Exerpt: Examination Regulations MSc Economics
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Excerpt from the
Examination Regulations for the Master’s Program in Economics
at the University of Mannheim

Please note:
This English translation is based on the German version of the Examination Regulations for the
Master’s Program in Economics. The German original is the only legally binding version. Any
liability for mistakes arising from the translation of the original shall be excluded.
Contents
General Regulations 2
Academic Degree 2
Duration of the program 2
Program structure 2
Language of instruction 2
Course volume 2
Structure of exams, deadlines 2
Maternity protection and parental leaves 3
Flexible deadlines 3
Recognition of study periods and credits 4
Assessment of exams 5
Admission to the field of study „Economic Research“ 7
Examination Procedure 7
Registration and admission to exams 7
Scope and structure of examinations 7
Re-takes 8
Master’s thesis 8
Passing the program and transcript of records 10
Closing provisions 11
Invalidity of the master’s examination 11

workload of 30 hours.
Structure of exams, deadlines
To complete the master’s program students have to take the following exams:
 In the field of study „Economics“: exam for each course, completion of at least two
seminars and a master’s thesis
Exerpt: Examination Regulations MSc Economics
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 In the field of study “Economic Research”: exam for each course and a master’s thesis
Exams for courses offered by the Department of Economics are usually conducted in the form of
written tests at the end of the course. These tests can be replaced (for all students likewise)
completely or in parts by one or several assignments and/or one or several presentations and/or
one or several interim tests and/or an oral exam at the end of the course. The pass criteria and
weighting of each partial performance should be communicated in advance. The decision about
the examination type and weighting of each performance lies with the examiner. Exams for
courses offered by other schools or departments are conducted according to their own
examination regulations.
Students have the right to earn their course credits in other forms than the designated exam type
in case they provide medical evidence that they are not able to take the exam partly or
completely in the designated form due to a long-lasting or permanent physical disability. A
request has to be filed on the date of registration for the exam. The decision of the examination
board has to be put on record.
Maternity protection and parental leaves
Students have the right to take a leave in accordance with maternity protection and parental
leave laws. A written request to the examination board is necessary.
During a maternity protection period all deadlines of these examination rules are suspended.
For students on parental leave the examination board defines new deadlines. The master’s thesis
cannot be adjourned for the time of a parental leave. If the deadline is exceeded in such a case,
the assigned topic will be withdrawn and a new topic is assigned after the parental leave.
Flexible deadlines
Upon request, flexible deadlines can be granted if students face family obligations. This applies

Knowledge and skills acquired outside of the system of higher education can replace a maximum
of 50% of the credits in a degree program. The regulations about the transfer of credits from
universities of cooperative education remain unaffected.
The examination board decides about the transfer of credits upon request. It rests upon the
student to submit all required documents regarding his/her achievements for which he requests
to receive academic credits to the examination board.
If credits are transferred and the grading systems are comparable, the grades are carried over
according to these examination regulations and will be included into the calculation of the
cumulative grade point average (GPA). For the conversion of foreign grades, the examination
board can define conversion rules in accordance with statutory provisions. If the grading systems
are not comparable or a conversion is not possible, the credits will be transferred as “passed” and
will not be included into the calculation of the cumulative GPA. Transferred credits are labeled as
such in the transcript of records.
Exerpt: Examination Regulations MSc Economics
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If a student participates in an exam within a degree program at the University of Mannheim,
although he/she already acquired the relevant competences elsewhere, he/she renounces the
transfer of credits for these achievements.
Absence, withdrawal, cheating, and breach of regulations
If a student does not show up for an exam for which he registered or withdraws from an exam
without a valid reason, he will receive the failing grade 5.0. The same applies if an assignment is
not handed in on time.
If a candidate has a valid reason for withdrawing from or missing an exam, he must present the
examination board with certified documentation in writing in a due time. In case of sickness a
doctor’s certificate has to be provided. In case of doubt the university can ask for a certificate
from a doctor named by them. If the reasons are accepted as valid, the exam has to be taken at
the next possible date. Existing partial results are taken into account.
If a student tries to influence his exam grade by cheating or by using prohibited materials or
resources, he will receive the failing grade 5.0. A student who disturbs the exam can be excluded
from the exam by the examiner or supervisor. In this case, the student receives the failing grade

 Satisfactory: for a mean value between 2.6 and 3.5
 Fair: for a mean value between 3.6 and 4.0
When determining the final grade only the first decimal place is considered; all further decimal
places are cut off without rounding.
In addition to the final grade a relative grade according to the ECTS scale can be reported in the
Diploma Supplement:
A = for the top 10 %
B = for the next 25 %
C = for the next 30 %
D = for the next 25 %
E = for the bottom 10 %
The calculation is usually based on the three previous graduating classes of the master’s program
in economics.
Once a student has earned at least 30 ECTS credits, a provisional GPA can be reported on the
transcript of record upon request.

