Seminar in Business Taxation
TAX 730 for Master Students
Contact
For further information please contact Christin Schmidt.
The successful completion of a Seminar Paper is a formal prerequesite for being admitted for the master's thesis in the Mannheim Master in Management (M.Sc.) program.
The course consists of the preparation of a 15-page seminar paper and a presentation of the paper in a colloquium. The writing time is 8 weeks and can be completed either during the semester break of the previous semester or at the beginning of the semester. The successful completion of the seminar paper is rewarded with 6 ECTS points. The colloquium for both writing periods takes place at the same day during the semester.
The topics for the seminar in Fall 2026 will be available on our website from the end of May 2026.
Note: The general topic of the seminar in business taxation in Fall 2026 is: Real Effects and Design of Tax Policy.
Procedure
The topics of the seminar papers at our chair cover a wide range of issues in domestic and international business taxation.
The seminar papers may be written in English or German.
At the end of each semester, we publish a list of available topics as well as all relevant dates for the coming semester via our seminar website and our News. A kick-off meeting with Professor Spengel / Professor Dörrenberg takes place before the beginning of the writing period. Afterwards, the writing period for the paper starts with the assignment of the topics and ends eight weeks later on. The seminar finishes with a presentation of each participant's work at the during the upcoming semester.
Please also consider our Guidelines for Seminar Papers, Bachelor Theses and Master Theses in Englisch and our Handbook for Scientific Writing.
Attending the seminar does not require physical presence in Mannheim. Both the kick-off meeting and the presentation can be attended online in certain cases (e.g. semester abroad).
Registration and Contact
You can register for the seminar via e-mail to our secretary using this form (PDF, 726 kB) and a current “Transcript of Records”. The seminar participants can choose their preferred writing period.
The following deadlines must be respected:
Writing period 1 (Fall 2026):
- Registration period up to and including 12/
06/2026 - Kick-off on 17/
06/2026, 3:30 -5:00 p.m. - Writing period from 22/
06/2026 to 17/ 08/2026 - Presentation of the seminar papers on 02/
12/2026
Writing period 2 (Fall 2026):
- Registration period up to and including 27/
08/2026 - Kick-off on 02/
09/2026, 3:30 -5:00 p.m. - Writing period from 07/
09/2026 to 02/ 11/2026 - Presentation of the seminar papers on 02/
12/2026
- Registration period up to and including 12/
Requirements
- Formally: A total of 1 module from the 500 and/
or 600 level in the Accounting & Taxation area must be successfully completed at the time of registration. Students from the degree programs M.Sc. MMM and M.Sc. Business Education are admitted. - Technical: Prior knowledge from the modules TAX 630 and TAX 620 (especially for empirical theses) are recommended and very helpful.
- Formally: A total of 1 module from the 500 and/