Aalto University Economics Master’s Thesis Guide: 20 ECTS Thesis, 6 ECTS Seminar and the 2026–2028 Transition Rule

Aalto University’s Master’s Programme in Economics now has an unusually important thesis transition to understand. Under the current 2026–2028 curriculum, the programme uses a 20 ECTS Master’s thesis, a separate 6 ECTS Master’s Thesis Seminar, and a 0 ECTS maturity test. However, some students whose Master’s study right began before 1 August 2026 may still be entitled to complete an older curriculum in which the thesis is 30 ECTS. This distinction matters because the thesis scope must match the curriculum under which the degree is completed.

This guide is written for students in Aalto University’s School of Business Master’s Programme in Economics. It covers the current thesis structure, the transition rule, seminar timing, research planning, supervision, MyStudies, Turnitin, PDF/A submission, maturity essay, assessment, public-thesis rules and the current 2027 submission calendar. It does not turn older or applicant-facing information into a current requirement when the current student curriculum says otherwise.

The current Economics degree and thesis structure

The Master’s Programme in Economics is organised by the Aalto University School of Business and leads to the Master of Science (Economics and Business Administration) degree. The degree is 120 ECTS and is normally planned as two years of full-time study.

The current 2026–2028 curriculum contains three majors:

• Economics
• Environmental and Energy Economics
• Research Master in Economics

Across all three majors, the thesis-side structure is the same:

• Master’s Thesis: 20 ECTS
• Master’s Thesis Seminar: 6 ECTS
• Maturity Test: 0 ECTS

The major studies total 84–87 ECTS depending on the major and choices, while elective studies account for 33–36 ECTS.

The key point is that the 6 ECTS seminar is separate from the 20 ECTS thesis. It should not be merged into a 26 ECTS thesis, and it should not be treated as an optional extra if it is part of the student’s current curriculum.

Why some Aalto pages still say 30 ECTS

Students may notice an apparent contradiction. The applicant-facing Economics study-option page still describes a 30 ECTS thesis, while the current 2026–2028 student curriculum states 20 ECTS. The programme’s current thesis page explains why.

Aalto has a transition period from 1 August 2026 through 31 July 2028.

If your Master’s study right started before 1 August 2026, you may during the transition period be able to complete the curriculum associated with the beginning of your study right or move to a newer curriculum. In practical thesis terms, an eligible student may therefore face a choice between:

• an older curriculum with a 30 ECTS thesis, or
• the 2026–2028 curriculum with a 20 ECTS thesis.

The studies toward the degree and the thesis must be completed under the same curriculum framework. The thesis scope is therefore not something a student chooses independently merely because one scope looks preferable.

If your Master’s study right started on or after 1 August 2026, the current programme thesis page states that you follow the 2026–2028 curriculum or a newer one, so the thesis scope is 20 ECTS.

After 31 July 2028, the transition closes. From 1 August 2028, students can no longer graduate under the 2024–2026 or an earlier curriculum and must move to the newer degree structure if they have not yet graduated.

If you are a transition-period student, confirm your curriculum choice in your study plan and with programme guidance before you define the thesis scope. Do not rely on an isolated public page or on another student’s thesis scope.

What the 20 ECTS scope means in workload terms

The School of Business describes a 20 ECTS thesis as approximately 500–600 hours of work, corresponding roughly to 63–75 full-time working days or about three to four months of full-time study.

This is a more focused research project than the 30 ECTS format. Aalto’s current School of Business guidance explicitly says that the difference is not simply a page-count difference. The 20 ECTS thesis is expected to deliver high-quality research within a tighter scope. Depending on the project, that may involve a more focused data collection strategy, use of suitable secondary data, a tighter literature review or a more deliberately bounded analysis.

That does not mean that every Economics thesis should use secondary data, one specific econometric method or a standard model. Economics is methodologically quantitative and analytical, and the programme develops econometric and mathematical skills, but the actual thesis method must fit the research question, available evidence, supervisor guidance and the programme or seminar instructions.

The 6 ECTS Economics Master’s Thesis Seminar

The Master’s Thesis Seminar is a separate 6 ECTS study unit. Its purpose is to help students present, critique and comment on economic research while developing their own thesis.

The seminar is organised twice each academic year, once in the autumn semester and once in the spring semester.

The current enrolment cut-offs are important:

• for the autumn seminar, enrol by 31 May in the preceding spring;
• for the spring seminar, enrol by 31 October in the preceding autumn.

