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TFG (Bachelor Thesis) in Economics
FAQs
Index
1. Administrative topics
1.1) What is the difference between the general and specific TFG modalities?
1.2) Can I choose a group in the general modality?
1.3) Who can supervise my TFG in the specific modality?
1.4) When does the enrollment request and group assignment take place, and when do tutorials start?
1.5) In the enrollment process, I was assigned to a general modality group that was not among my preferred options. Can I switch to the specific modality with a professor who has approved my proposal?
1.6) Who can I ask about questions related to the enrollment process?
1.7) Once the thesis is submitted, what requirements must I meet for my inclusion in the final list for the defense call?
1.8) How can I review my grade?
1.9) Once the TFG is approved, when is the grade official and can I request the degree certificate?
2. Topics concerning the TFG
2.1 ) What is the objective of a TFG?
2.2) What presentation rules (length, line spacing, etc.) must the TFG document comply with?
2.3) What topics can I choose?
2.4) How should I organize the project?
2.5) I have many doubts about what I want to do. How can I resolve them?
2.6) Can I do the TFG in English, even if I'm not studying the degree in English?
2.7) When submitting my TFG, the university application showed a high percentage of plagiarism that corresponds to the comparison with my own work (submitted in a previous call). How can I solve this?
2.8) Under what conditions can AI (Artificial Intelligence) be used?
2.9) What happens if I submit a TFG that has not been supervised by my tutor (or has only been partially supervised)?
3. Special Situations
3.1) How can I do the TFG if I am in an exchange program?
3.2) I am a beneficiary of an Erasmus scholarship and my host university has a similar subject to the TFG. How can I do the TFG in this case?
3.3) Is it possible to do the TFG even if I am outside of Spain with tutorials via video conference and communications via email?
3.4) I am enrolled in a general modality group of the Economics TFG but I cannot attend the collective sessions because I work during the schedule that my tutor has set.
1.1) What is the difference between the general and specific TFG modalities?
The general modality is organized around a group of students who share the same tutor and a predefined set of topics. Within such topics, each student must work individually on a proposal that will be approved by the assigned tutor. This modality is usually considered a safer alternative, as it focuses on topics already determined by the tutor.
In the specific modality, the student works with a tutor who has agreed to guide them personally on a topic proposal developed by the student themselves, which their tutor must also approve. This option demands greater initiative, requiring the student to present a minimally clear idea for their proposal. It is important to note that the student must contact the professor on their own to request them to be their tutor, and the professor may or may not accept.
It is important to note that the modality (general or specific) does not influence either the quality or the final grade of the TFG.
In each call, the offer of general groups with their respective tutors and topics is published, as well as a list of possible tutors for the specific modality along with their areas of interest.
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1.2) Can I choose a group in the general modality?
When you request enrollment in the general modality, you must indicate your order of preference for each group, which has an associated tutor.
Important: You should know that your preferred tutor option is not guaranteed. The number of places per group is limited, and if a group receives an excess of requests, the final assignment will be prioritized by academic record. Furthermore, once the assignment has been made, it is not possible to request a change of tutor in this modality.
Therefore, it is crucial that you indicate your order of preference for the entire offer of tutors available in the general modality.
Please do not contact the tutors of the general modality directly. The assignment of students is carried out through a pre-established mechanism and they cannot commit to supervising your work individually.
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1.3) Who can supervise my TFG in the specific modality?
Any professor with a Ph.D. in Economics assigned to the UC3M Department of Economics during the semester in which the TFG is carried out.
It can also be supervised by any professor with a Ph.D. who teaches in the UC3M Economics Degree, as long as the topic and methodological proposal is consistent with the Economics Degree and that the academic coordinator of the TFG authorizes it.
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1.4) When does the enrollment request and group assignment take place, and when do tutorials start?
The Student Office of the School of Law and Social Sciences (OEG hereinafter) is responsible for informing about the official enrollment dates. However, if you have not received this information on the usual dates, we recommend that you contact the OEG directly.
In the first semester, the enrollment request in the ordinary call (Dual Bachelor in Law & Economics) takes place in the first half of September, while the enrollment request in the early call (Bachelor in Economics and Dual Bachelor in Int. Studies & Economics) usually takes place in the last 10 days of September. The assignment to general modality groups takes place a few days after the application period ends. The orientation sessions by each tutor usually begin one week after the final assignment (depending on the call and each tutor) and end just before Christmas.
In the second semester, the enrollment request in the ordinary call (Bachelor in Economics and Dual Bachelor in Int. Studies & Economics) takes place usually in the second half of November. The final assignment to general modality groups is normally carried out during the second half of January. The orientation sessions begin with the academic period of the second semester and conclude when that period ends.
