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 2026-27 seminars

To enroll in the seminar you must have a topic accepted by a faculty member at the Department of Economics at the MyStudies system. The deadline for the Fall 2026 seminar is May 31st, 2026, the deadline for Spring 2027 is Nov 15th, 2026. Obtaining approval typically requires some back-and-forth between the student and the faculty, so make sure to start the process several weeks before the deadline. (If you would like to participate, but have no idea for a topic, you can simply go and ask a faculty member for a topic of their choice.) Also confirm your participation by enrolling in the seminar via Sisu. The purpose of the registered topic is to make sure that everyone who begins thesis work has a research project that is feasible and acceptable as an economics thesis. (The topic can be changed subject to the approval of the thesis advisor.) A written research plan needs to be approved by your advisor in time before the seminar starts. Presentation time slots are allocated at the first seminar meeting only to students who submitted an advisor-approved research plan.

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.

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 40 pages (including possible Appendix) and the accompanying main 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.

Notice to transfer students. If you obtained your Bachelor's degree outside Aalto Economics programs (KTK/BSc) we strongly urge you to go over the self-study materials for BIZ-A2201 - Scientific thinking and writing, Economics (search for the latest instance of BIZ-A2201a at MyCourses). In the past, transfer students who had not mastered the materials of a similar course have been at a significant disadvantage.

Further information

The seminar is organized by Kristiina Huttunen in Fall 2026 and Marko Terviö in Spring 2027. The MyCourses pages for the new academic year will be available in August.

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

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.