Economics Dissertation

A dissertation is intended to enable a student to deepen his or her understanding of a particular area of Economics. It gives students the opportunity to choose a topic independently, and work with a supervisor to produce a work of academic research of approximately 8,000 words in length. The dissertation prepares the student for independent research and postgraduate study.

Dissertations can take a wide variety of forms. Students can opt for an empirical, theoretical, case study, or literature review approach, among others. Approaches are agreed between supervisors and students in the early stages of the dissertation process.

This course is optional for Economics Major students: they may wish to undertake a Dissertation in lieu of either Finance or Political Economy. Students are encouraged to use their knowledge, experience and ideas from their wider studies outside Economics. However, in order to be acceptable as part of the Economics Major, the dissertation topic must be deemed by the supervisor to be an economic topic, and written in a style appropriate to a piece of academic work in Economics.

In the early part of the dissertation-writing process, students receive instruction in research skills, especially focusing on the early stages of a research process, such as literature searches and the formation of the research question. The compulsory Applied Economics course includes research skills more relevant to the later stages of the dissertation process, such as the skills involved in expressing research findings in a way relevant to an audience.

The Dissertation course includes a compulsory viva voce examination at the end of the process, which accounts for 20% of the student’s mark for the course. This is intended to deepen the student’s understanding of his or her work, develop their skills for presenting their own work, and enable students to practise a high-pressure situation in preparation for future careers.