Graduation Thesis

Students must select their thesis topic in the "Сourse Themes" module in LMS, adhering to the deadlines specified in the Internship Programme updated for each student cohort and is available on the degree programme's website under "For Students" → "Practical Training."

• Students may choose from a list of topics proposed by HSE faculty, available in the "Сourse Themes" LMS module. Before finalising the topic, the student should consult with their potential supervisor to discuss or refine the topic and secure their agreement to supervise the thesis. This agreement can be confirmed in the LMS by approving the topic request or via written confirmation (e.g., email) submitted to the study office.
• Students also have the right to propose their own topic through the "Сourse Themes" module in LMS. To do so, they must find a supervisor independently, agree on the topic with them, and submit the topic request through the module (using the "Add new theme" button) or via a formal application addressed to the academic supervisor of the degree programme. The application must include the proposed topic, the name of the potential supervisor, and justification for the choice. After submitting the topic in LMS, students can track the status of their request. First, it will be reviewed by the proposed supervisor, and then by the programme’s academic supervisor.

The academic supervisor, with possible input from the academic council, will decide whether the proposed topics align with the degree programme's focus. They may approve, reject with justification, or suggest rephrasing the topic with the student’s consent.

Kindly ask the supervisor to cancel your request in LMS. If they ignore your request, contact your programme office and they will delete it.

In line with the Procedure for Writing Theses and Term Papers for Degree Students at HSE University, a student is required to select a thesis topic within the deadlines set by the faculty.

For the 2024/2025 academic year, the following deadlines apply^*:

The choice of the thesis topic takes place in the Learning Management System (LMS) under the "Course Themes" module.

The assignment of a thesis topic and supervisor is formalised by a faculty dean’s directive no later than 15th December of the current academic year. Students who fail to choose a topic by the deadline will earn an academic failure, which can be cleared during the additional period from the start of Module 3 to 15 February. If the topic is chosen within this period, the academic failure is rectified. Otherwise, the student will face dismissal, irrespective of other pending failures, pursuant to dismissal procedures.

Furthermore, students who fail to select a thesis topic on time and have more than two failed academic components for Modules 1 and 2 of the current academic year will not be eligible for the additional period to select a topic and will be dismissed for failing to fulfil their responsibility to diligently master their educational programme.

^{* Some degree programmes may set their own timelines for proposing and selecting term paper topics. Detailed information can be found in the Internship programme on the degree programme's website or clarified with its programme office.}

A thesis topic may be changed or refined no later than one calendar month before the official deadline for final submission of the thesis following procedures established for the degree programme. Any changes to a thesis topic are enacted by the relevant dean’s directive.

Thesis supervisors shall be appointed from among the University’s staff, who hold Doctor of Sciences, the Candidates of Sciences degrees¹, or a PhD degree, as well as practitioners with at least 3 years’ work experience in the respective industry/field, or staff employed by HSE University under conditions of secondary employment. 

There are no restrictions as to choosing an academic supervisor, who works in a department of HSE University not involved in a given student’s degree programme.

Staff members of external organisations not employed by HSE University may only co-supervise theses of students, with the main supervisor appointed from among the University’s staff.

Yes, he/she can. In such cases, the student should write a personal request to the dean of the faculty with a brief justification regarding his/her request. The request is to be submitted to the degree programme's study office, and a thesis supervisor can be replaced no later than 2 (two) months before the thesis defence.

The dean has the right to reject the student’s request, giving reasons for this decision. If the change is confirmed, it is enacted by a dean’s directive.

A thesis consultant is a specialist in a field relevant to a given thesis topic, who usually possesses special or unique knowledge, experience and competence in a particular subject. Consultants can be appointed from among the HSE University’s staff or employees of any third-party organisations whose professional activities and/or scientific interests correlate with the given thesis focus. He/she holds an advisory vote on thesis development, and consults students on selecting an appropriate research or project methodology, scholarly literature and resources, as well as thesis content.

A consultant is usually assigned if the thesis topic features intersecting research fields, applies to a very narrow research field, and if it is impossible to implement a qualitative research project without additional specialist consultations. Appointment of a consultant(s) is initiated by the thesis supervisor (subject to the dean’s consent) and authorised by the Programme’s Academic Supervisor, following a written request drawn up by the student and signed by the supervisor.

All students must upload electronic copies of their theses to a special LMS module by the stipulated deadline (See upload instructions). The respective deadline is approved by the directive on conducting the FSC, but no later than 7 working days before the date of the thesis defense.

