We give preference to thesis topics in the following areas:

• Determinants and information content of credit ratings, analyst estimates and similar signals
• Empirical sustainable finance
• Capital market effects of regulatory measures
• Empirical corporate finance (including crowdfunding)
• Empirical issues in banking (risk) management (particularly operational risk)
• Empirical issues relating to FinTech companies

In principle, all topics we supervise should include an empirical component . For Bachelor’s students wishing to write their final dissertation in the field of Finance and Banking, successful completion of the module “wir082 Corporate Finance” (or an equivalent module at another university) is mandatory. It is also strongly recommended that students take the module “wir390 Financial Management” before commencing their thesis. Master’s students should have successfully completed at least two Master’s modules offered by the department as part of their degree programme.

Registration of the thesis with the department (not with the Examinations Office) is generally only possible within the following deadlines set by the Institute of Business Administration and Business Education:

• 15 November to 15 January ( for theses to be commenced in the following summer semester)
• 15 May to 15 July (for theses to be commenced in the following winter semester)

To register, it is sufficient to state your topic preferences and outline your initial thoughts on possible research questions and how they fit into the relevant academic literature. The final topic will be agreed upon individually with your supervisor at a later stage, should supervision be confirmed. Registration must be made by email via the department’s Office (), submitting the following documents:

• Fully completed thesis questionnaire
• Current Stud.IP transcript

You can find informationhere regarding the collection of personal data (Art. 13 GDPR).

Applications that are incomplete or submitted after the deadline will not be considered. Should the number of applications exceed our supervision capacity, the decision on whether to supervise the thesis will be based on the quality of the proposed research project and the student’s credits to date. The decision on whether to supervise the thesis is usually made within two weeks of the registration deadline. For BA students, the Finance and Banking department offers a compulsory accompanying course in accordance with Section 22(5) of the BPO; for MA students, a research colloquium is offered in accordance with Section 11(2) of the MPO BWL:M&R.

General information on writing academic papers at the Department of Finance and Banking can be found here.