In the case of the specific modality, the final allocation of tutors is usually confirmed a bit later, approximately one or two weeks after the general modality is confirmed.
The detailed schedule for each call (including the TFG submission dates and the defense periods for each call) is published on Aula Global once students are formally enrolled in the course.
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1.5) In the enrollment process, I was assigned to a general modality group that was not among my preferred options. Can I switch to the specific modality with a professor who has approved my proposal?
Yes, it is possible. You can request the change from the general to the specific modality within 10 calendar days following the final assignment of your tutor. Please note that, once this period has elapsed, no change of tutor can be made.
To make the change, you must submit the request signed by the professor with whom you wish to work to the OEG. You will be switched to the specific modality if you have the consent of said professor and the authorization of the academic coordinator of the TFG.
On the contrary, it is not possible to change tutors in the general modality, except in very exceptional situations.
1.4) When does the enrollment request and group assignment take place, and when do tutorials start?
The Student Office of the School of Law and Social Sciences (OEG hereinafter) is responsible for informing about the official enrollment dates. However, if you have not received this information on the usual dates, we recommend that you contact the OEG directly.
In the first semester, the enrollment request in the ordinary call (Dual Bachelor in Law & Economics) takes place in the first half of September, while the enrollment request in the early call (Bachelor in Economics and Dual Bachelor in Int. Studies & Economics) usually takes place in the last 10 days of September. The assignment to general modality groups takes place a few days after the application period ends. The orientation sessions by each tutor usually begin one week after the final assignment (depending on the call and each tutor) and end just before Christmas.
In the second semester, the enrollment request in the ordinary call (Bachelor in Economics and Dual Bachelor in Int. Studies & Economics) takes place usually in the second half of November. The final assignment to general modality groups is normally carried out during the second half of January. The orientation sessions begin with the academic period of the second semester and conclude when that period ends.
In the case of the specific modality, the final allocation of tutors is usually confirmed a bit later, approximately one or two weeks after the general modality is confirmed.
The detailed schedule for each call (including the TFG submission dates and the defense periods for each call) is published on Aula Global once students are formally enrolled in the course.
1.5) In the enrollment process, I was assigned to a general modality group that was not among my preferred options. Can I switch to the specific modality with a professor who has approved my proposal?
Yes, it is possible. You can request the change from the general to the specific modality within 10 calendar days following the final assignment of your tutor. Please note that, once this period has elapsed, no change of tutor can be made.
To make the change, you must submit the request signed by the professor with whom you wish to work to the OEG. You will be switched to the specific modality if you have the consent of said professor and the authorization of the academic coordinator of the TFG.
On the contrary, it is not possible to change tutors in the general modality, except in very exceptional situations.
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1.6) Who can I ask about questions related to the enrollment process?
Blanca Martin de la Vega, from the OEG ( Student Office of the School of Law and Social Sciences ), via email ( rbmartin@pa.uc3m.es ).
Neither the academic coordinator nor the tutor can answer these questions or other administrative questions.
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1.7) Once the thesis is submitted, what requirements must I meet for my inclusion in the final list for the defense call?
To be included in the final list for the defense call of your TFG, you must comply with the academic requirements established in the current regulations.
It is important to know that, although you can enroll in the TFG with more than 30 pending ECTS credits, for the defense of your TFG to be authorized, you cannot have more than 30 pending ECTS credits to obtain your Degree (this includes ECTS from External Internships).
When you request your inclusion in a call, the OEG ( Student Office of the School of Law and Social Sciences ) automatically verifies that you meet this requirement. If you do not meet it, the OEG will notify you.
If you need more details, you can consult the OEG directly.
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1.8) How can I review my grade?
Following what is stipulated in the Regulations established by the School of Law and Social Sciences of the TFG.
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1.9) Once the TFG is approved, when is the grade official and can I request the degree certificate?
The evaluation committee sends the transcripts directly to the OEG ( Student Office of the School of Law and Social Sciences ) , which manages their transfer to the student's academic record. This process usually takes approximately 10 working days.
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1.6) Who can I ask about questions related to the enrollment process?
Blanca Martin de la Vega, from the OEG ( Student Office of the School of Law and Social Sciences ), via email ( rbmartin@pa.uc3m.es ).
Neither the academic coordinator nor the tutor can answer these questions or other administrative questions.
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1.7) Once the thesis is submitted, what requirements must I meet for my inclusion in the final list for the defense call?
To be included in the final list for the defense call of your TFG, you must comply with the academic requirements established in the current regulations.
It is important to know that, although you can enroll in the TFG with more than 30 pending ECTS credits, for the defense of your TFG to be authorized, you cannot have more than 30 pending ECTS credits to obtain your Degree (this includes ECTS from External Internships).
