Master of Science in Finance
Research Option – Master thesis
- To obtain a MSc in Finance (120 ECTS), students have to meet the criteria of the MSc in Finance (90 ECTS) and they must validate the master thesis (30 ECTS).
- Students who want to write the master thesis must have acquired at least 30 ECTS in line with the MSc in Finance (90 ECTS).
Supervisors and topics
Potential topics for the master thesis may include but are not limited to:
- Economic consequences of changes in or adoption of accounting standards, accounting regulation, or accounting rules (e.g., market reactions, cost of capital, or liquidity)
- Determinants of accounting choices
- Effects of heterogeneous accounting standards or accounting choices on information asymmetry or information precision
- Earnings management, discretionary accounting, and disclosure quality (e.g., earnings smoothing, small positive gains, value relevance, large negative net income, timely loss recognition, or target accounting)
- (Economic) consequences of fair value accounting
- Effects of banking regulation and “Too-big-to-fail” issues
Economic consequences of (U.S.) cross-listings
- Theoretical asset pricing
- Portfolio selection
- Bayesian learning models
- Corporate and international finance
- Valuation
- Financial markets
Programme administrator
Step by step
Step 1. Supervisor selection
Until 15 December 2025, select one supervisor and send to the programme administrator the following document:
The application is binding and you may apply only to one supervisor.
The programme administrator arranges signature by the supervisor and returns fully signed document to the student.
Step 2. Registration in IS-Academia
Between 16 February and 13 March 2026, register in IS-Academia for the course « Master thesis (5AF2044) ». This will automatically register you for the June 2026 exam session.
Step 3. Sending the first draft
Until 16 April 2026, send the first draft of your thesis, by email and in pdf format, to your supervisor.
Before writing your thesis, please read the information on the University intranet page regarding plagiarism. Also refer to the Master thesis guidelines and use the cover page template:
Step 4. Sending the final version
Until 18 May 2026, send the final version of your thesis, by email and in pdf format, to your supervisor.
At the same time give to the programme administrator the following:
- Two copies of the thesis printed double-sided, in colour and bound
- Pledge of honour
- USB stick including the thesis in pdf format, data and programmes.
Step 5. Evaluation and assessment of the thesis
Until 12 June 2026, the supervisor evaluates the thesis and the grade is validated during the exam session.
The supervisor turns in the form to the programme administrator.
The student will receive her/his grade when the grades are published after the exam session.
Step 6. Registration in IS-Academia
If the grade is under 4, between 27 June and 5 July 2026, register in IS-Academia for the August/September retake session.
Step 7. Re-evaluation and assessment of the thesis
Until 3 August 2026, revise your thesis and return it by email and in pdf format, to your supervisor.
At the same time give to the programme administrator the new copies of the thesis, pledge of honour and USB stick.
Note
All theses are deposited by the programme administrator at the library. If the thesis is confidential, then only the cover page is deposited.
Contact
MScF programme administration: mscf@unine.ch
