DepartmentPolitical science

Graduation Process

 

1. Graduation Requirements

In order to graduate the student needs to:

• Has successfully finished all the credit courses for the program and thus have at least 240 credits for a B.A. and additional 90 credits for a M.A.;
  • The credits come from all General Education courses in the Program Scheme;
  • All courses from the Politics and Society program;
  • The two non-credit Sports courses.
• To either take a State exam, or defend a Thesis. If the GPA (Grade Points Average) of the student is below 4.50, he or she is only allowed to graduate through a State Exam. If it is above 4.50, the student is allowed to choose between a State Exam and Defense of a Thesis. Students with a GPA above 4.50 are encouraged to choose to defend a Thesis in order to show that they have not only acquired the basic knowledge and skills, but have also developed their ability to do their own research.

 

After that the student can receive his Diploma.

After the student has finished all courses and defended a Thesis, or taken the State Exam, the student can fill-in an Application for the Diploma. The form should be accompanied with two photos of the student of the standardized official documents size. Bulgarian students can do that at the Student’s Office, and foreign students can do it in the Foreign Relations Office.

The Ministry of Education of Bulgaria needs two to three months to dispatch the official Diploma.

 

2. Graduation through a Thesis

If the student has a GPA above 4.50 and wishes to defend a Thesis, he or she has to contact a lecturer relevant to the field which the student wishes to research. After the lecturer has agreed to be the Academic Advisor to the student, they should agree on an exact topic of the thesis. Then the student fills the Application Form for Thesis Topic at least three months before the Defense. At least a month before the Defense, the student fills the Application Form for Setting a Date for State Exam or Defense of Thesis. After that the student has to pay the fee for the Defense of the Thesis. The payment can be done either in the Pay Desk Office in the University (Room 209 I), or through a bank transfer. For more information about how to pay through a bank transfer, please refer to either the Students Department (for Bulgarian students), or to the Foreign Relations Department (for foreign students). The student has to finish his thesis at least two weeks before the date of the Defense. When the thesis is finished, and at least two weeks before the Defense, the student has to leave one paper copy of the thesis in Room 204 II, one copy on a CD in the same room and one electronic copy through an e-mail to the Program Consultant. Finally the student will be notified about the time and place where the Defense will take place. Please keep in mind that by Bulgarian and European law all Theses are public, and kept in an archive.

 

3. Graduation through State Exam

If the student has to, or wishes to, take a State exam, he needs to fill the Application Form for Setting a Date for State Exam or Defense of Thesis at least a month before the Exam. After that the student has to pay the fee for the State Exam. The payment can be done either in the Pay Desk Office in the University (Room 209 I), or through a bank transfer. For more information about how to pay through a bank transfer, please refer to either the Students Department (for Bulgarian students), or to the Foreign Relations Department (for foreign students). Finally the student will be notified about the time and place where the State Exam will be taken.

Application Form for Thesis (on-line)

Application Form for State Exam (on-line)

 

For the requirements for Theses and more information about the State Exam, please refer to the uploaded files.