University of Helsinki Agricultural, Environmental and Resource Economics Master’s Thesis Guide 2026-2027

The Master’s Programme in Agricultural, Environmental and Resource Economics (AGERE) at the University of Helsinki is a 120 ECTS, two-year programme in the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry. It trains applied economists to work on agriculture, food systems, environmental policy and natural-resource questions using economic theory, quantitative methods and policy analysis.

This guide uses current University of Helsinki programme, Faculty, E-thesis, language and AI guidance verified on 25 August 2026. It is a thesis guide, not an admissions guide. Admission eligibility, tuition fees, scholarships, application dates and language-test requirements are intentionally outside this article.

Two standard study tracks

AGERE has two standard study tracks:

• Agricultural Economics, covering agricultural markets and policy, production economics, farm management, rural entrepreneurship and related food-system questions; and
• Environmental and Resource Economics, covering environmental and natural-resource economics, valuation, econometrics, optimisation, dynamic modelling, game theory, cost-benefit analysis and related policy questions.

The Environmental and Resource Economics track also offers an optional Research Track designed to strengthen preparation for postgraduate study and research careers. It should not be described as a third standard AGERE study track. The programme itself remains organised around the two standard tracks above.

Current degree and language structure

The degree is 120 ECTS and is designed for two years of study. Current programme guidance places the 30 ECTS thesis inside the field-specific advanced studies and recommends focusing on thesis work during the second year.

The programme is multilingual. The Environmental and Resource Economics track is taught only in English, while Agricultural Economics is taught mainly in English with some Finnish and Swedish teaching. Current programme information also allows thesis writing and supervision in Finnish or Swedish where the student’s degree-language situation permits it.

If you are completing the degree in English within this multilingual programme, University language rules require at least 75% of the studies included in the degree to be completed in English, and the Master’s thesis must also be written in English.

The thesis is 30 ECTS

The Master’s thesis is 30 ECTS. Current Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry guidance treats a 30 ECTS thesis as approximately one semester of full-time work, around 4-5 months.

The Faculty gives a typical scope of approximately 30-60 pages excluding appendices and around 40-50 sources. These figures are planning guidance, not an inflexible word-count or page-count rule. A literature-based thesis will often require more sources, while an empirical or modelling thesis may devote more space to methods, tables, equations, figures or appendices.

The defensible way to use these figures is as a scale check. A thesis should be analytical and focused enough to fit the 30 ECTS workload without being artificially expanded or compressed to hit a page number.

What kind of AGERE thesis can you do?

Current programme guidance says the thesis should research and analyse a significant topic within the student’s field. The project can be:

• connected to a larger University research project;
• completed in collaboration with a company or public institution; or
• carried out independently.

Faculty rules permit both empirical theses and work based solely on literature or other scientific sources. The correct design depends on the research question and the programme’s current detailed instructions.

AGERE is especially suited to applied economic research. Depending on your track and question, a thesis may use econometrics, optimisation, numerical modelling, dynamic models, game theory, valuation methods, cost-benefit analysis, qualitative methods or a combination of approaches. Current programme research spans agricultural and food markets, farm and rural business, climate policy, biodiversity, fisheries, forestry, environmental valuation and natural-resource governance.

The method should follow the question. A model is not strong merely because it is mathematically sophisticated, and an empirical dataset is not strong merely because it is large. The thesis must show why the chosen theory, method and evidence are suitable for answering the stated research question.

Use the thesis seminar, methods studies and guidance system

Current programme structure places the thesis alongside a Master’s thesis seminar and method/theory studies. Those components are not decorative additions. The methods courses are intended to support the research work that eventually appears in the thesis.

Current AGERE guidance also identifies the thesis supervisor, academic mentor and thesis group as important sources of thesis guidance. The programme’s orientation and personal study planning process starts earlier in the degree, so students should use the first year to identify methodological gaps and build the study plan needed for a feasible second-year thesis.

A practical sequence is to use the first year to strengthen the theory and methods needed for the intended thesis, identify a broad research area, discuss possible topics with relevant teachers or research groups, and then enter the thesis stage with a realistic question rather than starting from zero.

