Final Exam

Last modified: 28. November 2022

The final examination is at the end of the study period in the higher education. The conditions for admission to final examination at given programmes of the University:

• pre-degree certificate (absolutorium),
• submission of the final essay / thesis / diploma thesis /portfolio by deadline and its reviews, graded at least as sufficient/pass,
• the student does not owe any fees/ expenses to the University including tuition fee, penalties and other fees and contributions, and has handed over university inventory items, including items borrowed from the library.

The student may apply for final examination electronically in Neptun System by the deadline specified for given semester in the academic calendar.

The student status shall be terminated by all means if the student has obtained a pre-degree certificate, regardless of whether he/she takes a final examination in the semester in which or not in the semester in which the final certificate is obtained.

The following deadlines apply to the termination of student status after the pre-degree certificate (absolutory) has been obtained:

1. If the student takes a final examination in the semester in which the pre-degree certificate (absolutorium) is obtained, the student's status will be terminated on the day of the last part of the final examination, regardless of the result of the final examination.
2. If the student does not take the final examination in the semester in which the pre-degree certificate (absolutorium) is obtained, the student's status shall be terminated on the last day of the final examination period.
3. If the student obtains a pre-degree certificate (absolutorium) after the beginning of the final examination period, his/her status as a student shall be terminated on the last day of the examination period of the semester.

The final examination usually consists of several parts.

These are:

• a comprehensive or complex exam as specified in Annex 5 of SER; written, practical and oral parts in specific programmes;
• defence of the thesis;
• and completion of other tasks.

In the complex oral exam, the student will be tested on the subjects specified in Appendix 5 of SER Regulations: Subjects and subjects for the final exam for each course.

Students will appear for the defence of the thesis according to the timetable and at the time fixed and allocated in advance. Students may use writing utensils and the illustrative materials required for the exam during the examination and the discussion. The student will give a free presentation of his/her thesis and main findings, using appropriate illustrations for the topic, and then respond to the critical comments and written questions of the reviewers.

If the final examination consists of more than one part, marks will be awarded for each part and the (subject) grade will be calculated as a simple arithmetic average of these marks.

The final examination committee members will mark the defence of the thesis on a five-point scale, taking into account the assessment of the reviewer(s), and will then determine the final examination result in a closed discussion by taking the simple arithmetic average of the marks for the exam/complex examination and the thesis defence. The final exam report shall state the result of the final examination both in text and in whole numbers and shall also state the average of final exam. The final exam shall be marked on a five-point scale.

Failed final examinations may be retaken up to three times. A failed final examination may be retaken on payment of a repeated exam fee as specified in Annex 1. of Student Fees and Benefits Policy. If any part of the final examination is graded as “failed”, the student's final examination shall also be “failed”. If the student fails to appear any part of the final examination, the final examination is failed. A failed final examination may not be repeated in the same final examination period. If the student's final examination does not need to be repeated because of a failed thesis/dissertation, it is not necessarily required to prepare a new thesis, but in any case, we recommend that you consult your supervisor. Successful final examination shall not be retaken.

In case of students starting their studies in the academic year 2012/13 and thereafter, the students may take their final examination according to the applicable studying requirements within the framework of the student status in the final examination period after obtaining their pre-degree certificate, and within 5 calendar years after the termination of the student status. In case of students starting their studies from September 2012 no final examination shall be taken after the fifth year following the termination of the student status.

In case of students starting their bachelor's or master's degree studies before the 2012/2013 academic year may take the final examination without any time limit after obtaining the pre-degree certificate (absolutorium), with the restriction that the institution may make the final examination conditionals.

Assessment of the final examination

If the comprehensive/complex exam – organised in the frame of final examination - consists of more than one part, each part shall be graded and the (subject) grade shall be calculated as a simple arithmetic average of the marks.

The members of the final examination committee shall evaluate the defence of the thesis with a grade on a five-level grading scale, considering the evaluation of the reviewer(s). Then they shall determine the final result in a closed meeting by calculating the simple arithmetic average of the results of the comprehensive/complex exam and the defence of the thesis. The final examination minutes shall indicate the result of the final examination both in text and in whole numbers, and the average of the final examination. The final examination shall be evaluated on a five-grade scale.