Term Papers

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

For the 2025/2026 academic year, the following deadlines apply^*:

Students who fail to select a topic and supervisor for their term paper within the established timeframe will have both assigned within 10 business days after the deadline, in accordance with the Regulations.

^{* 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.}

Failure to complete the work within the deadline set by the faculty is considered an academic failure and affects the student's performance assessment indicator (SPA). More details on performance assessment and clearing academic failures can be found in the Regulations for Interim and Ongoing Assessments of Students at HSE University.

An academic failure related to the term paper occurs in the following cases:

• Failure to submit the paper within the faculty's deadline (i.e., the paper has not been submitted correctly and/or uploaded);

• Detection of plagiarism that raises doubts about the originality of the work, which may result in disciplinary action, including expulsion;

• Receiving an unsatisfactory grade or failing to attend the term paper defence (if one was scheduled) without a valid reason.

Like any other academic failure, it can be cleared in accordance with the Regulations for Interim and Ongoing Assessments of Students at HSE University.

A student may propose an initiative term paper topic, provided they adhere to the deadline for topic selection set in the Practical Training Programme of their educational programme.

Students may choose a term paper supervisor from a different department, faculty, or another unit. The proposed topic, the selected supervisor, and a justification for the choice should be submitted through the "Course Themes" module in LMS.

Yes, they can. In accordance with the Procedure for Writing Theses and Term Papers for Degree Students at HSE University they must submit a personal request to the head of the faculty, briefly explaining their reasoning. The request must be approved by the term paper supervisor and the academic supervisor before submission to the study office. The request must be submitted at least one calendar month before the final submission deadline for the term paper.

Yes, they can. In accordance with the Procedure for Writing Theses and Term Papers for Degree Students at HSE University a personal request must be submitted to the dean of the faculty with a brief justification. The dean may deny the request with an explanation. If approved, the request must be forwarded to the study office. The application must be submitted at least one calendar month before the final submission deadline for the term paper.

According to the rules set in the Practical Training Programme of the respective educational programme, the assessment can take one of two forms:

• The supervisor reviews the term paper, assigns a grade in the examination sheet, and informs the student.
• The student defends their term paper.

Generally, a thesis can be based on a term paper. However, the decision should be made with the thesis supervisor’s approval. According to 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 final decision as to whether or not copied material in student term paper/thesis/final examination papers were used appropriately, as it appears from reports provided by programme coordinators, shall be made by the academic supervisor of each paper, respectively."

To avoid self-plagiarism, students must cite their own work and include it in the bibliography.

All students must upload the final version of their term paper to the "Thesis/Paper" LMS module by the deadline set by their degree programme. The guidelines for submitting papers to the LMS outline detailed instructions—students should review these before uploading their term paper.

All term papers are subject to mandatory verification for originality and the use of generative models. When uploading the paper, the system will determine the percentage of non-original and AI-generated text. The final decision regarding the legitimacy of borrowed material and the use of AI is made by the term paper supervisor.

A student whose work contains plagiarism or undeclared use of AI may face expulsion.

Learn more about plagiarism

Learn more about AI use

^{Important: The use of generative models without proper disclosure constitutes a violation of academic standards. If a student used artificial intelligence in the paper, they must report this and specify the purpose of its use, the exact technology applied, and an evaluation of its effectiveness. More details on disclosure procedures are provided in the instructions for uploading papers.}