Since Winter Term 2024/25, the MSM conducts a centralized assignment for Bachelor’s and Master’s theses once per semester.
The next registration period for the assignment procedure is from September 22 to 25, 2025.

After the allocation, you will receive an invitation from us to an information session, where you will obtain all important details about the further process. Then you are free to start working on your thesis at any time. Each topic is assigned only once and may therefore become unavailable at short notice. Once you have agreed with us on a topic, you will receive the main paper. After a short time to get acquainted with the paper, the thesis is finally registered with the examination office, and the period of time for writing the thesis starts. Please note that the title of the thesis cannot be changed after registration with the examination office.

Topics for theses are based on the research areas of the members of the chair. The thesis can be written either in German or English.

For current information and further notes, please register in the course room on Moodle.

In Winter Term 2025/26, we offer the following two dates for the colloquium: 04 February 2026 and 25 March 2026.

To participate in one of the above dates, the thesis must be submitted no later than 3 weeks before the date of the colloquium. The latest submission date for the colloquium on 04 February 2026 is 14 January 2026, and for the colloquium on 25 March 2026, it is 04 March 2026.

A sample cover page can be found on the MSM homepage. Please refer to the Examination Regulations for the required length of your thesis.

Bachelor's theses contain either an own empirical analysis (e.g. with Excel or Stata) and a short literature review or a more comprehensive review of (mainly empirical) research papers.

Bachelor's theses typically include a discussion of mainly empirical literature. A major part of the thesis consists of summarizing and discussing the content of the main research paper (usually) selected by us in your own words, focusing on the empirical strategy and the estimation methods, particularly the econometric assumptions and the extent to which causal effects can be estimated. Other contents of the thesis include, e.g., the motivation for the research question and a comparative discussion of the main paper with other relevant studies.

For example, we are currently proposing the following topics:

1. Does Revealing Stereotypes Influence Teachers' Grading?
2. The Impact of Gender in Medical Evaluations.
3. The Use of AI in Hiring Decisions.
4. The Relationship Between Economic Conditions and Health.*
5. The Impact of Occupational Recognition on Migrants' Labor Market Outcomes.*
6. The Effects of Team Gender Composition on Women's Influence.
7. The Effects of Bicycles on the School Education of Girls.
8. The Impact of Free Secondary Education.
9. The Effects of Early Childhood Interventions on Fertility and Employment of Mothers.
10. The Effects of Competition on Prosocial Behavior.
11. The Financial Consequences of Winning the Lottery.
12. The Long-run Effects of Welfare Programmes for Disadvantaged Households.
13. The Effects of Youth Employment Programs on Future Employment and Earnings.*
14. The Economic Impact of the 1918 Pandemic.*
15. Discrimination against LGBTQ+ Individuals in the Labor Market.
16. An Analysis of Barriers to Neighborhood Choice: Can Government Policies Promote Social Mobility?
17. Can Perspective-Taking Strengthen Social Cohesion in Schools?
18. Cognitive Endurance as Part of Human Capital.
19. Physical Disability and Labor Market Discrimination.
20. Insurance Effects within the Household and the Added Worker Effect.*
21. What factors explain the gender pay gap? Evidence from the Gig Economy.
22. Wealth, Health and Child Development.

* This topic requires the candidate to understand econometric or theoretical methods going significantly beyond those taught in the Bachelor’s courses. Therefore, this topic should only be chosen by students interested and capable of acquiring these methods. Students targeting for excellent grades may benefit from choosing a challenging topic.

It is also possible for students to propose their own topics.

Master's theses contain either a comprehensive review of (mainly empirical) research papers or an own empirical analysis (e.g. with Stata) based on data provided by the chair, web sources or data collected by yourself. In the case of a methodical-econometric theory theses, a simulation with generated data can be carried out instead of an analysis with observational data.

Master's theses at the Chair of Quantitative Methods in Economics can be structured similarly to bachelor's theses, where the main paper or additional literature is typically somewhat more econometrically demanding. Alternatively, an own empirical analysis (e.g., with Stata) based on data provided by the chair, on data sourced from the internet, or collected by the student is possible. In the case of a methodologically econometric project, instead of analyzing observational data, a simulation with generated data can be conducted. Papers with own data also include a literature section (slightly shorter, as described above).

It is possible for students to choose suggested topics from the area of the bachelor’s theses. In this case, the level of difficulty will be adjusted accordingly. Additionally, students can also propose own topics.

For further questions about theses at the Chair of Quantitative Methods in Economics, please contact Ms. Nele Jugenheimer (nele.jugenheimer (at) uni-due.de).