Exerpt: Examination Regulations MSc Economics
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Admission to the field of study „Economic Research“
Admission to the field of study “Economic Research” is granted after the first semester.
Requirements are:
 an application by the student;
 the completion of all courses in the introductory phase and a mean grade of at least 2.5;
 a positive evaluation by the examination board.
The examination board takes the decision after consulting the lecturers of the introductory phase
and, if necessary, an interview with the applicant.
The admission to the field of study “Economic Research” will be changed into an admission to
the field of study “Economics” in case the student
 requests it, or
 does not pass at least 5 core courses of the specialization phase or does not achieve a

The duration of exams in core courses offered by other departments are defined in the
attachments. The duration of exams in elective courses offered by other departments and the
regulations about re-takes in these courses are subject to regulations that are in place at these
departments.
Re-takes
Each failed exam from the introductory phase has to be re-taken at the next possible date. If the
exam was an interim test with a weight of less than 50% of the course grade, the examiner
decides if a re-take will take place. Missed re-takes count as failed and will be graded as such
(5.0) unless the student was not responsible for missing it.
A second re-take is only possible for one single exam of the introductory phase. If this second re-
take is not passed, the student has failed the master’s program and has forfeited his/her
admission.
A re-take of a passed exam is only allowed for one single exam of the introductory phase. For the
GPA and provisional PA the better grade will be used. Additional re-takes of passed exams are
not allowed.
In the specialization phase no re-takes are possible. If a student fails an exam, he/she has to take
a course with different content instead.
Master’s thesis
The master’s thesis can be written in any of the following subjects:
 Economics
Exerpt: Examination Regulations MSc Economics
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 Statistics and econometrics
 Economic history
 Economic geography
The master’s thesis cannot be started before the fourth semester. In addition the candidate has to
complete at least one seminar in the field of study “Economics”. Furthermore at least 45 ECTS
credits have to be earned in the specialization phase.
The candidate is assigned a topic according to the subject chosen from the examiner. The
candidate may also suggest a topic. The issuance of a topic, supervision, and assessment of the

The candidate should be informed about the grade he/she received for the master’s thesis no later
than two month after submission.
The minimum grade for passing the master’s thesis is 4.0. If passed, the candidate earns the
amount of ECTS credits assigned to the master’s thesis (see respective attachment).
A failed master’s thesis can only be re-taken once. When re-taking the master’s thesis a new topic
is issued. A passed master thesis cannot be re-taken.
The supervisor can require the candidate to attend an accompanying master’s colloquium.
Passing the program and transcript of records
The program is passed if at least 120 ECTS credits have been obtained. The binding regulations
regarding the composition of these credits can be found in the attachments 1 and 2.
The program is ultimately failed if any re-take is failed at the latest possible date.
Every candidate who passed the program is awarded a transcript of records both in English and
German. The transcript of records contains:
1. All examinations including the master’s thesis with all ECTS credits and grades (both in
text and numerical);
2. The topic of the master’s thesis as well as the name of the examiner;
3. The cumulative grade point average (GPA) (both in text and numerical);
4. A final grade as outlined in the section “Assessment of exams”, line (3).
The transcript of records will be date stamped with the date of the last examination. In case this
date is not determinable, the last lecture day of the semester is regarded to be the final date.
Every transcript of records has to be signed by the chairman and his/her deputy of the
examination board.
Together with the transcript of records every candidate is given a certificate (both in English and
German) which awards the Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree and contains the final grade. The
certificates are date stamped with the same date as the transcripts of records. They will be signed
by the dean and his deputy and sealed with the seal of the University of Manheim.
The academic title must not be born before receiving these certificates.
Outstanding performances (up to a final grade of 1.2) will be acknowledged with the assessment
“graduated with honors” on the transcript of records and the certificates.
Exerpt: Examination Regulations MSc Economics

Degree: Master of Science (M.Sc.)
Course volume in ECTS credits: 120 - 126
For courses offered by the Department of Economics in the field of study „Economics“, the
following ECTS credits are awarded:
- Lectures: for each semester hour in the specialization phase: 2,5 ECTS credits
- Exercises: for each semester hour in the specialization phase: 2 ECTS credits
- Seminars:
 for 2 semester hours: 5 ECTS credits
 for 3 semester hours: 6 ECTS credits
 Exceptions: No credits for the department seminar and CDSE seminar!
If credits from courses in other master’s programs at the University of Mannheim are recognized,
the ECTS credits awarded there apply. If the European Credit Transfer System is not used, credits
will be awarded according to the above scheme.
Introductory Phase (1
st
semester)
Core Modules
Duration of exam (min)
ECTS credits
Modul 1: E700 Mathematics for Economists
135
6
Modul 2: E701 Advanced Microeconomics
180
8
Modul 3: E702 Advanced Macroeconomics
180
8
Modul 4: E703 Advanced Econometrics
180

Attachment 2
Field of study: Economic Research
Degree: Master of Science (M.Sc.)
Course volume in ECTS credits: 120 - 126
For courses offered by the Department of Economics in the field of study „Economic Research“,
the following ECTS credits are awarded:
- Lectures: for each semester hour in the specialization phase: 2,5 ECTS credits
- Exercises: for each semester hour in the specialization phase: 2 ECTS credits
- Seminars:
 for 2 semester hours: 5 ECTS credits
 for 3 semester hours: 6 ECTS credits
 Exceptions: No credits for the department seminar and CDSE seminar!
If credits from courses in other PhD programs at the University of Mannheim are recognized, the
ECTS credits awarded there apply. If the European Credit Transfer System is not used, credits will
be awarded according to the above scheme.
Introductory Phase
Core Modules (1
st
semester)
Duration of exam (min)
ECTS credits
Modul 1: E700 Mathematics for Economists
135
6
Modul 2: E701 Advanced Microeconomics
180
8
Modul 10: E806 Advanced Econometrics III
135
5

30
Elective Courses (3
rd
- 4
th
semester)

Elective Modules from the courses offered by the Graduate School. At least four
courses have to be chosen from the CDSE program.
40 - 46
Research Phase
Core Courses (3
rd
- 4
th
semester)

E800 CDSE-Seminar (in the 3
rd
and 4
th
semester)
no ECTS credits
Department seminar