Master's thesis in Accounting and Finance
Codes and credits:
· LASK3004, 5 ects, Introduction lectures or assigned tasks
· LASK3012, 5 ects, Research proposal
· LASK3013, 5 ects, Progress report
· LASK3014, 20 ects, Completed thesis
1) Required for the admission: The student must first have successfully taken the Introduction to the Master's Thesis Research.
2) The usual stages of the master's thesis project (might be adjusted by the thesis advisor):
| First year spring: Introduction to the Master's Thesis Research. |
| First year spring: Registration to be announced. |
| First year spring: Seminar sessions for the master's thesis research proposal, presentation (6-10 pages), opponent (2 times), minutes in writing (1 time). |
| Second year autumn: The progress report (about >30 pages). |
| Second year spring: Completed master's thesis (pro gradu). |
a) Seminar sessions, the research proposal: the student presents in the seminar a master's thesis proposal (research plan) of about 6-10 pages. It should contain the research problem, the planned methodology to approach the research problem, a review of earlier literature, and the planned contents.
- The proposal must be distributed to the participants of the seminar group one week before the session. Furthermore, the student's own professor advisor and the advising assistant of accounting and finance must be provided with their own copies directly.
- The research plan is discussed by two opponents. Thus each student will be the opponent to two presentations (unless the advisor decrees differently).
- Required attendance in the seminar is 80 per cent. Of these about 20 per cent can be visits to the seminar sessions of the other advisors. This can be modified after the seminar groups have been allocated. The details can be decided by the students own advisor.
- The seminar sessions are preceded by the compulsory plenary session and other potential preliminaries in the student's own advisory group. The student's own advisor will provide more information on the details of the arrangements.
b) Second year fall: The student hands in a progress report on his/her master's thesis research. The minimum length is 30 pages.
c) Second year spring: In the final master's thesis the student presents the research, including the results and the conclusions.
- The master's thesis (also called pro gradu) final phase does not does not involve further seminar sessions or an opponent task. The completed thesis is submitted to the Faculty of Business Studies in three or four copies as decreed in more detail by the faculty. Two of the copies can optionally be delivered directly to the student's own advisor. Each copy of the thesis must contain a one-page summary, plus there must be an additional leaflet copy of the summary. The abstract and a PDF copy of the thesis must be uploaded electronically to the Tritonia library's service as advised by the Faculty Administrative Amanuensis. The faculty's writing instructions must be observed.
- The thesis will be graded as Sufficient (E=1/5), Satisfactory (D=2/5), Good (C=3/5), Very good (B=4/5) or Excellent (A=5/5).
3) Joint master's theses are possible only with the explicit consent of the thesis advisor.
4) The research plan, the progress report, or the thesis can each be separately required anew, partly or completely.
5) The grade of the thesis is sanctioned by the faculty council based on written evaluations by the thesis advisor and a second examiner. If the advisor is not available at the stage, a new examiner will be appointed to write an evaluation.
6) To graduate the student must write a maturity test at a supervised examination time. The maturity test is written on a subject set by the thesis advisor. The test will be evaluated both by the thesis advisor. The maturity test must give evidence of knowledge of the subject area of the thesis.
The student may register to the maturity test only after having submitted the completed master's thesis. The maturity test can be taken on any date when there are other examinations arranged at the university. The registration to the test is made with an exam envelope. (For special arrangements, if already back abroad, contact the student counceling.)
7) Only concerns domestic students. The item is void for the international students.
8) A student who has without compelling, proven reason neglected the research plan presentation or the progress report presentation has to register again next year.
9) Each phase is considered a completion and is entered in the student's scorecard.
10) The proper ethical guidelines of the university should be borne in mind in master's thesis work, as well as in other written presentations. In particular, "the student should act honestly and not engage or tolerate cheating such as unreferenced copying" and as a researcher "should be careful and honest in doing the research and reporting the results" and "not engage in unauthorized quoting nor take the ideas, plans, observations or results of others into one's own name".
Please note. The years in the scheme are provisional. The acceptance to start the master's thesis is dependent on the student's progress.
If you are later interested in the doctoral studies
