Graduation Thesis

Students must select their thesis topic in an HSE digital system specified by their programme office (or SmartPro), adhering to the deadlines specified in the Internship Programme for their cohort and available on the degree programme's website under "For Students" → "Practical Training."

• Students may be able to choose from a list of topics proposed by HSE faculty in the digital system. 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 digitally by approving the topic request or through written confirmation (e.g., email) submitted to the programme office.
• Students also have the right to propose their own topic in the digital system within the period specified in the Internship Programme. To do so, they must find a supervisor independently, agree on the topic with them, and submit a digital application, with the topic and proposed supervisor indicated there. The application is subject to approval by the Degree Programmes Department and the supervisor. Having reviewed the proposed topic, the supervisor may approve it, reject it with justification, or jointly reformulate it with the student.

The academic supervisor of the degree programme, with possible involvement of the academic council, decides whether the topics proposed by their programme's students correspond to the field of study. The topic may be approved, rejected with justification, or, with the student’s consent, reformulated. In the case of approval, a recommendation regarding the supervisor or consultant may also be given, if necessary.

You may withdraw the application or kindly ask the supervisor to reject it.

A student has to select a thesis topic and research supervisor within the deadlines set in the Internship Programme for their cohort.

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

The assignment of a thesis topic and supervisor is formalised by a faculty dean’s directive no later than 15^th December of each academic year. 

Students who fail to select a topic and supervisor for their term paper within the established timeframe will have both assigned automatically 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.}

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

Theses may be based on a generalisation of several term papers written by a student. This may be mentioned in the Internship Programme, as well as the Guidelines for Writing Theses for the degree programme. The student's supervisor will help the student make a final decision on using the term paper text as a plagiarism checker is only a tool assisting them in determining what constitutes plagiarism.

In addition, in order to avoid self-plagiarism and duplication of previously published results, the student must provide correct references to their own works (including term papers) by listing them in the references section.

There are no restrictions on choosing a thesis supervisor from an HSE unit that does not deliver the student’s degree programme.

Staff members of external organisations who are not employed by HSE University may be appointed only as co-supervisors; the supervisor can only be from among HSE faculty.

Yes. To do so, the student must submit a personal written request to the faculty's dean, with a brief justification. The request must be submitted to the programme office no later than two months before the start of the Final State Certification.

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 the field relevant to the thesis topic, often possessing specific or unique knowledge, experience, and competencies. The consultant has an advisory role in thesis development and provides guidance on research or project methodology, literature selection, empirical material, and thesis content.

A consultant is usually appointed when the thesis topic lies at the intersection of research fields or relates to a highly specialised field where high-quality research or project implementation is impossible without additional expert input. The decision to appoint a consultant is taken by the academic supervisor of the degree programme upon the recommendation of the thesis supervisor.

Peer review of Master’s theses at HSE University is mandatory; for Bachelor’s and Specialist programmes it is determined by the degree programme or faculty. Reviewers may be appointed from among HSE academic staff or from representatives of other higher education institutions or professional organisations relevant to the thesis topic. For Master’s and Specialist theses, the reviewer must be external either to HSE University or to the department/unit where the thesis supervisor works.

The reviewer must analyse the main tenets of the thesis under review, assessing the presence of a personal standpoint/project solution, the use of research or design methods, the validity of conclusions and recommendations, the appropriateness of research methods used, the reliability of outcomes, and their novelty and practical relevance. They should also assign a recommended grade on a 10-point scale. 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.

The directive appointing the reviewer is signed by the faculty dean upon the recommendation of the academic supervisor of the degree programme no later than one month before the scheduled defence date. The directive specifies the student’s name, thesis topic, and reviewer details.

The student must familiarise themselves with the review and prepare reasoned responses to the reviewer’s comments.

The deadline for uploading the final and/or interim version of the thesis (as applicable to the degree programme) is set in the Internship Programme, but no later than 7 working days before the thesis defence date.

^{Important: Failure to upload the thesis without a valid reason results in a grade of "0", either for the "Thesis Preparation" curriculum element or for the thesis defence, depending on the submission format stated in the Internship Programme.}

The thesis text (final and/or interim) must be submitted only electronically through the system specified by the degree programme, within the established deadline.

When uploading, students must complete abstracts in both Russian and English. After the defence, these abstracts are published on the HSE University portal.

