Final State Certification

Final State Certification - 2026

Schedule of Final State Certification in the 2025-2026 academic year: to be announced

State Examination Board for the 2025-2026 academic year: to be announced

THESIS DEADLINES

Module	Deadline
2^nd Module	28 November	Deadline for submitting applications on thesis topic to the supervisor
2^nd Module	5 December	Topic of Term Paper and Supervisor approved by the Academic Supervisor/ Academic Council of MA Programme
3^rd Module	13 March	Submission of a request for supervisor change (if needed)
4th Module	14 April, 23:00	Submission of a request for title change (if needed)
	14 May, 18:00	Submission of the final version of the thesis, antiplagiarism check with “Antiplagiat” system
	26 May	Deadline for the supervisor review
	26 May	Deadline for the external reviewer review
	21-15 June	MA Thesis Defence

How to upload student papers and theses in Learning Management System (LMS)

Regulations

Regulations on Final State Certification
Regulations on the State Examination Board’s Operations for the Final State Certification (Annex 1 to Regulations on Final State Certification)
Procedures for Appeals Committees for Considering Academic Appeals Against the Results of Final State Examinations Filed by Students (Annex 2 to Regulations of Final State Certification)
Procedure for Appealing the Results of State Final Certifications
Procedure for Writing Theses and Term Papers for Degree Students at HSE University (Annex 8, Regulations on Practical Training)
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

Admission to the defence

Students who successfully complete all the courses and submit their master's thesis within the prescribed period are admitted to the defence. Persons not admitted to the defence of the thesis are expelled from HSE University. The defence is carried out by the State Certification Board, which is headed by a chairperson approved by HSE Academic Council. Topics and supervisors of master's theses are approved by the directive in the second year of study.

Guidelines for Master's thesis preparation 2026

Defence

The defence begins with a presentation by the student on the topic of the master’s thesis. The length of the presentation should not be longer 20 minutes or 30 minutes for individual and group presentations respectively. All group members must be present at the defence. Students present the main content of their theses freely without reading a written text. Students are required to use a computer presentation, e.g. PowerPoint slides; graphs, tables or other material to illustrate relevant aspects of the thesis can be used. After the presentation, members of the State Examination Board ask the student questions that are directly related to the topic of the thesis or related to the field of research. When answering questions, the student has the right to use a printed copy of his/her thesis. The presence of thesis supervisor and (or) the reviewer at the defence is not mandatory. After the discussion, the student is given the final word. In concluding remarks, the student must respond to the comments of thesis supervisor and the reviewer, if any, after which the defence procedure is considered completed.

Postponement of the defence

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. (Regulation on the final state certification, clause 5.1.)

Graduation with distinction ("red diploma")

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.

If students have completed optional courses, they can remove these courses from their diploma supplements when approving the draft supplements via their personal account (ELK), "Completion of studies" service.

Post-graduation leave

Students who successfully completed the Final State Certification in June have the right to apply for a post-graduation leave until 11 August 2026, thereby extending their student status. Students submit applications via their personal account (ELK), "Completion of studies" service.
Procedure for granting a leave.