12. Graduation
↑12.1 In order to complete the curriculum and receive the respective graduation document, the student or external student must fulfil all graduation requirements of the respective curriculum, including completing the prescribed studies (GPA of at least 2.00), preparing a thesis or passing the final exam. The requirements for a doctoral thesis and the defence of a doctoral thesis are regulated by the Regulation of Doctoral Studies.
12.2 Learners who have completed their studies (in full or for the most part) choose a topic and a supervisor for their final thesis based on their major and personal interest. The supervisor of the final thesis is generally a faculty member, a researcher, or a doctoral student of EBS. If the learner chooses a supervisor outside from EBS the one must have at least a master’s degree or equivalent qualification and also a co-supervisor from EBS will be appointed.
12.3 Before commencing the preparation of the final thesis, the student or external student shall submit a thesis proposal. The thesis proposal must be submitted and registration for the final thesis course completed by the deadline specified in the academic calendar. The thesis proposal is valid for one semester. The thesis proposal shall be approved by the thesis supervisor and confirmed by the head of the responsible academic unit.
12.4 Final theses are conducted once a semester at the time specified in the academic calendar (generally on the last weeks of the semester).
12.5 The requirements for the bachelor’s theses and the procedure for writing and assessing them is set forth in the guideline of Writing and Assessing EBS Bachelor’s Thesis, approved by the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs.
12.6 The requirements for the master’s theses and the procedure for writing and assessing them is set forth in the guideline of Writing and Assessing EBS Master’s Thesis, which is approved by the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs.
12.7 Master’s theses are to be presented in public before defence committees formed for this purpose. The defence committee may declare a master’s thesis confidential on the basis of an application submitted. This decision will not change the defence procedure. Defence committees are formed by the decree of the Rector of EBS, which is prepared on the basis of a precept issued by the Office of Academic Affairs.
12.8 Prerequisites of the master’s thesis public presentation are the interim report with a positive result, supervisor’s confirmation about allowing the thesis to final evaluation and a positive result in final evaluation.
12.9 Prerequisites of the submission of the bachelor’s thesis for final evaluation are a positive result for the interim report and a supervisor’s confirmation about allowing the thesis to final evaluation.
12.10 The interim report must be submitted to the supervisor at least 8 weeks before submission of the thesis for final evaluation.
12.11 In the event of a negative interim report result, the student or external student must withdraw from the thesis process for the given semester and resubmit the thesis proposal in subsequent semesters.
12.12 Bachelor’s and Master’s theses may be admitted to final evaluation only if the students have received positive results in all compulsory and elective courses prescribed by the curriculum by the deadline for fulfilling the graduation requirements. Students who have not fulfilled the above-mentioned condition may not continue with the thesis or final exam in the given semester.
12.13 The Master’s final examination module in total amount of 15 ECTS, consists of different capstone courses.
12.14 Upon graduating, the study results are taken into account regardless of when they were obtained.
12.15 Graduating students can dispute questions related to the procedure or the organisation of the final thesis or examination within three working days of the publication of the results by submitting an appeal to the Study Consultant addressing it to the Rector of EBS, who resolves it within one week.
12.16 A bachelor’s thesis is considered passed if the thesis is graded at least with a “E”. The following grading scale is used in assessment of a bachelor’s thesis:
| Grade | Range | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| A | 91–100 | excellent |
| B | 81–90 | very good |
| C | 71–80 | good |
| D | 61–70 | satisfactory |
| E | 51–60 | sufficient |
| F | …–50 | insufficient, fail |
A master’s thesis is considered passed if the thesis is graded at least with a “D”. The following grading scale is used in assessment of a master’s thesis:
| Grade | Range | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| A | 91–100 | excellent |
| B | 81–90 | very good |
| C | 71–80 | good |
| D | 61–70 | satisfactory |
| F | …–60 | insufficient, fail |
The final examination is considered passed if the examination is graded at least with an “E”. The following grading scale is used in assessment of bachelors’ final examination:
| Grade | Range | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| A | 91–100 | excellent |
| B | 81–90 | very good |
| C | 71–80 | good |
| D | 61–70 | satisfactory |
| E | 51–60 | sufficient |
| F | …–50 | insufficient, fail |
12.17 Positive grades for a final thesis or final examination cannot be improved.
12.18 If a student fails the final thesis or the final examination for the second time, they are exmatriculated due to failure to make academic progress. Re-matriculation takes place on the basis of the applicant’s reasoned application pursuant to clause 2.5 of these regulations.
12.19 A diploma with honours (cum laude) is awarded to a student who:
- completed the Bachelor’s or Master’s curriculum in full
- received an “A” for the final thesis or all parts of the final examination
- has a weighted GPA of 4.60 or higher, taking into account all grades listed in the academic transcript.
12.20 A student or external student who has completed the curriculum shall be issued a diploma and a diploma supplement prepared in accordance with the procedure established by the Government of the Republic. The diploma is issued based on a decree of the rector regarding exmatriculation or recognition of completion of studies as an external student. The graduation documents are prepared by the Office of Academic Affairs and are generally awarded at an EBS ceremonial graduation ceremony.
12.21 A student who wishes to graduate with a double degree on the basis of an agreement between institutes of higher education have the right to apply for the transfer of the results(s) of a final thesis defended or a final examination completed at a partner university to EBS. For this purpose, the student must submit to the Office of Academic Affairs a corresponding application, the defended final thesis together with a summary in Estonian or English (if the thesis is not written in Estonian or English and does not already contain such a summary) and documents certifying a positive thesis defence result or positive final examination result(s). The decision regarding the recognition of the final thesis or final examination and the grade is made by the Head of the Office of Academic Affairs, involving, where necessary, the head of the academic unit corresponding to the subject area of the thesis.