^{Important: If a discrepancy is identified between the uploaded thesis file and the version presented at the defence, disciplinary action for violation of academic standards will be applied in accordance with HSE University Internal Regulations.}

All theses are subject to mandatory plagiarism and originality checks. Uploading the thesis for screening is a required condition for admission to the defence.

The originality rate must be 80% or higher, and the thesis must contain no plagiarism or undeclared use of generative models. The final decision regarding acceptability of a lower originality percentage, the legitimacy of borrowings, and the use of generative models is taken by the thesis supervisor, based on the plagiarism report (they may also use screening systems other than the one offered by HSE), their subject-matter expertise, and research published on the topic.

^{Important: The undeclared use of generative models constitutes a violation of academic standards and results in disciplinary action and non-admission to the defence. If artificial intelligence was used, the student must disclose this, specify the purpose, the technology used, and assess its effectiveness. Detailed guidance on properly reporting AI use. For more information, consult 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.}

Feedback is provided in a form of review from your thesis supervisor (and peer-review, if applicable), and is uploaded into the same system used to submit the thesis. This must be done within the deadlines set by your degree programme in the Internship Programme for your cohort, and in any case no later than five calendar days before the defence to ensure you have sufficient time to examine the feedback and prepare your response. The State Examination Board (SEB) will also have access to the reviews, and may ask questions regarding the points raised there.

Students are admitted to the defence only once they have successfully completed the degree programme and submitted the thesis by the established deadline.

Those who fail to meet the set deadline or are not admitted to the defence for other reasons, including violation of academic norms identified during the mandatory originality, plagiarism and AI check, are to be dismissed from HSE University for failure to fulfil their obligations to master the respective degree programme with due diligence, as well as complete the relevant curriculum.

^{Important: A low grade or negative review of the thesis by the research supervisor and/or peer-reviewers cannot serve as reason for defense non-admission. The student still has an opportunity to defend their thesis in front of the Examination Board.}

The standard procedure and general rules of the defense are outlined in the Regulations on Final State Certification. They may be further specified at the level of your degree programme — the details are provided in the Internship Programme for your cohort, the Guidelines for Thesis Preparation, or in the "Final Assessment" section of your degree programme's website.

The defence may be conducted in person, remotely, or in a hybrid format. For remote or hybrid defences, the chair and members of the examination board must participate with their cameras and microphones switched on; turning the camera off is not permitted, and the entire procedure is recorded on video.

The date of the defense is in line with the approved Final State Certification schedule during a meeting of the examination board for the relevant field of study/major. As a rule, the defense starts with the student giving the presentation of their thesis, with its duration limited to 15 minutes for Bachelor's programmes and 20 minutes for Specialist's/Master's programmes; the exact duration is determined by your degree programme. Following the presentation, members of the examination board will ask questions. After the discussion concludes, the student is given a chance to make final remarks. In this statement, they should respond to the comments raised by their supervisor and peer-reviewer (if applicable).

The local State Certification Board (SCB) makes a decision on the final grade after the thesis defence process is completed. The assessment criteria are specified in the Internship Programme of a given degree programme. No grade formula is applied.

Failing the defence results in dismissal because it is part of FSC.

Upon reinstatement to HSE University, students may retake the FSC no earlier than 10 months after the first attempt, with 5 years being the maximum period during which they can get reinstated to retake the FSC. A different thesis topic and/or supervisor may be assigned. A student has no more than two attempts to retake the state examinations.

If a student fails to complete the FSC due to absence for a valid reason, they may complete the FSC within 6 months without dismissal.

A student may appeal only procedural violations (e.g. quorum issues or timing violations). Issues related to the substance of comments or questions are not considered. An appeal is rejected if their defence received an Excellent grade of 8 or higher (on a 10-point scale). Video recordings of defences may be used during appeal consideration.

If an appeal is upheld and a re-defence is scheduled, the previously submitted thesis text may not be modified or replaced.

HSE students have the unique opportunity to publish their theses on the HSE University website. This makes it available to potential employers and other interested parties. They can do it by selecting "Agree" in the "Consent for Publication" section when submitting the text.

If the student consents to publication and receives a grade of 7 or higher (on a 10-point scale), the full text of the thesis will be published on the portal. In all other cases, only the abstracts in Russian and English will be published.