The most important general rules regarding the preparation of the thesis and the final examination can be found in paragraphs 69-70 of the Requirement System for Students of The Budapest Business University.
The requirements for each degree programme are set out in the text-based curricula (section 9: thesis, section 11: final examination)
During their studies, students will learn about the methods of writing a thesis and receive ideas concerning possible topics. Such information is provided in the Research Methodology course at bachelor's level and the Master Thesis Seminar course at master's level (the latter is only included in the model curriculum under this name from 2017).
In the Short-cycle Vocational Programme students prepare a project work based on their internship, applying scientific methodology is not required in this case.
Students must select a topic and a consultant (the consultant depends on the topic of choice) in the semester before the planned submission of the thesis. The procedure for the selection is described in the document entitled Students’ guide of the thesis administration in Neptun system.
Students with a pre-degree certificate can apply for a topic by filling in the Application form for students under graduation to dissertation or project work aand sending it to the e-mail address of the department responsible for the program.
During applying for a topic in the Neptun system, students are required to attach a short concept note containing the idea of their final thesis, on the basis of which the chosen consultant can evaluate the student's chosen topic. The departments can specify the content and format of this concept and publish a template. The applicable published templates can be found here.
The student's choice of topic and its approval by the consultant is valid only for the semester in question. If the student fails to meet the requirements for the final thesis in the given semester and his/her thesis is not submitted, he/she will have to choose a new thesis topic in the Neptun system.
The advertised topics are for information only, other topics can be chosen as well. It is advisable to discuss the choice of topic with the prospective consultant in advance in order to agree on the choice of topic.
Current topics of dissertation of each program can be read here:
Students who have already chosen a thesis topic have to attend a thesis preparation and library tutorial related to their major in the semester of their choice of topic.
The thesis is written with the support of a consultant, but essentially requires the student to work independently. The preparation of thesis is thus supported by one or two consultants. The choice of an internal (from the university) consultant is compulsory for the student, in line with the choice of topic. The student's thesis may be supported by an external consultant (e.g., from a certain company), but the choice of an external consultant is not compulsory.
The timing and content of the thesis should be discussed with the internal consultant.
The formal requirements for the theses for students in the BA/BSc and MA/MSc programmes can be found at Requirements for the Format of Theses.
For Bachelor's and Master's degree students, information on the research plan, the structure and content of the thesis and the references to sources can be found in the document entitled Thesis writing guide for undergraduate (BSc) and graduate (MSc) students.
Plagiarism is when you present another author's ideas or results as your own without acknowledging the source. Such a situation should be avoided at all costs and can have serious consequences: plagiarising students are called upon to correct the relevant parts of their work, or to withdraw their thesis all together depending on the severity of case. In the case of a thesis withdrawn for plagiarism, the student will be required to write a completely new thesis. In order to avoid this, let us consider the cases of plagiarism:
The Moodle system provides students with the option of checking their final thesis for plagiarism. Plagiarism checks of the theses uploaded to the Moodle system are automatically run in Turnitin. After each re-upload and replacing of an existing thesis file, it will show the percentage of matches found with other documents in the plagiarism filtering software database. This number does not in itself mean that such a percentage of the essay is plagiarism, it only refers to the detected matches, which may or may not be correctly cited in the thesis. However, too high a percentage may indicate – even in the case of perfectly correct citations – that there is too much information or quotation taken from elsewhere without change in the thesis. This fact indicates a low degree of originality and independent authorship, which may lead to a withdrawal of the thesis. It is essential that the student agrees on the maximum acceptable percentage with his/her internal consultant before the final upload of the thesis!
The official copy of the thesis is the electronic version, which must be uploaded in pdf format to the Moodle system, where a plagiarism check will be carried out. The preconditions for the submission of the thesis can be found at The preconditions for and the process of submitting the thesis.
Information on uploading the thesis and plagiarism check can be found here.
Bachelor’s and master’s degree programme theses are assessed by two assessors. The thesis assessments and grades are available in Moodle at least five days before the final examination.
A minimum grade of 2 (pass) is necessary by both assessors in order to be allowed to take the final examination.
If the thesis has not been accepted (i.e., rated as unsatisfactory) by either of the two assessors then the student cannot take the final exam. If the thesis is not accepted by one of the assessors, the thesis must be sent to an additional assessor. If it has been judged unsatisfactory by the additional assessor too, the student will not be allowed to take the final examination.
Final examinations can be taken in the semester by the end of which the student is able to obtain all the required credits and submit the final thesis. Application is possible via Neptun system.
The conditions for taking the final examination are the following:
1. Obtaining the pre-degree certificate: if the student receives his/her pre-degree certificate, the date of obtaining the pre-degree certificate will be displayed in the Neptun system under the tab Studies/Training Data. Only those students who have obtained all the credits specified in the model curriculum and has completed all the compulsory courses or credits of the given modules prescribed in the model curriculum may receive their pre-degree certificate.
2. Timely submission of the thesis and its assessment other than unsatisfactory.
Preparing for the final exam is the individual responsibility of the student. However, the departments offer assistance in this procedure, so they organise a final examination information session for both bachelor and master students and Short-cycle Vocational Programme students, participation is recommended, free of charge and without any conditions for all students applying for the final examination.
