Final Examinations

The final examination at the end of the second cycle consists of the defense of a dissertation on a philosophical theme written under the direction of a teacher of philosophy, and an oral examination known as the comprehensive.

1. The dissertation should demonstrate sufficient competence in scientific research in philosophy, by way of an objective presentation of a selected topic and a critical personal evaluation. The length of the dissertation should not exceed 100 pages and should not be less than 50 pages. Four copies of the dissertation must be submitted to the Principal at least three weeks before the defense.

2. Absolute integrity is expected of the students in writing their dissertations. Students, if found guilty of plagiarism, will be asked by the Principal to write a new dissertation with “another theme”. This applies to other written assignments as well.

3. The dissertation is defended before a board of three examiners. The student first gives an expose of his dissertation for 15 minutes. Each teacher then interrogates the student for 15 minutes.

4. The comprehensive oral examination is held on the basis of a list of themes covering the fundamental philosophical disciplines taught during the biennium. It is held before a board of three examiners and lasts at least 45 minutes. The student is assigned a theme chosen beforehand by lot from the list of themes. Any request by the student for a change of theme will result in a loss of 20%. He/she is given 45 minutes to prepare for the exposition of the theme and 15 minutes to expose the theme, after which each professor in turn will question the student for 10 minutes.

5. A student may appear for the comprehensive oral examination only after he/she has passed in all the disciplines, both fundamental and auxiliary, and has submitted the dissertation.

Coefficient of Evaluation

The final mark of the second cycle will be calculated as follows: the average marks of the examinations given will have a coefficient 3, the marks obtained for the dissertation with its defense will have a coefficient 2, while the marks of the comprehensive examination will have a coefficient 1.