Final State Certification
Final State Certification for "Population and Development" students consists of writing and presenting a master's thesis.
Defense is held by the State Certification Board. SCB chairpersons are approved by the HSE Academic Council and Ministry of Education. Topics and scientific supervisors are approved by the official order during 2nd year of studies. Student has a right to change it, but no later than 2 months before the defense. An academic supervisor’s opinion and a second reader’s review of a thesis shall be made available to the relevant student by the programme office prior to the scheduled date of their thesis defense. Second readers can be chosen from HSE staff or any potential employer from the field of the studies.
Checks for plagiarism in theses are mandatory. Plagiarism reports are enclosed with the text and reviews. If plagiarism is found in the thesis, students will be facing a disciplinary failure according to HSE regulations.
Pre-defense is advised to be held in order to check if students are ready for the Final State Certification. Pre-defense is held in presence of a scientific and academic supervisor, research seminar professor and other staff of the HSE.
Degree certificates with distinction ("red diplomas") are awarded to students who have received an excellent grade for the master's thesis defence and have only good and excellent (no less than 75 % of the total) grades for all courses, internships, projects listed in the diploma supplement. In accordance with the Regulations for Interim and Ongoing Assessments at HSE University, the retake of a positive assessment (a 4 and higher) is not allowed.
Students have to successfully complete all of their classes and upload master’s thesis in time in order to be eligible for defense.
A student who does not pass the final state certification without a valid reason, including receiving unsatisfactory results at the final state certification, is expelled from the HSE and an academic certificate is issued. When a student is reinstated at the Higher School of Economics, the specified student is entitled to pass the final state certification again no earlier than one year and no later than two years after passing the final state certification for the first time
An Appeal
Audio and Video Recording
Post-Graduation Leave
Dates and Commission Structure
