Outstanding Master of Finance Theses: Who Writes and How to Write? ----Based on the Analysis of 244 Outstanding Master of Finance Theses Selected by the National Finance Education Committee of China
Aifan Ling （ School of Economics and Finance, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai 201620, China ）
Lu Xu （ School of Education, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai 201620, China ）
Abstract
This paper examines 244 outstanding Master of Finance theses selected by the National Finance Education Committee. It explores characteristics of these theses and factors that makes them “outstanding”, from the perspectives of the classification of educational institutions, geographic locations, academic program duration, thesis types, faculty advisor characteristics, topic popularity, etc. Our study shows that prestigious institutions, advantages in geographic locations, and advisors with industry experience or senior titles greatly increase the possibility for theses to win the outstanding award. The proportion of academic paper theses in outstanding award-winning theses has risen year by year, surpassing that of case study theses, resulting in a gradual decrease in choosing hot topics in writing MF theses. The findings of this paper indicate that some institutions are blurring the lines between Master of Finance Professional Program and Master of Finance Academic Program. To cope with this situation, this paper provides recommendations on how to stick to the original cultivation goal of Master of Finance Professional Program and improve Master of Finance thesis quality.
Keywords
Master of Finance, Outstanding theses, Thesis types, Thesis popularity indexFull Text
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Copyright © 2026 Aifan Ling, Lu Xu
Publishing time:2026-07-09
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License