Guidelines Master Thesis

Goal of the master thesis :

The objective of a master thesis is to provide a detailed analysis and discussion of an economic issue using microeconomic theory and rigorous econometric methods.

Requirements:

For writing a thesis in Energy and Environmental Economics and Policy, the student should be familiar with the contents of the courses (or courses with equivalent contents) 1-7 from the list below.

Students can ask to substitute 4 and 5 with two other courses in economics.

For both areas, students can ask to substitute 4 and 5 with two other courses in economics.

1. 363-0503-00 Principles of Microeconomics
2. 363-0514-00 Energy Economics and Policy
3. 363-0537-00 Resource and Environmental Economics
4. 363-0515-00 Decisions and Markets
5. 363-1063-00 Academic Writing Course
6. 363-0570-00 Principles of Econometrics or
7. 363-1137-00 Applied Econometrics in Environmental and Energy Economics

When contacting us about a thesis, please provide a transcript of records.

Topics

Master thesis can be written in the following topics:

• Energy economics
• Environmental economics
• Public economics

Form and outline of the thesis

Form:

1. Problem description and goal of the thesis
2. Detailed microeconomic description of the problem
3. Discussion of the relevant literature
4. Empirical analysis of the problem set
5. Policy implications

Outline: 40 pages (Font: size 12, line spacing: 1.5, border: double-sided 3 cm)

Procedure

A) Choice of the topic

The student has the possibility of making a proposal for your thesis or to choose a general topic from the topics given by the institute. For a list of the proposed topics click here.

B) Preliminary advisement

The student should contact the institute for a preliminary advisement in order to finalize the topic and choose a thesis supervisor from the institute. The assigned person for preliminary advisement is Dr. Jonas Savelsberg.

C) Proposal

After the preliminary advisement, the student will submit a short proposal. The final decision for the commencement of the thesis is based on this proposal.
The proposal should be maximum two pages and must contain the following points:

• A description of the problem/ research question
• Methodology
• A description of the data to be used (in case of empirical study)
• Bibliography
• Provisional table of contents

D) Starting to write

As soon as the proposal has been accepted you can start writing the thesis.

E) Support and workplace

After the discussion of the proposal there is the possibility of having three meetings with your supervisor. Furthermore you can hand in a draft of the final report in order to get a feedback from your supervisor. After handing in the final report there will be a final discussion.

Working space can not be ensured by the institute.

F) Submitting the thesis

We highly suggest to do a copy editing before you hand in your final thesis. Two hardcopies of your thesis must be handed in, duplex print and bound. In addition, the abstract of the thesis including your e-mail address (in pdf format) is needed for the CEPE website.

G) Evaluation

The following points will be assessed:

• Structure: Structure and outline should be consistent and logical.
• Content: The content must be correct and clear.
• Language: Accurate wording and correct grammar is assumed.
• Empirical analysis: The data collection and analysis must be performed in an accurate and transparent way.
• Literature: The relevant literature should be critically discussed and the references should be correctly cited.