Theses are subject to mandatory checks for plagiarism — uploading them to LMS is a must before their defense. A special system is used to determine plagiarism. For more information, please see the Regulations on Checking Student Papers for Plagiarism, the Use of Generative Models, and the Publication of Bachelor's, Specialist, and Master's Theses on the HSE University Corporate Website.

The system determines the percentage of unoriginal content in a given work. At the same time, the final decision as to whether or not copied material in a student thesis was used appropriately, shall be made by the academic supervisor of each paper, respectively. Read more about checks for plagiarism in written assignments here. 

Important: The use of generative models without properly acknowledging it is a violation of academic norms. Students who use artificial intelligence in the creation of their thesis must disclose this fact, detail the purposes for which it was used, indicate the specific technology implemented, and evaluate its effectiveness. The plagiarism detection system identifies text produced by generative models. Detailed guidance on properly reporting AI use will be included in the instructions for submitting assignments to the LMS.

Theses may be based on a generalisation of several term papers written by a student. This may be mentioned in the relevant internship programme, as well as the Guidelines for Writing Theses for the degree programme. The Academic Supervisor will help the student make a final decision on using the term paper when preparing a thesis. A plagiarism checker is only a tool to assist people, so it is the supervisor's responsibility to determine what constitutes plagiarism.

In addition, in order to avoid self-plagiarism and duplication of previously published information, the student should put links to his/her works (including term papers) and list them in the references.

Peer reviews of Master’s degree theses are mandatory. The reviewer must analyse the main tenets of the thesis under review, assess if a personal standpoint/project solution is presented, how well research/project methods are applied, how well-grounded the conclusions and recommendations are, if the means selected to obtain the result are appropriate, if the final output is adequate, and how original and feasible the presented solutions are.

The reviewer may also evaluate how well the student has mastered the competencies prescribed in the HSE educational standards. The template form for reviewer feedback is provided in Annex 8 to Regulations on Practical Training of Students under Core Bachelor’s, Specialist and Master’s Programmes at HSE University.

Students who have successfully completed all courses and fulfilled all other academic tasks without academic failures and submitted the thesis by the stipulated deadline may proceed to the thesis defence.

A student shall not be admitted to the defense process if confirmed instances of plagiarism have been found in the thesis. The procedure is described in the Regulations on Checking Student Papers for Plagiarism, the Use of Generative Models, and the Publication of Bachelor's, Specialist, and Master's Theses on the HSE University Corporate Website.

Those who fail to meet the set deadline and are not admitted to the defense process, including due to violations identified during the mandatory plagiarism check, are to be dismissed owing to failure to carry out their obligations to master the respective degree programme with due diligence, as well as complete the relevant curriculum.

Important: A bad grade or negative review of the thesis by the academic supervisor and/or reviewers cannot serve as reason for defense non-admission. The student still has an opportunity to defend his/her thesis in front of the relevant committee.

A thesis defense shall be held according to the final state examination schedule at a meeting of the examination committee for the relevant field of study/major. The defense procedure is described in the Regulations on Final State Certification of Students in Bachelor’s, Specialist and Master’s Degree Programmes at HSE University, and may also be described in the Practical Training Programme, as specified by each degree programme, or further detailed in on the programme's website in the "Final Assessment" section.

An academic supervisor’s review and a reviewer’s opinion (for Master's degree students) of a thesis are required at the defense (both available via LMS). After the discussion reaches completion, the student shall give his/her closing remarks. In the closing remarks, the student must respond to the notes made by the academic supervisor and the reviewer of the thesis. After the closing remarks, the thesis defense shall be declared complete.

The local State Certification Board (SCB) makes a decision on the final grade after the thesis defence process is completed. The criteria of the thesis assessment are stipulated in the Internship Programme of a given degree programme.

Failing the defence results in dismissal because it is part of FSC. Students may retake the FSC no earlier than 10 months later (for Bachelor’s and Specialist students) or within two years (for Master’s students), but no more than twice in total.  For more information, see The Procedures and Conditions for Reinstating Students Who Were Dismissed on the Initiative of National Research University Higher School of Economics or Other Grounds, and the Procedures for Re-admitting Students to Study after Academic Leave, Maternity Leave, Parental Leave, or Childcare Leave.

Students may appeal procedural violations (e.g., quorum issues, timing violations), but issues related to the content of the committee’s commentary and questions will not be considered.

Students may publish their theses as abstracts on the HSE University website. The full text may be published if a student receives a grade of 7 or higher (on a 10-point scale) and allows publication, by selecting "Agree" in the "Consent for Publication" section when submitting the text in LMS.