A written supervision plan is required before starting

Faculty rules require students to prepare a separate written supervision plan before starting the Master’s thesis. This is one of the most important process rules in the programme.

The plan must be signed by:

• the student;
• the responsible person for the thesis process; and
• the supervisor or supervisors.

The plan records the research objectives and conduct, supervision arrangement, roles and responsibilities, detailed timetable, thesis language, duration of the supervision relationship and the handling of confidential data or results.

When the plan is signed, the responsible person approves the thesis topic and the supervisor or supervisors. At least one supervisor must hold a doctoral degree or equivalent qualification.

The supervision plan must also have a stated period of validity. If it expires before the thesis is submitted, it must be reapproved. It should also be updated if the topic, supervisor or circumstances change materially. This means the plan is an operational agreement, not a form to complete after the research is already underway.

Student and supervisor responsibilities

The student remains primarily responsible for progressing the work, maintaining regular contact and completing the agreed tasks. The supervisor reads manuscript versions, gives scientific and writing feedback, supports research design, advises on methods and helps the student keep the project within a realistic scope.

Supervision does not mean the supervisor performs the student’s analysis. In an economics thesis, the student should be able to explain and defend the data preparation, model specification, identification strategy, assumptions, robustness checks, interpretation and limitations that are relevant to the chosen design.

If the thesis belongs to a larger project, clearly identify what part is the student’s independent contribution. Shared data or a shared research setting does not remove the requirement that the assessed thesis must demonstrate the student’s own scientific thinking and work.

Page length and source count are approximate

The Faculty’s 30-60 page and 40-50 source guidance should not be converted into a mechanical target.

An econometric thesis with several model specifications and robustness checks may require substantial tables or appendices. A theoretical or modelling thesis may need mathematical development. A literature-based thesis may be shorter in data sections but use considerably more than 40-50 sources. An Agricultural Economics case study can look different from an Environmental and Resource Economics policy-model thesis.

The common standard is analytical focus. The question, economic framework, data or source base, method, results and interpretation should form one coherent argument that fits the 30 ECTS workload.

Referencing: follow AGERE’s current Moodle instructions

Current Faculty guidance requires a consistent referencing technique and states that programmes provide the more detailed rules. The current public AGERE pages do not establish one universal named citation system such as APA, Harvard or Chicago.

AGERE-specific detailed Master’s thesis instructions are currently provided in Moodle. Therefore:

1. check the current AGERE Moodle thesis instructions before formatting the manuscript;
2. follow any programme or supervisor-approved disciplinary rule provided there; and
3. apply the selected referencing system consistently throughout the thesis.

Do not import a citation style from another Helsinki programme simply because it looks familiar.

Sisu and E-thesis submission

Current University workflow uses Sisu and the redesigned E-thesis system for Master’s thesis submission and assessment. Before final submission, make sure the thesis and maturity-test registrations are correct for the current academic year and that your study right and attendance status allow submission.

The final assessed file is submitted through E-thesis. After final submission for assessment, that submitted thesis version is not editable. Treat the final upload as a controlled release of the manuscript.

Before submitting, check the title, abstract, keywords, thesis language, supervisors, references, equations, tables, figures, appendices, confidential-data boundaries and PDF rendering. A final file should not depend on the assumption that you can silently replace it afterward.

Two examiners and the 0-5 assessment matrix

Under current Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry rules, the responsible person appoints two examiners. Both must normally hold a doctoral degree or equivalent qualification. To support consistent assessment, at least one is recommended to come from the student’s own Faculty or degree programme, and the second examiner should normally be someone other than the supervisor.

Assessment is organised around seven areas:

1. thesis objective and research questions;
2. scholarly framework and use of sources;
3. research data and method;
4. presentation of results;
5. discussion and conclusions;
6. thesis as an academic text; and
7. work during the thesis process.

The examiners assess areas 1-6, while the supervisor assesses area 7. The thesis receives a grade from 0 to 5 under the Faculty matrix. The Dean makes the final decision on approval and grading.

For AGERE students, this structure is useful during drafting. A technically advanced model cannot compensate automatically for a weak research question, poor source use or unclear conclusions. Likewise, strong writing alone cannot replace a defensible method and interpretation.

