What's the purpose of the Master's Thesis?

Thesis topics and research questions

Research is motivated by questions. To determine whether a question is interesting, it is worth considering what would be the use of a credible and precise answer if you (or the literature that you review) obtained it? The hypothetical "user(s)" may be firms, governments, other organizations, or consumers.

The thesis must allow you to show learnedness in economics. ("Opinnäyte" = "Demonstration of learnedness"). It is not meant to show your learnedness in all aspects and all fields of economics. In particular, there is no need to include both theory and empirical sections in every thesis. However, there needs to be some part in every thesis that addresses the main research question while going deeper into the subject from at least one angle in a way that requires MSc-level Economics. When pondering whether your interest makes for a good thesis topic, consider what are the MSc level economics courses that you will be applying in it.

It is valuable to pick a topic that you find interesting, so that working on the thesis feels less like work. However, not all interesting questions make for good MSc thesis topics. It would be wise to discuss the topic with a faculty member before becoming invested significant time in it.

Examples of thesis topics

List of examples of topic areas and specific thesis topics suggested by faculty.

If you are interested in working on a listed topic, contact the faculty member who suggested it. However, students may be reassigned between advisors in order to keep their numbers balanced across advisors, and also due to faculty leaves of absence.

The list contains also topic areas, which are broader than thesis topics and where you could discuss many types of potential research questions suited for various levels of ambition. It would result in a literature review or in original research in some subset of the topic area.

One purpose of the list is to help students formulate their own research questions by showing what is a proper depth and breadth of a thesis topic. If you have a potential topic, you can simply approach a faculty member with an email that includes an informal description (a couple of paragraphs). If you would like to get started on your thesis, but have no idea for a topic, you can simply ask a faculty member for a topic of their choice in some broad area of economic interest. If you don't know which faculty member to turn to, don't worry, the first one will forward you to a more appropriate one if necessary. You can also contact the MSc thesis seminar organizer for advice: Kristiina Huttunen (for those aiming at the Fall seminar) or Marko Terviö (Spring seminar).

Resources for choosing a thesis topic

What is going on in economics research?

What is going on in the economy?

Open data

See also

Enrolling in the 2025-26 seminars

Students can start working on their MSc thesis at any point during the academic year. The MSc thesis seminar is organized twice a year and it is only open for students who have already began to work on their thesis. To enroll in the MSc thesis seminar a student must have had their topic approved by an Economics department faculty member at the MyStudies system well in advance of the first seminar meeting. Those who register their approved topic and advisor at MyStudies by May 31st can enroll in the subsequent Fall seminar, and those who register by November 20th can enroll in the subsequent Spring seminar. Adjusting the topic to be suitable for approval typically requires some back-and-forth between the student and the faculty, so students should make sure to begin the process several weeks before the deadline. Notice that after having their topic approved students still need to enroll in the seminar as in any other course (code 31E99905). The registered topic is merely a provisional title for the thesis, and some changes to the focus and title of the thesis are normal during the thesis process. However, a complete change of topic requires the advisor's approval.

The purpose of the MSc thesis seminar is to learn to present, critique, and comment economic research. Before the seminar begins the participants must have already made sufficient progress on their thesis, to be able to give their first presentation, in which the research question is introduced in the context of a broader topic. In the second seminar period students give their main presentation, accompanied by the main paper. These focus on communicating the results of economics research and how they were obtained. The main paper is max 30 pages and the presentation 20-25 minutes. For more information, see the seminar page at MyCourses. The seminar is not a substitute for thesis supervision, for which purpose each thesis writer has an individual faculty advisor.

Further information

The seminar is organized by Kristiina Huttunen in Fall 2025 and Marko Terviö in Spring 2026. See the seminar page at MyCourses (search for "31E99905") for current information on seminar work.

For advice on administrative practicalities, such as the use of MyStudies, please contact the economics study coordinator Elina Yrjänäinen.

The working language of the seminar is English. The main paper can be written in either Finnish or English, but presentations and discussions in the seminar will be in English.