When you request your inclusion in a call, the OEG ( Student Office of the School of Law and Social Sciences ) automatically verifies that you meet this requirement. If you do not meet it, the OEG will notify you.
If you need more details, you can consult the OEG directly.
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1.8) How can I review my grade?
Following what is stipulated in the Regulations established by the School of Law and Social Sciences of the TFG.
1.9) Once the TFG is approved, when is the grade official and can I request the degree certificate?
The evaluation committee sends the transcripts directly to the OEG ( Student Office of the School of Law and Social Sciences ) , which manages their transfer to the student's academic record. This process usually takes approximately 10 working days.
2.1) What is the objective of a TFG?
Briefly, the elaboration of a scientific document that seeks to answer a question in one or more of the areas associated with the discipline of Economics. The details can be found in the regulations and in this general guide on how to write a TFG.
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2.2) What presentation rules (length, line spacing, etc.) must the TFG document comply with?
(These rules are mandatory for any Economics TFG, regardless of the area of specialization).
The document must include, before the main text, the following introductory pages:
(i) Cover Page: Featuring the university logo, degree program, academic year, thesis title, student's full name, NIU, and the supervisor's name.
(ii) Abstract: One page containing two abstracts of the work (in Spanish and English), with a maximum of 200 words each, using single line spacing.
(iii) Table of Contents: One page with the index of contents, divided into sections (format 1., 2., etc.) and subsections (format 1.1, 1.2, etc.).
(iv) List of Tables and Figures: One page listing the tables and figures, detailing their titles and the page numbers where they are located.
(v) AI Declaration: If applicable, a declaration regarding the appropriate use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) [see below].
Optionally, an additional page with acknowledgments or a dedication may be included immediately following the cover page.
Main Text Formatting
Maximum length: 20 pages, including the bibliography and explanatory footnotes.Placement of Tables, Figures, and Appendices
Typography: Times New Roman, font size 12.
Line spacing: Double space (strictly understood as the separation between lines of text within the same paragraph, without adding extra spacing or blank lines between different paragraphs).
Margins: Minimum of 2.25 cm (top, bottom, left, and right).
Footnotes: Must be placed within the main text (not at the end of the document), numbered sequentially, using Times New Roman, font size 11, with single spacing.
Bibliography: Bibliographical references under the "Bibliography" section may optionally be written with single spacing to optimize space.
Alternatively, these main tables or figures may be inserted on separate pages (with no surrounding text) between the pages of the main text. For greater editing convenience, these inserted pages containing tables or figures may be numbered following the sequential numbering of the text, or they may be left unnumbered. In either case, the main tables and figures do not count toward the 20-page limit of written text.
Under no circumstances should the tables or figures fundamental to the empirical analysis be relegated to the appendices or annexes.
Appendices or Annexes: It is permitted to include an appendix for non-essential content (for example, supplementary results, technical specifications, or purely auxiliary tables and figures) following the main tables and figures. Its content must be solely explanatory and cannot be used to artificially increase the length of the work.
Page count note: The introductory pages (cover page, indexes, abstracts), the main tables and figures, and any appendices do not count toward the 20-page limit.
Page Numbering and Academic Style
Bibliographical references: Must be sorted alphabetically by the first author's last name (in capital letters) under the title "Bibliography" at the end of the document. If two or more works by the same author published in the same year are cited, they must be distinguished by letters (e.g., Clark, R. (2004a) and Clark, R. (2004b)). Only works actually cited in the text should be included.
On the UC3M Library website a series of useful recommendations for the presentation of the TFG document are provided. However, for all purposes, the specific presentation rules that are explicitly indicated on this Economics TFG website apply, particularly in case of possible contradiction.
For any other presentation issue that is not explicitly established, the student can apply their good judgment.
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2.3) What topics can I choose?
Any whose content and methodology are inscribed in the discipline of Economics, with one condition. If the topic you have chosen is not on the list provided by a tutor in the general modality, then you must do it in the specific modality, for which it is necessary that a Ph.D. professor agrees to supervise your work.
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2.4) How should I organize the project?
Essentially you should discuss it with your tutor (once you have been assigned a group in the general modality or are going to do the TFG in the specific modality). Before this assignment, however, it is a good idea to inform yourself about the different alternatives by visiting this website.
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2.5) I have many doubts about what I want to do. How can I resolve them?
If you don't have a minimally clear idea of what you would like to do, we recommend that you opt for the general modality. When you request your enrollment, be sure to indicate your order of tutor preference according to the topic proposal available for your specific call.
Once you have been assigned your tutor, they will schedule orientation sessions at the beginning of the semester, which you should attend. Throughout the academic period you will also have individual tutorials. These sessions are intended to help you clarify your proposal and advise you on the development of your Final Degree Project. Keep in mind that it is mandatory for the student to comply with the established tutorial regime and that this is subject to evaluation by the tutor.
