Practical Training

An obligatory element of the curriculum for graduate students of all years of study is the Project, which includes project work, accompanied by a research project seminar, as well as by writing thesis. Projects bring together undergraduate and graduate students from different years of study working on similar topics. 

The organization of project work at the faculty and FES Projects website support is carried out by the project office.

Email: fes-projects@hse.ru

More information on FES project work at the link: Project Work of FES Students

Please find below the Guidelines for Writing Master's Thesis for students in the 'Strategic Corporate Finance' Programme.

Guidelines for Writing Thesis Work for SCF Master's Students (updated on 30.01.2026)

Regulations for Defence of Master's Theses Written by Groups of Degree Students 

Rules for Topics 

Methodological Guidelines for the Use and the Assessment of Use of Automated Content Generation Algorithms for Preparing Theses by Students of the Faculty of Economic Sciences at HSE University 

Selecting a Thesis Topic

A special module in VLIS (starting 2025-2026 academic year - SmartPro) is used to select thesis topics, where students should submit applications. Learners put forward their own topic proposals. All applications from learners are accumulated in the personal account of supervisors in a special VLIS module, where they are either approved or rejected (if the latter, specific reasons are provided). With the supervisor’s approval, thesis topics are then approved by the programme’s academic supervisor. Each student should decide on a thesis topic by November 20, 2025 (a topic will be considered selected once it has been approved by a thesis supervisor and the academic supervisor in the respective VLIS module).

Changing thesis topic and supervisor
Thesis supervisors may be replaced if a student files a request via VLIS (SmartPro) by March 18, 2026. Furthermore, thesis topics may be amended prior to April 18, 2026, by submitting a request via the special VLIS module. Changing a thesis supervisor/topic is also subject to the approval of the thesis supervisor and the programme’s academic supervisor in a special VLIS module.

Submitting final versions of thesis works
The criteria for the composition of thesis works, as well as templates for title pages and feedback, can be found in the Procedure for Writing Theses and Term Pares at HSE University (refer to Annex 8 to Regulations on Practical Training of Students under Bachelor’s, Specialist and Master’s Degree Programmes).

The deadline for uploading the final text to LMS 18 May 2026 22:59.

Uploading Guide (available in Russian only) 

A hard copy of thesis works does not need to be submitted.

Checking for plagiarism
Thesis works are subject to reviews for plagiarism in line with 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. 

In cases of violation of academic norms, students receive grade "0" for the defence and may be subject to disciplinary sanctions, in line with the Procedure for Taking Disciplinary Actions against Students (refer to Annex 1 to Student Internal Regulations at HSE University).

Q&A on Thesis Work at the HSE Academic Handbook.