should be approved before the deadline which is before the semester starts (see below). The Master's thesis can be done individually or in a group of two persons.
The student may not receive any payment for the work in connection with their Master's thesis as a) the activity is an ECTS-bearing activity, and b) the student may receive SU during the study. Reimbursement for some expenses or a monthly payment for confirmed expenses can however be granted during the study. If payment/reimbursement is received, it is the student's responsibility to ensure, whether it is taxable or not.
See an overview of important deadlines in the thesis process below.
Overview of the process:
1. If in Denmark - attend the information meeting about Master's thesis
Date: 2 April 2024. Time: 13.15 in U93.
The information meeting will be physical at SDU.
The format will be:
The purpose of the master’s thesis
How to find a topic for my thesis?
Allocation of supervisor
Alignment of expectations
Deadlines
Formalities
2. Register your wish for topic/supervisor - fill in the electronic form (link) before 1 November/1 May
In the form, you must indicate the topic suggestion/working title, you would like to work with. You need also to reflect on how your topic relates to your profile. If relevant, who you would prefer as supervisor. In case you are a group of two persons, you must fill in the form together.
The head of the respective research group is responsible for assigning supervisors and will only be able to make the best match for you if you via the form hand in a preliminary proposal that describes the type of problem that you would like to work with and gives some suggestion of your methodology (if you will use empirical data, and how you will collect it).
The form is automatically sent to the responsible person, who will assign supervisors.
Find inspiration for a topic via the link in the menu to the right.
3. Register for the "course" Master's thesis
Spring semester: 20-30 November / Autumn semester: 20-30 May
You are allowed to enrol for the Master's thesis if you have passed 60 ECTS when you start working on your Master's thesis. If you wish to complete your Master's before you passed 60 ECTS courses when you start working on the thesis: You need to apply the academic study board.
4. You get a supervisor
Supervisors will be assigned 1 December/1 June at the latest. You will get a notification once the responsible person has assigned a supervisor to you.
5. Get approval of the supervisor agreement - same form as for registrering for a topic - deadline 15 January/15 August
To get an approval, you need a to develop your idea/subject further into a problem statement and you also have to make a plan for the supervision.
The problem statement must be sufficiently elaborated for an evaluation of whether the problem statement can allow you to demonstrate ability to produce knowledge at a high level. The problem must be relevant for the profile focus and it must require that you build on or extend the knowledge that you have acquired during your master studies. This means that it must be a complex problem and/or a problem requiring use of relevant literature and/or empirical methods at a high level. Further, the problem should justify the number of working hours that should be used for working on the Master's thesis.
The plan for supervision must show important milestones in your project and the supervision that you need in connection to these milestones.
Read about requirements for problem statement and plan for supervision here. For this step, you can have one meeting with the supervisor and/or a few e-mail correspondences.
When you are ready to get the approval, you must again go to the digital supervisor agreement, fill in, and submit. The form is then automatically sent to your supervisor and the profile responsible who must approve before the form automatically goes on to the student information point and the examination office.
Please note: Submitting supervisor agreement is an examination requirement.
Read about what can you expect from your supervisor and how you can get the most out of supervision in the folder from the Faculty of Business and Social Sciences which you find via the link to the right (Use Your Master’s Thesis Supervisor). Also find information about library resources via the menu to the right (under the same item as ideas for a topic).
Read about demands for the contents of your thesis in the goals description. It appears from the course description. Read about general formalities via the link to this to the right.
7. Hand in - deadline 1 June (spring) / 2 January (autumn) - or the first weekday thereafter
Via the menu to the left and in the course description (link at the top of this page), you can read more about the guidelines for submission of your thesis.
Will take place in the same month as the thesis is handed in. The oral defense must take place at SDU.
If you miss the deadline and need extra examination attempts
Find information about this via the menu item "Failure to submit or pass". Detailed information is to be found in the course description (link at the top of this page).
Possibilities for exemption
Extension of the deadline can only be granted in the case of extraordinary reasons that differ from normal conditions. This could be illness (documented by a doctor's note) or illness among your nearest relations. Extension requires an application to the study board.
Do you have any doubts?
You are always welcome to contact the academic student advisors or the Student Information Point, if you have any questions about the Master's thesis.