Aalto also states that students may begin working on the thesis at any point in the academic year. The seminar is intended for students who have already started thesis work. This means that thesis topic development, preliminary reading, data exploration or discussions with potential supervisors can begin before the formal seminar period, provided the student’s programme planning supports it.

The recommended 2026–2028 timetable places the thesis seminar and the thesis/maturity work in the second year. That is a planning recommendation rather than a claim that every student must begin on one identical date.

Choosing a topic and defining an Economics research problem

A strong Economics thesis normally begins with a question narrow enough to answer rigorously within the student’s applicable thesis scope.

Possible areas can include applied microeconomics, macroeconomics, labour economics, urban economics, environmental and energy economics, development economics, industrial organisation, public economics, innovation, trade, health economics or other areas supported by the programme’s expertise and course background.

The programme’s current learning objectives emphasise analytical thinking, scientific thinking, econometric and mathematical methods, and clear communication. These objectives should inform the thesis, but they do not create one compulsory research design for every student.

A useful topic-development sequence is:

1. identify the economic phenomenon or policy problem;
2. define the specific causal, descriptive, theoretical or evaluative question;
3. identify the relevant economic literature and theoretical framework;
4. determine what data, model or other evidence is realistically available;
5. choose methods that can answer the question credibly within the thesis scope;
6. reduce the project until the workload is realistic for the applicable 20 or 30 ECTS regime.

For a current 20 ECTS student, resisting unnecessary scope expansion is especially important. More variables, more datasets or a longer literature review do not automatically produce a better thesis.

Methods: econometrics is important, but there is no single mandatory design

Economics students commonly work with quantitative methods, econometric models, experiments, quasi-experimental designs, panel or time-series data, structural or theoretical modelling, simulation, policy evaluation, archival datasets or combinations of these approaches. The Research Master may involve especially advanced theoretical or econometric work.

However, the current official programme pages do not establish one universal method that every thesis must use. The School of Business explicitly leaves programme-specific structure, formatting, methods and additional procedures to the programme and thesis seminar.

Therefore, a thesis guide should not tell every student to run the same regression, collect primary survey data or use one statistical package. The defensible rule is to select a method that matches the research question and evidence, then document assumptions, limitations and robustness as appropriate to the project.

Seminar registration, supervisor and MyStudies

The School of Business thesis workflow starts with the programme’s thesis seminar and topic development.

A practical sequence is:

1. make sure the correct thesis, seminar and maturity-test codes are in your Sisu study plan;
2. register for the Economics Master’s Thesis Seminar according to its deadline;
3. develop a preliminary research topic and discuss supervision according to programme/seminar instructions;
4. once you have a preliminary topic and an assigned supervisor, apply for topic and supervisor approval in MyStudies, Thesis tab;
5. complete the seminar and thesis work with feedback from your supervisor and seminar;
6. finalize the maturity-essay abstract and the thesis file;
7. submit the final thesis for evaluation through MyStudies.

The School of Business allows theses to be written individually or in a pair, subject to programme requirements and the academic design of the project. Pair work does not remove each student’s responsibility for the academic work or the required submission process.

Responsible use of AI

Aalto’s current AI guidance allows AI to support learning in contexts where its use has not been restricted, but the student remains responsible for the accuracy, originality and academic integrity of the submitted work.

The maturity examination is different. Aalto’s current guidance prohibits AI in maturity exams. In the School of Business Master’s thesis workflow, the thesis abstract functions as the maturity essay. Students should therefore treat the maturity-essay component as AI-prohibited and follow any more specific programme or teacher instructions.

For the rest of the thesis, students should not present generated material as their own work, should respect course or supervisor restrictions, and should disclose or document AI use where required.

Final file, PDF/A and Turnitin

The final Economics thesis is submitted in MyStudies for evaluation, grading and archiving.

The School of Business requires a single PDF/A file containing the cover page and thesis abstract. The file must be in an accepted archival PDF/A format and must be no larger than 100 MB. Students should validate the file before the deadline rather than discovering a format problem at the point of submission.

When the final thesis is submitted in MyStudies, a Turnitin similarity report is generated automatically from the submitted file. Students may also use available Turnitin checking opportunities during the writing process according to Aalto instructions.

The supervisor must be approved in MyStudies before final thesis submission.

Maturity essay and language obligations

The Master’s-level maturity requirement is 0 ECTS, but it remains a required degree component. In the School of Business process, the thesis abstract acts as the maturity essay.