The abstract is the maturity test

In the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, the Master’s thesis abstract functions as the maturity test. The maturity test is recorded as 0 ECTS and assessed pass/fail.

The language rule depends on the student’s earlier education and previous maturity tests. Some students demonstrate only familiarity with the thesis field at Master’s level; others may also have a language-proficiency requirement. Follow the current University language and maturity-test instructions for your own case.

AI is never allowed in a maturity test. Because the thesis abstract serves as the maturity test in this Faculty, students must treat that prohibition seriously when preparing the maturity-test text.

AI use in thesis work

The University’s general policy allows AI tools to support learning and writing when the relevant teacher, programme and Faculty rules permit it. Prohibited use or failure to report use as instructed can be treated as cheating.

For thesis work, use AI only within current AGERE, Faculty and supervisor rules. You remain responsible for the correctness of economic reasoning, source interpretation, coding, data analysis, model outputs and final wording. AI-generated claims or references are not substitutes for checking the underlying evidence.

Faculty submission rounds for 2026-2027

The current Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry timetable gives the following rounds. Completed theses must be submitted by 23:59 Finnish time on the submission deadline.

Theses are not assessed in July. Normal supervision and feedback are also not provided in July unless a Faculty or programme requirement specifically says otherwise. Build graduation planning around the full assessment and Dean-decision cycle, not just the upload date.

Public thesis and confidential material

Master’s theses are public documents. Confidential business information, protected personal information or other legally confidential material must not be included in the public thesis itself.

E-thesis handles the current submission and publication process, and approved thesis information is transferred to Helda. Thesis abstracts are always public. If a project is commissioned by a company or public body, agree on confidentiality boundaries before data collection and writing rather than trying to remove essential content at the final-submission stage.

A practical AGERE thesis workflow

A defensible current workflow is:

1. Choose the track context. Clarify whether the thesis belongs to Agricultural Economics or Environmental and Resource Economics and whether an optional Research Track affects your study plan.
2. Strengthen theory and methods early. Use first-year methods, econometrics, modelling or related coursework to prepare for the intended research design.
3. Define a feasible economic question. Narrow the topic to a question that can be answered with available theory, data and time.
4. Find appropriate supervision. Match the question with the relevant academic mentor, thesis group, research group or supervisor expertise.
5. Prepare and sign the supervision plan before starting. Record the scope, method, roles, timetable, language and data/confidentiality arrangements.
6. Do the research. Collect or assemble data/sources, implement the method transparently and keep a reproducible record of analytical decisions.
7. Write within the 30 ECTS scope. Use 30-60 pages and 40-50 sources as approximate Faculty scale guidance, not a quota.
8. Follow current Moodle writing instructions. Use the current AGERE-specific referencing and formatting rules rather than guessing a style.
9. Prepare the abstract as the maturity test. Follow your language requirement and do not use AI in the maturity-test text.
10. Complete Sisu and E-thesis checks. Upload only the exact final file intended for assessment before 23:59 Finnish time.
11. Allow time for examination and Dean approval. Submission is not the same date as final degree approval.

Final checklist

Before final submission, confirm that:

• your thesis is 30 ECTS and appropriately scoped for the project;
• the work clearly belongs to your AGERE track and research question;
• the supervision plan was signed before thesis work and is still valid;
• at least one supervisor meets the doctoral/equivalent requirement;
• your theory, data/sources and method are aligned;
• the analysis is reproducible and the interpretation follows from the evidence;
• the 30-60-page and 40-50-source figures have been treated as approximate guidance;
• current AGERE Moodle instructions control formatting and referencing;
• the chosen citation system is consistent;
• Sisu registrations and study-right/attendance requirements are correct;
• the abstract satisfies your maturity-test requirements and contains no prohibited AI use;
• confidential material is absent from the public thesis;
• the E-thesis PDF is the exact final version; and
• your submission date matches a current 2026-2027 Faculty round.

University, Faculty, programme, Moodle and supervisor instructions always take priority if a newer or more specific requirement applies to your thesis.