aalto finance masters thesis

Economics MSc Thesis Information

Department of economics - aalto university school of business, thesis topics and research questions.

Research is motivated by questions. Whether you are doing a literature review or producing original research, it is crucial to be clear about what the research question is. (Usually one is the right number of research questions in an MSc thesis). 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. Original research and original literature reviews are equally meritorious. 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.

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 in economics make for good MSc thesis topics. It would be wise to discuss the topic with a faculty member before becoming invested 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.

Resources for choosing a thesis topic

Enrolling in the 2023-24 seminars.

To enroll in the thesis seminar a student must have a topic accepted by a faculty member at the Department of Economics. The deadline for the Fall 2023 seminar is May 31st and November 15th for the Spring 2024 seminar. Adjusting the topic to be suitable for approval may require some back-and-forth between the student and the faculty, so students should make sure to begin the process several weeks before the deadline. The student must then notify Kristiina Huttunen (for participation in the Fall seminar) or Marko Terviö (Spring seminar) by email about the topic in the form of a provisional title for the thesis with the faculty member who approved it in cc. After that the student can enroll in the seminar just like in any other course (code 31E99905). The initial approved topic is not set in stone: it can be changed subject to the same approval procedure as the initial topic.

The purpose of the MSc thesis seminar is to learn to present, critique, and comment economic research. When the seminar begins the participants must therefore have already made some progress on their thesis, and need to be ready in the second week of the seminar 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, either your own or the research that your review. 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 meant to 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 2023 and Marko Terviö in Spring 2024. See the seminar page at MyCourses (search for "31E99905") for current information on seminar work. The official course descriptions for the new academic year won't be published in Oodi until August.

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.

General advice for the Economics MSc Thesis Seminar -->

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Where to look for a thesis position?

1. Research group

You can write your thesis and conduct the research in one of the research groups at the university. The Functional Materials major has its own My Courses page that lists open positions. So do some other programs. Students can pick one of the topics and contact the professor. These are usually unpaid unless there is suitable funding in the research group. However, you can apply for funding. If you study at Aalto CHEM, you could send an application to, for example, TES or Fortum and Neste Foundation . You can also suggest your own idea to the professor. If you already work in a research group, it is much easier to just continue working there, but for joining a research group you might have to send an official e-mail with a request and attach your CV. In some programs like Design, this option is not popular.

2. Aalto Thesis

Aalto Thesis lists projects open for applications. The topics of the theses are proposed by companies and usually, the given challenge is solved in a team of 2-4 students from different backgrounds. This year, Valmet, a company working in the pulp, paper, and energy industries field, offered two topics. One of the projects is still looking for applicants!

Many companies in Finland and abroad offer paid thesis positions. However, you have to keep in mind the intellectual property rights as you might not be allowed to publish all results from your experiments. This can complicate your graduation and the final grade of your work might be lower than it would be in other cases. You can also combine such a thesis position with work at the university in one of the research groups. It is also possible to conduct summer research in some companies and submit the thesis after 3 months only. One big advantage is that there is a possibility that you would be offered by the company a permanent job after graduation. To find a thesis position in a company in Finland, you can take a look at Aalto Job Teaser.

4. Another university

It is possible to contact a research group from another university. Aalto offers some financial support for students to cover transportation costs and some of the living expenses. The scholarship amounts usually to 1 500 Euros. You can also do your thesis within the Erasmus+ exchange or internship program.

Good luck with your thesis!

Katarzyna Wojdalska Functional Materials Aalto study options Contact email: aaltosquad(at)aalto.fi

2 thoughts on “ Where to look for a thesis position? ”

Dear sir i have done masters level diploma in business from Finland after graduation in India. Now i want to do masters level thesis from your university . Is it possible ?thanks.

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Excellent cooperation to find opportunities for the FIDA regulation for OP Financial Group

Juho Aalto  and Juho Tuuliainen , finance students at the School of Business, conducted a comprehensive analysis of the potential benefits of the upcoming EU Financial Data Access (FIDA) regulation for the OP Financial Group (OP). This project, driven by the need to understand and leverage legislative changes, aimed to explore the opportunities FIDA could present to the OP Financial Group.

The project was specifically commissioned for the OP Financial Group, a major Finnish financial services provider, to delve into the possibilities afforded by the FIDA regulation. FIDA, also known as the Open Finance framework, is designed to facilitate customer data sharing and enable third-party access in the financial sector, promising to transform the landscape of financial data usage.

The Aalto University team conducted extensive research, which included expert interviews, a thorough literature review of recent European Commission documents, data analysis, and iterative feedback sessions with OP Lab and Regulatory Affairs Team. The project focused on retail banking customers within the banking and insurance business lines, as these segments are expected to experience the initial impacts of FIDA implementation.

Clear and actionable insights from students

Juho Aalto expressed his satisfaction with the collaboration. ‘The collaboration with the OP Lab went exceptionally well. It was very rewarding to see our research and insights being valued, leading to the opportunity to present our findings to the management teams of OP's business areas.’

Juho Tuuliainen added that working with the OP Lab was a great experience. ‘It's gratifying to know that our efforts are appreciated and that the results are significant enough to be presented at such a high level within the organization.’

‘The project team did an outstanding job of managing to create concrete examples where OP can really benefit from the FIDA regulation. Their work provides clear, actionable insights,’ praised Anton Danielsen , Innovation Partner at OP Lab, the project's authors. 

Sebastian Pohja , Legal Counsel at OP Financial Group, also commended the team saying that despite the legal development of FIDA still being open, the project team delivered a thorough and well-thought-out final work. Their insights will be invaluable as we navigate these changes.’

Finally, University Lecturer Timo Seppälä , who was the academic supervisor in the project, highlighted the project’s significance. ‘This project sheds excellent light on the subject of FIDA and the ongoing EU legislation changes. Given the scope of the topic, it could easily have warranted writing a dissertation, yet the team managed to deliver concise and impactful findings.’

According to the students, this collaboration between Aalto University and the OP Financial Group underscores the proactive steps being taken to adapt to and benefit from forthcoming regulatory changes. ‘By preparing for FIDA’s implementation, OP positions itself to not only comply with new regulations but also to exploit the strategic advantages these changes bring. The project’s insights and recommendations will be useful as OP navigates the transition towards a more open and data-centric financial environment,’ Juho Aalto and Juho Tuuliainen say.

Further information:

Customized Student Business Projects

Contact us when you need bright minds to analyse and solve your challenges. We will tailor a student project according to your needs.

Premium Partner - OP Financial Group

Official partner of the School of Business since 2013.

• Published: 6.6.2024
• Updated: 6.6.2024

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