The department responsible for organizing the final examination supports the preparation of the candidates by providing the final examination topics in advance, which are described in the following documents:
The final examination for Bachelor and Master students, on the one hand, will consist of a thesis defence, including a presentation of the results and answering to questions posed by the examiners and questions raised by the committee on the presentation. On the other hand, it is followed by a complex oral examination, which is a professional discussion based on the thesis topic, initiated by the examination committee giving the candidate a complex set of questions and topics. During the debate, the examination board may ask questions not strictly related to the assessment of the thesis but related to its subject and to the professional material studied, with a view to assessing the candidate's overall professional competence. However, the purpose of the examination/professional discussion is not to give a precise account of the details, but to ascertain the candidate's overall competence and testing the candidate's complex thinking. The department organising the final examination helps students to prepare for the examination by offering a range of final examination topics related to the course or its specialisation. The department may also support the candidate's preparation by providing the student with a question (or set of topics) in advance, which will serve as a starting point for the professional discussion. If this is done, the question(s)/topic(s) must be submitted in writing to the student at least 5 days before the final examination.
Therefore, the parts of final examination for Bachelor and Master students:
1. the thesis defence, which includes the presentation of the results and the answering of the question(s) posed by the assessor(s) and the the examination committee;
2. complex oral examination, which is a professional debate/discussion on the topic of the thesis, and which is intended to demonstrate the student's professional competence. The ability to apply the acquired knowledge is essential in assessing the student's performance.
Upon successful completion of the final examination, the student is entitled to receive the diploma.
Deadlines referring to each step of the process
The final examinations will be organised in the form of attendance exam in the examination period of the 1st semester of 2023/2024.
As our website is constantly updated, please follow up the information on it.
We wish our graduating students a successful preparation for their exams and also for the final exam!
There is no technical requirement in case of an attendance final examination. However, it is IMPORTANT that the student have to bring his/her presentation to be shown to the examination committee on a portable data storage.
Students can find the assessment(s) and grade(s) of their thesis in the Moodle system, and their final examination schedule in the Neptun system or on the website of the university.
The final examination presentation must be prepared in advance in MS PowerPoint (pptx format).
Dress code must be observed for the final examination.
The final examination for Bachelor and Master students, on the one hand, will consist of a thesis defence, including a presentation of the results and answering to questions posed by the examiners and questions raised by the committee on the presentation. On the other hand, it is followed by a complex oral examination, which is a professional discussion based on the thesis topic, initiated by the examination committee giving the candidate a complex set of questions and topics. During the debate, the examination board may ask questions not strictly related to the assessment of the thesis but related to its subject and to the professional material studied, with a view to assessing the candidate's overall professional competence. However, the purpose of the examination/professional discussion is not to give a precise account of the details, but to ascertain the candidate's overall competence and testing the candidate's complex thinking. The department organising the final examination helps students to prepare for the examination by offering a range of final examination topics related to the course or its specialisation. The department may also support the candidate's preparation by providing the student with a question (or set of topics) in advance, which will serve as a starting point for the professional discussion. If this is done, the question(s)/topic(s) must be submitted in writing to the student at least 5 days before the final examination.
Therefore, the parts of final examination for Bachelor and Master students:
1. the thesis defence, which includes the presentation of the results and the answering of the question(s) posed by the assessor(s) and the the examination committee;
2. complex oral examination, which is a professional debate/discussion on the topic of the thesis, and which is intended to demonstrate the student's professional competence. The ability to apply the acquired knowledge is essential in assessing the student's performance.
The Final Examination Committee will evaluate the student's performance during the final examination by awarding a single mark, based on the assessment marks, moreover, on the student's overall performance in their presentation and on the complex professional discussion of their topic. All of the aspects mentioned above will be considered as one complex unit during the evaluation process.
At the start of the final examination (or prior to it – detailed information will be given at the final examination briefing), students are invited to the examination room, where the chairperson holds a preliminary briefing and formally starts the final examination.
Two students must always be present at the examination event, i.e., the final examination committee will call two students to the examination room at the same time.
To start the final examination, the student must provide credible proof of identity.
The final examination begins with a presentation by the student, which will last 10-15 minutes (more detailed information will be given at the final examination briefing). The final examination committee may ask the student questions related to his/her presentation after the presentation.
The next unit of the final examination is the complex oral examination, in which the chairperson or a member of the examination committee asks a professional question to initiate the debate, which the candidate student expounds, and then further questions may arise within the ongoing professional discussion. The professional discussion lasts approximately 15 minutes.
The results will be announced at the end of the final examination, after all the presentations have been given. For this purpose, the examination committee will again call the students from the corridor to the examination room.
1) Unauthorised use of an assistive device by the student
Good faith and integrity must be observed during the online final examination.
A student who is found to be using unauthorised devices or seeking the assistance of others in the online final examination will receive an unsatisfactory mark for the examination and his/her final examination will be suspended with a record of the incident kept. In this case, the student will be allowed to retake the final examination only in the next final examination period.
2) Absence of the student from the final examination:
The delayed student may be admitted to the examination up until the completion of the penultimate student’s examination.
In case of absence from the final examination, the knowledge of the candidate student will not be assessed.
If the student’s final examination result is unsatisfactory, he/she must repeat the entire final examination in the next final examination period.
If the student is dissatisfied with the result of his/her examination, being other than a fail, he/she has the possibility to improve his/her final examination in the next final examination period. A student can indicate his/her intention to retake the examination to the final examination committee on the day of the final examination, or he/she can notify the Student Service Office by the end of the day following the final examination. Simultaneously with the student’s declaration of intent to retake the examination, the grade of this final examination shall be annulled, and the result of the next examination period shall prevail.