Die Abschlussarbeit ist form- und fristgerecht als pdf-Datei per E-Mail vom Uni-Mail-Account an studienbuero-fb03@uni-mainz.de einzureichen und muss spätestens am Abgabetag um 23:59 Uhr beim Studienbüro Rechts- und Wirtschaftswissenschaften eingehen. Eine Papierversion ist nicht einzureichen, da die Abgabe rein digital erfolgt.

Die Weitergabe an die zuständige Professur bzw. die Betreuer/den Betreuer erfolgt ausschließlich durch das Studienbüro.

Die Arbeit ist mit einer eidesstattlichen Erklärung zu versehen. Diese Erklärung ist eigenhändig zu unterschreiben (eine digitale Unterschrift wird ebenfalls akzeptiert) und muss am Ende in die Abschlussarbeit eingebunden sein oder als separates pdf-Dokument in der E-Mail enthalten sein. Wird die Abschlussarbeit in einer Fremdsprache verfasst, so muss eine deutschsprachige Zusammenfassung von höchstens einer Seite ebenfalls in der Abschlussarbeit eingearbeitet sein.

Wenn die Studierenden mehrere Dateien oder Dokumente zusätzlich zur Abschlussarbeit einreichen sollen, können diese mitgeschickt werden. Die E-Mails werden, nach Prüfung der form- und fristgerechten Abgabe, unverändert mit allen Anhängen weitergeleitet.

Die Formatvorgaben für Bachelorarbeiten sind in dem verlinkten Dokument zusammengestellt:

Applying for a master thesis

At the Chair of International Economics, we supervise master theses on topics that fall into one (or several) of the following areas:

• International economics: international trade
• International economics: foreign direct investment
• International economics: international macroeconomics and finance
• Political economics
• Development economics

Students interested in writing a master thesis with us should have successfully completed at least one elective course offered by the chair of International Economics.

Note that you are responsible for fulfilling all necessary formal requirements to be eligible for writing a thesis, and that you have to comply with all the rules prescribed by your study program. For further details, please consult the exam regulations (Prüfungsordnung), and/or contact the Studienbüro/program office.

To start the process, you need to submit an application to write your master thesis at the Chair of International Economics by e-mail (LsHarms<at>uni-mainz.de). This application should include the following information:

• The study program you are enrolled in and the number of semesters you have been studying
• Your most recent transcript of records
• A recent curriculum vitae
• A short letter of motivation, describing your general areas of interest, one or several potential topics you can imagine working on (if available), and your methodological preferences (e.g. whether you want to work with data in your thesis).

Topics have to fall into one of the areas mentioned above. Ideally, they should be phrased as a question. That question should be sufficiently relevant to raise potential readers’ interest, it should be sufficiently precise to guide you in your subsequent work and broad enough to allow for some flexibility. Finally, the answer should be feasible, given the available time frame.

We strongly encourage students to come up with suggestions on potential topics. Below is a selection of master thesis titles that we surveyed in the past:

The submission deadlines for applications are:

• November 1 (for theses starting in the first quarter of the following year),
• February 1 (for theses starting in the second quarter of the year),
• May 1 (for theses starting in the third quarter of the year),
• and August 1 (for theses starting in the last quarter of the year).

After your application: The next steps

• If your application has been submitted on time, we will contact you to arrange a meeting (usually during our office hours). On that occasion, we will either suggest you a topic or discuss the topic suggested by you.
• Following this first meeting, you are required to draft an exposé based on the discussed topic. Please send an electronic version (PDF) of that exposé to LsHarms<at>uni-mainz.de.
• After having received your exposé you will be notified of the success of your application. Since we receive many requests, we reserve the right to decline your application.
• If you are accepted, you are required to start your thesis in the quarter that you applied for.

Writing your thesis

• While working on your thesis, you should stay in touch with your supervisor and see her/him during her/his office hours. There is no formal limit on the number and structure of such meetings, but students are expected to prepare a set of clearly-defined questions they want to discuss.
• At their Research Colloquium, students writing their thesis at the Chair of International Economics present the current status of their work. These colloquia take place once during a quarter, with the specific data being announced in advance. Students will have 20 for their presentation, and 25 minutes will be left for questions.
• When writing your master thesis, please make sure you comply with the requirements concerning style and presentation. Instructions can be found here
• We also strongly recommend the general reflections on academic writing (including an excellent list of references) provided by Konstantin Wacker, a former colleague at JGU Mainz, now at the University of Groningen (Netherlands): https://sites.google.com/rug.nl/kmwacker/home/student-resources/paperwriting
• Submission:  Make sure you send your master’s thesis as a pdf-file and the written declaration of authorship as a pdf-file per e-mail to the Studienbüro (studienbuero-fb03@uni-mainz.de) before the deadline, using your student account at JGU Mainz. It must be received by the Studienbüro no later than 23:59 on the day of submission. It is not necessary to submit a hardcopy of your thesis, as the submission is purely digital. Supporting data files, do files, etc. should be exclusively sent to the International Economics chair (LsHarms@uni-mainz.de).