By Sophie Koritz

Junior Editor, GSIS Newsletter 

Every Yonsei GSIS student has the opportunity to write a thesis. Writing a thesis can help hone your writing and research abilities as well as allow you to dive deeper into a specific topic of your choosing. Especially, if interested in pursuing a PhD or other advanced degree, writing a thesis is strongly recommended. The following fourth-semester students are currently writing their final thesis. 

Name: Noémie 

Country: France 

Major: Program in International Cooperation (PIC)

Thesis Topic: The Increase in Cooperation between China and Russia 2001-2024

Have you always known you wanted to write a thesis? If yes, why? If not, what helped you decide?

I had some doubts but I always leaned more towards writing a thesis because it felt like an important step in my Master's degree. As there is no Bachelor's thesis in France but writing a thesis is mandatory for the Master's degree to graduate, I felt like my diploma wouldn't have the same value if I didn't write one. It also felt important for my personal academic experience.

What has been the most difficult part of writing a thesis? How have you overcome this?

The most difficult part was the editing. As a non-native English speaker, there was a lot of grammar mistakes in my paper, my language was not always scholarly adequate and I could be redundant at times. Therefore, I have decided to hire a professional editor to fix this issue.

How did you choose your advisors? What did you consider?

For it was really important that my advisors were Professors that I knew, trusted and personally liked. This was more important to me than the academic relevance. 

What is something you wish you had known before starting your thesis?

I wish I had known more about method and essay writing. Little things that matters a lot like the proper use of quotations etc. You have to be very thorough when it comes to academic writing. 

What advice would you give to a student considering writing a thesis?

Don't be too scared, it's honestly doable. Make sure you know the method well, choose advisors you trust and choose a topic you're really interested in so that defending your argument is easier.

Name: Yacheng
Country: China 

Major: International Trade and Finance Management (ITFM)

Thesis Topic: Analysis of RTA Impact on Cross-border E-commerce Between China and South Korea

Have you always known you wanted to write a thesis? If yes, why? If not, what helped you decide?
No. I have thought about whether to write a thesis for a long time as both options have a lot of benefits. I didn't decide to write my thesis until the summer vacation before my fourth semester, which was pretty late. The family’s support helped me to make the final decision to write the thesis. Reminded by my family members, I noticed that I could have more options in the future if I wrote a thesis. If you get your writing ability developed and have a thesis, you can apply for a PhD in the future, or you can apply to go to research institutions for further study. It is your choice to write a thesis that gives you more options.

What has been the most difficult part of writing a thesis? How have you overcome this?
So far, the most difficult part for me is the data collecting and processing part. Many tariff rates and commerce volumes were used in my paper. Then I need to review lots of websites and search for the data I need which is a long, tedious process. I overcame this by using my time and patience, that is a very simple method. I hope I could use some data analysis tools, like Python or Java, but unfortunately, I don't know how to use them.

How did you choose your advisors? What did you consider?
The process of choosing my supervisor was not complicated. I first worked out the topic and introduction of the paper, which is an economy-related paper. So I checked the professor’s background in GSIS office website and emailed and met the professors who study in the relevant majors. Then I chose my advisor, who is a very respectable professor with excellent expertise and teaching experience.

What is something you wish you had known before starting your thesis?
I wish I knew how to use data processing tools, like Python before starting my thesis. Because these tools could save me a lot of time when collecting and processing data. If possible, I hope I have taken the Quantitative Analysis class by my advisor because the quantitative analysis is a crucial part of my paper and it has also always been used in the economics field, especially in data-driven decision-making.

What advice would you give to a student considering writing a thesis?
Here are two suggestions I hope to share. Firstly, try to plan your paper early if you can. Then, pay attention to the field you are interested in and search for relevant articles and news, your research direction will gradually become clearer. Secondly, communicate with the professors. The professors in GSIS are always nice. So, don't feel pressured to communicate with the professor if you have problems with the thesis.