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Master's Degree Dissertation

Code: 42144
Credits: 10
2026/2027
Degree programme Type Course
Economics and Business Administration TFE 1

Contact lecturer

Name :
Maria Cervini
Email :
maria.cervini@uab.cat

Teaching staff

Maria Antònia Tarrazón Rodón
Xavier Vila Carnicero
Maria Cervini

Group languages

You can consult this information at the end of the document.

Prerequisites

Having taken the compulsory and elective modules of the master.

Objectives


The master’s thesis is a carefully argued scholarly paper of approximately 8000 – 10000 words of main text (excluding tables, figures and references). It should present either an original research well founded and developed on a topic of the students' interest, or a survey of the state-of-the-art of the literature on a topic of their interest that is carefully documented from reliable and prestigious sources. In any case, an original contribution is expected.

The thesis must have a focus that falls within the topics of the MEBA program, and it must be written under the guidance of an advisor.

In MEBA the master theses are written in groups of 2-3 people. It is the students' task to propose a group to other classmates or to join an existing group. There will be no intervention on the side of the program coordinators.

As the final element in the master’s degree, the thesis gives the student an opportunity to demonstrate expertise in the chosen area and to develop the necessary team-work skills.


Learning outcomes

  • (CA23) Use language in an inclusive and non-sexist way.
  • (CA24) Identify topics of interest, sources of statistical information, and academic literature relevant to the development of a research project.
  • (CA25) Present the results of research carried out in the financial or business field clearly to both specialist and non-specialist audiences.
  • (CA26) Write with creativity, originality and opportunity in the proposal of a research project in the field of business, public policy or finance using the knowledge and tools learned during the training process.
  • (CA27) Obtain rigorous and efficient conclusions from the information consulted, the data used and the analysis carried out in the research project.
  • (KA25) List in an orderly and efficient manner the information and knowledge required to carry out a research project in the field of business, public policy, or finance.
  • (KA26) Identify the impact of the different academic research consulted in the process of preparing research projects.
  • (SA14) Evaluate the social impact of the different topics that can be dealt with in a research project.
  • (SA15) Analyse a specific problem in the field of business, public policies, or finance by combining the different knowledge and analysis techniques learned during training.
  • (SA16) Decide on the appropriate statistical technique for the analysis of the problem under study in the finance and business fields.

Contents

After some initial research on the topic chosen, students write a 200-250 word abstract followed by some preliminary references. They approach a possible advisor with it and try to convince her/him about the value and interest of their proposal. Once their topic has been duly refined and counts with the approval of the supervisor, students complete the Application for Approval of Master’s Thesis Topic, sign it and have it signed by their advisor, and submit it to the MEBA coordinators by the announced deadline.


Once a faculty member has accepted to advise the master thesis, students agree on a timetable for meetings and submission of drafts. A standard process usually implies three to four meetings: at the beginning, to fix the topic precisely, and to review the first or second drafts. As a general rule, each group is entitled to six hours of advisor time. It is students’ responsibility to keep advisors apprised of the master thesis progress. Appropriate time must be allowed to advisors to return the work to students, whether it is at an initial stage or already the final version. It is appropriate to ask advisors when comments can be expected in order to organize the students’ own calendar, but students are expected not to pressure advisors to respond quickly.


Students are also responsible for the formal quality of the final copy of their master thesis, which has to be free from spelling and grammatical errors and fulfill standard presentation requirements; advisors do not verify line-by-line editing.

Learning activities and methodology

Title Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Type: Autonomous
Reading 89.5 3.58
Type: Supervised
Tutoring and monitoring (thesis writing, presentation, advising) 100 4


Any regular faculty member at the UAB Faculty of Economics and Business Studies is entitled, although not required, to become a master thesis advisor.

It is students’ responsibility to find an advisor. Advisors provide general guidance and help to define the questions to be addressed in the master thesis. Since the beginning of the master sessions in September, students should try to get as much acquainted as possible with the array of alternatives available at our Faculty – both in terms of research topics as well as specialists – and not limit their choice to only those faculty members they have worked with in courses before deciding about their master thesis.

Approval of thesis topic and thesis advisor by the MEBA coordinators is needed.


Annotation: within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.

Assessment

Continuous assessment activities

Title Weight Hours ECTS Learning outcomes
Oral presentation 20% 0.4 0.016 CA23, CA25
Thesis Paper 80% 60.1 2.404 CA23, CA24, CA25, CA26, CA27, KA25, KA26, SA14, SA15, SA16

Each Master Thesis will be evaluated by a committee appointed by the MEBA coordination. This committee will be composed of a panel of three professors that are experts in the topic addressed in the thesis. The thesis must be defended in a public academic event in front of that committee. All the students that participate in the thesis must also participate in their thesis defense. Both the thesis written report and the thesis defense will be evaluated by the committee, and each student will receive an individual grade based on his/her performance.

Bibliography

Bibliography of strict academic quality according to the contents and methodology of the master thesis.

Reference for good academic writing:

  • Wallwork, Adrian. English for Academic Research: Grammar, Usage and Style. Second edition. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, 2023. UAB Catalogue. Available on-line

https://www.uab.cat/web/libraries-1345738247610.html

Software

Software suitable to the contents of the master thesis.

Course groups and languages

The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE

Type of teaching Group Language Semester Shift
(TFMm) Treball de fi de màster 1 English second semester morning-mixed