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Regular version of the site

Final State Examination

  • Master Thesis defense schedule

    NOT LATER THAN APRIL 15

    Changing the topic of the thesis. (until March 15 it is possible to change the supervisor) through the LMS. Instructions: https://confluence.hse.ru/x/dxXeAg 

    NOT LATER THAN APRIL 30

    Submission of the intermediate variant of the thesis to the supervisor by e-mail, pre-defense (rehearsal defense, the commission includes professors of the Graduate School of Business)

    NOT LATER THAN MAY 15 (23:00 Moscow time)

    Uploading the final variant of the final thesis in the LMS 

    Файл (DOCX, 1,21 Мб)

    MAY 15-20

    The study office downloads the final versions of the thesis from the LMS and sends them to the reviewers. The reviewer's feedback will be available to you in the module "Final Exam/CR" in the LMS no later than 5 days before the defense.

    MAY 31 - JUNE 6

    Defenses of graduate thesis in offline format

    5 DAYS PRIOR TO DEFENSE

    Reading the supervisor's and reviewer's reviews in the LMS

    Please take this issue responsibly, as the dates are final, without extending the deadline. In case the student did not upload his/her thesis in time (for unexcused reasons and without warning the academic office in advance), he/she is not allowed to defend the thesis and is expelled from the University for failure to pass the state final attestation

The final state certification for master's degree program includes the defense of the graduate qualification work.


Final State Certification at HSE University


Regulations on Final State Certification of Students in Bachelor’s, Specialist and Master’s Programmes at National Research University Higher School of Economics

Admission to the Final State Certification

Students who have successfully completed the theoretical course of study and who have submitted their thesis with the supervisor's review by the deadline are allowed to take part in the FSC.
Those who are not admitted to the defense of a graduate thesis are expelled from HSE for failure to pass the FSC.
The defense is conducted by the State Examination Commission, which is headed by the chairman approved by the Academic Council of NRU HSE. Topics and supervisors of master's theses are approved by the order of the university in the second year of study.

The procedure of defending the Thesis


The procedure for the preparation and defense of the Thesis is regulated by Regulations on Practical Training of Students under Core Bachelor’s, Specialist and Master’s Programmes at HSE University

The defense begins with the student's report on the topic of the thesis. Up to 20 minutes are allocated for the report on the master's thesis.

The decision of the Comission on the final evaluation is based on the criteria:

  • the supervisor's assessment of the quality of the work, the degree of its compliance with the requirements for the thesis;
  • a reviewer's assessment of the work in general, taking into account the degree of novelty, practical significance and validity of conclusions and recommendations made by the author according to the results of the research;
  • members of Comission for the content of the work, its defense, including the report, answers to questions and comments of the reviewer.

Appeal on the results of the Final State Examination (Master Thesis defense)

Appeals may be filed if a student believes that there has been a procedural irregularity in the conduct of the thesis defense.

Regulations on Final State Certification of Students in Bachelor’s, Specialist and Master’s Programmes at National Research University Higher School of Economics

Rescheduling the defense of the Master Thesis


If a student fails to defend his graduate thesis for a valid reason, he/she will be required to read the algorithm and write a statement to postpone the defense of his/her graduate thesis.

A student who fails to pass the Final State Attestation without a valid reason, including those who received unsatisfactory results at the Final State Attestation, will be expelled from HSE and will be issued an academic transcript. The student can take the final state attestation again no earlier than one year and no later than two years after the final state attestation for the first time.

Conditions for receiving a diploma with distinction (Red diploma)


According to federal regulations, a diploma with distinction is awarded to a graduate of HSE who has passed examinations with a grade of "excellent" in at least 75% of all subjects (term papers, projects, internships) that have a form of final control "exam" listed in the Diploma Supplement, and in the remaining subjects listed in this supplement - with a grade of "good", and has passed the Final State Examination only with excellent grades.

It is not allowed to retake a positive grade at HSE.  

Postgraduate vacations

Students who successfully complete the FSA in June have the right to be dismissed not immediately after the defense, but after the end of the postgraduate vacations. In 2024, postgraduate vacations may be taken until August 11, 2024. To take post-graduation vacation, you must complete the appropriate section in the "Graduation/Completion of Studies" module of the MyHSE profile https://lk.hse.ru/.

Graduation Module Manual (PDF, 1,80 Мб)