|
|
|
The thesis
Given the purpose of the programme is it natural that students get to grips with the analysis of real problems. To this end we can make use of the available expertise at ROA and MERIT where research is conducted in ways relevant for the education process. There will also be projects outside the UM. In cooperation with relevant institutions and companies we aim at an early contact with an institution that would like to have sorted out a relevant policy issue. The student will go to the company briefly and the thesis will be done in Maastricht under supervision of AE-II with feedback on the progress to the company or institution. Students who are already working can of course bring a case from their working environment.
It is important for students to be able to conduct policy research from A to Z: collecting data, reporting, and clearly making a statement of the importance of the conclusions are just a number of important ingredients in such as process. We propose to let students work on their thesis for the full year (with a specific period in the second semester reserved for actually writing the thesis) in which the four pillars are central. In meetings (apart from the usual hours of class) they present ideas and drafts of their projects, which will be commented upon by the faculty of AE-II and MERIT and ROA researchers. The first meeting will be about the problem statement and the description of the data. The second meeting is aimed to get the theory right. The third meeting covers the empirical part of the thesis in which the empirical strategy is of crucial importance. Finally, the whole thesis will be discussed and the policy conclusions will be written. The faculty of AE-II together with MERIT and ROA researchers should be able to guarantee a sufficient number of interesting research projects. Every student will have at least one AE-II supervisor.
Back to