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2.6) Can I do the TFG in English, even if I'm not studying the degree in English?
The language of your TFG must correspond to the language in which you are studying the Economics Degree.
This means that if you are studying the degree in English, you must write your TFG in English. If, on the other hand, you are studying the degree in Spanish, your TFG must be in Spanish.
If you are enrolled in the bilingual degree, you have the option to choose between English and Spanish for your TFG, and this decision will be taken into account in the calculation of the credits needed to obtain the bilingual mention.
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2.7) When submitting my TFG, the university application showed a high percentage of plagiarism that corresponds to the comparison with my own previous work (submitted in a previous call). How can I solve this?
Matches with a previous TFG submitted by the same student are automatically ignored
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2.8) Under what conditions can AI (Artificial Intelligence) be used?
The use of Artificial Intelligence tools (such as ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, etc.) is strictly permitted only to improve the style of the text that has been previously drafted by the student.
It is not permitted to use AI for other purposes , such as:
- Including third-party texts not drafted by the student.
- Performing literature reviews.
- Generating text with discussions of methods or results.
- Generating programming code.
- Translating text from one language to another (for example, from Spanish to English or vice versa).
If you use AI for the sole permitted purpose of improving your text, it is mandatory to include a declaration that acknowledges said use and disclaims any other. It is not necessary to use the AI declaration form provided by the UC3M Library.
Below, we offer you a proposed declaration: In Spanish [indicating name of the AI tool/s]:
Declaro haber utilizado la herramienta de IA [nombre de la/s herramienta/s] con la única finalidad de mejorar el estilo y claridad del texto que he escrito. En ningún momento la he utilizado para generar texto de manera automática a partir de textos de terceros, obtener fuentes bibliográficas, generar código de programación o interpretar los resultados de mi trabajo.In English [indicating name of the AI tool/s]:
I declare that I have used the AI tool [name of the tool/s] solely to improve the style and clarity of the text I have written. At no time have I used it to automatically generate text from third-party texts, obtain bibliographic sources, generate programming code, or interpret the results of my work.
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2.9) What happens if I submit a TFG that has not been supervised by my tutor (or has only been partially supervised)?
The grade given by the tutor will not be favorable in cases where the student submits a TFG whose development has not been adequately supervised by him/her. That is, when the content of the TFG and/or the different steps of its development have not been discussed with the tutor in the established meetings for this purpose. Writing the TFG without your tutor's supervision is a serious breach. The direct consequences of this situation are an unfavorable report and a tutor's grade of 0, which the committee will take into account. In most cases, these circumstances result in an unfavorable final grade that, unfortunately, prevents the student from passing the course.
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3.1) How can I do the TFG if I am in an exchange program?
You can take the TFG course in the general or specific modality. In the specific modality, you will also need to have a UC3M tutor, without prejudice to the possibility of having a co-tutor at the university where you are doing your exchange. In the general modality, attendance at the collective sessions will not be necessary.
Supervision within the established tutoring regime is still mandatory and can be done through the means that allow for remote communication that you agree upon with your tutor, such as email, video conference, or phone.
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3.2) I am a beneficiary of an Erasmus scholarship and my host university has a similar subject to the TFG. How can I do the TFG in this case?
If an equivalent course to the Final Degree Project exists at your host university, you can include it in the academic agreement proposal you send to your academic coordinator for the exchange program at UC3M. This must be done within the deadlines established by the SERINT. If this proposal is approved, you will also need the authorization of the academic coordinator for the TFG in Economics. This authorization is managed through SERINT and the OEG ( Student Office of the School of Law and Social Sciences ) .
It is mandatory that you have a UC3M tutor, regardless of whether you also have one at the exchange university. Therefore, you must specify whether your exchange academic coordinator will act as your UC3M tutor or if it will be another professor.
Once all the necessary authorizations have been obtained, you can enroll in the TFG as a course in your exchange program.
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3.3) Is it possible to do the TFG even if I am outside of Spain with tutorials via video conference and communications via email?
Yes, it is possible, although in the case of the specific modality you will have to find a tutor who accepts your proposal to supervise your TFG under such conditions. You must also notice that you will be obligated to attend the TFG defenses in person.
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3.4) I am enrolled in a general modality group of the Economics TFG but I cannot attend the collective sessions because I work during the schedule that my tutor has set.
Attendance at collective sessions is highly recommended, but generally voluntary for students, unless the tutor indicates otherwise. If you are working or doing an internship, you can request permission from your company to attend. Your tutor can even issue an attendance certificate, similar to the one given for an exam.
In any case, it is essential that you consult directly with your tutor to find out the specific options and requirements for your case.
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