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Central Allocation of Master Theses - Finance

General Information

The Finance Area, represented by the participating chairs of Banking, Corporate Finance, Finance, and Insurance, offers a wide range of Master’s thesis topics based on the respective research and teaching focuses of the chairs. Students who are interested in writing a Master’s thesis at one of these chairs can submit a central application here. Taking into account their preferences and the available capacities at the chairs, they will then be assigned to a specific chair. After the allocation, the concrete topic of the Master’s thesis will be determined by the assigned chair.

A prerequisite for the application is that at least 60 ECTS credits have already been completed within the Master’s program.

In addition to the Finance Master students, students from the Master of International Management (CEMS MIM) can also apply. The same application procedures apply to these students.

Application and Documents to be filed

To apply, you must submit the documents listed below. In the application form provided, it is essential that you indicate a complete list of your preferred topics and chairs (1= highest preference, 6=lowest preference). Please indicate all six topic preferences and make sure that they cover all four chairs.

Multiple entries of topics are not permitted. In case you would like to make your own topic suggestion, you should note on the application, if a topic has already been discussed with the potential supervisor in advance or if you are already in contact with a company where you would like to write your Master's thesis.

Please send all application documents summarized in a maximum of two files to cf(at)wiso.uni-koeln(dot)de.

Please fill out the application form only after the application period has started to ensure that you have access to the most current topics.

Schedule

  Winter term
1st date
Winter term
2nd date
Summer term
1st date
Summer term
2nd date
Start of application August 10th November 10th February 10th May 10th
Deadline for applications September 1st December 1st March 1st June 1st
Allocation of students to the chair September December March June
Start of processing October January April July

In general, the Master's thesis starts at the beginning of the quarter in October, January, April or July. If necessary, a later start date within the quarter can be arranged with the supervisor. A corresponding request should then already be noted on the application form.

Formal Requirements

To assist you in writing your Master's thesis, we have compiled instructions for writing seminar papers, Bachelor's and Master's theses (see website of the Department for Business Administration and Finance). However, there may be differing regulations, e.g. regarding the number of pages. Please consult your respective supervisor at the chair.

Topics

AOR Dr. Spörk – Bank Management
  • Bankmanagement
  • Leasing
Prof. Dr. Dieter Hess – Corporate Finance
  • Earnings/Cash Flow Forecasts and their Relevance for Asset Management and Corporate Finance Applications
  • ESG Forecasts
  • Machine Learning Applications in Finance (e.g. Portfolio Theory and Forecasting of Accounting Variables)
  • Return Predictability and Forecasts
Prof. Dr. Alexander Kempf – Finance
  • Asset Pricing / Trading Strategies
  • Asset Management / Mutual Funds
  • Fixed Income Management
  • Investor Behavior
Prof. Dr. Heinrich Schradin – Risk Management & Insurance
  • Digitalization, Big Data and Product Innovation in Insurance
  • Risk Management and Regulation
  • Aktuelle Fragen der Personenversicherungen
  • Micro-Insurance

Contact Persons

For general questions please contact cf(at)wiso.uni-koeln(dot)de.

AOR Dr. Spörk – Bank Management
Prof. Dr. Dieter Hess – Corporate Finance
Prof. Dr. Alexander Kempf – Finance
Prof. Dr. Heinrich Schradin – Risk Management & Insurance