The language requirements depend on the student’s language of education and previous degree background. Students who need to demonstrate Finnish or Swedish proficiency may have additional language obligations connected to the maturity essay. Students should follow the current Aalto language-of-education guidance rather than assume that every international student has the same maturity-language requirement.

Because the maturity essay is a formal examination component, students should complete it independently and without AI assistance.

Public thesis and Aaltodoc

Aalto Master’s theses are public academic documents under the university’s rules. The thesis abstract and metadata are openly published in Aaltodoc. Students should therefore plan confidentiality and data handling before writing material into the thesis document.

Sensitive personal data, confidential company information or material covered by an agreement should not simply be inserted into the public thesis and then expected to become secret at submission. If a project involves restricted data, agree on data management and what can appear in the public thesis early with the supervisor and relevant partner.

Evaluation and the current School of Business rubric

The School of Business uses a common thesis assessment framework, updated for the current 20/30 ECTS structures from 1 August 2026. The thesis is evaluated against academic criteria rather than by raw length.

A strong Economics thesis should therefore demonstrate a well-defined research problem, appropriate engagement with prior research, suitable methods, transparent analysis, justified interpretation, academic integrity and clear communication. The exact expectations for a 20 ECTS Economics thesis should be read together with programme and seminar instructions.

Do not assume that a longer thesis receives a better grade. A focused, well-executed 20 ECTS study is the current curriculum target.

2027 thesis and graduation deadlines

The Economics graduation page provides monthly School of Business deadlines. For thesis and maturity-essay submission in 2027, the relevant dates are:

There is also a 23 June 2027 graduation date, but Aalto states that no theses or maturity essays may be submitted for examination in June. A student graduating in June must submit the thesis and maturity essay according to the May timetable.

Always re-check the live programme graduation page before final submission because schedules can change.

A practical planning model for a current 20 ECTS student

A workable sequence for a 20 ECTS Economics thesis is:

Before the seminar

• verify that you are following the correct 2026–2028 or transition curriculum;
• confirm whether your thesis is 20 or 30 ECTS;
• choose the correct seminar period and meet the 31 May or 31 October enrolment cut-off;
• identify a viable topic, literature base and data source;
• begin supervisor discussions.

Early thesis phase

• refine the research question;
• define the economic framework;
• assess data quality and access;
• select an appropriate method;
• set a realistic analysis plan for the applicable ECTS scope;
• apply for topic and supervisor approval in MyStudies.

Main research phase

• carry out the analysis;
• keep code, data transformations and decisions reproducible where relevant;
• use seminar and supervisor feedback;
• document limitations and robustness rather than expanding scope unnecessarily.

Final writing and submission

• align conclusions with the evidence actually produced;
• complete the thesis abstract/maturity essay independently;
• prepare one compliant PDF/A file under 100 MB;
• validate the PDF/A;
• complete any permitted pre-submission Turnitin checks;
• submit the final thesis in MyStudies by the correct deadline;
• verify your Sisu study plan and graduation application timing.

What not to assume

For the current Economics programme, do not assume that:

• every student has a 30 ECTS thesis;
• every student has a 20 ECTS thesis without checking transition eligibility;
• the 6 ECTS seminar is part of the 20 ECTS thesis credit;
• one econometric model or one software package is compulsory for all theses;
• there is a universal page count or word count;
• the applicant-facing 30 ECTS statement overrides the current student curriculum;
• a June graduation date is also a June thesis-submission date;
• AI can be used in the maturity-essay abstract.

Final checklist

Before submitting an Aalto Economics Master’s thesis, confirm that:

• your Sisu plan identifies the correct curriculum;
• your thesis scope is correctly determined as 20 ECTS or, if genuinely eligible during transition, the applicable older 30 ECTS regime;
• you completed or are completing the separate 6 ECTS thesis seminar required by your curriculum;
• your topic and supervisor are approved in MyStudies;
• your research question and method fit the scope;
• the abstract/maturity essay meets language and independence requirements;
• the final file is one valid PDF/A under 100 MB;
• you understand that the final submission generates a Turnitin report;
• confidential material has not been placed improperly into the public thesis;
• you have checked the current live submission and graduation timetable.

The most important Economics-specific issue in 2026–2028 is not a formatting rule. It is getting the curriculum and thesis scope right before you design the project. Once that is settled, the thesis can be planned as a focused piece of economic research with a realistic workload, a clear seminar timetable and a clean MyStudies submission path.