Semmelweis University Organizational and Operational Regulations
– Part III. Student Standards –
Chapter III.2. Study and Examination Regulations
10. Pre-degree Certificate, Diploma work, Final Examination
Article 47 [Final examination]
(1) The detailed conditions of admission to the final examination, the possible subjects of the final examination and the rules for their selection shall be published in the academic bulletin (the Calendar).
(2) If the thesis/diploma work is not accepted, the student/candidate is not eligible for taking the final examination. The conditions and the earliest deadline of the supplementation are determined by the head of the educational-research unit in accordance with the opinion of the department.
(3) Students who failed to meet their payment obligation to the University are not eligible for taking the final examination.
(4) Students shall register for the final examination 40 days prior to the first day of the final examination period as determined in the academic calendar, following the procedure determined for each faculty, in NEPTUN, and in case of the Faculty of Health Sciences and the Faculty of Health and Public Administration, at the Registrar’s Office. The faculty can set a shorter deadline.
(5) The final examination may consist of several parts, in accordance with the curriculum, particularly oral, written and practical parts. The thesis/diploma work defense is also part of the final examination if the curriculum so determines; however, it is evaluated separately from other parts of the final examination.
(6) The final examination at the Faculty of Health Sciences shall, notwithstanding paragraph (4), constitute of
- in Bachelor’s programs:
aa) practical,
ab) written (theoretical),
ac) oral (theoretical) parts; - in Nutrition Science Master’s program:
ba) oral examination of the core subjects,
bb) oral examination of the differentiated professional subjects,
bc) defense of the diploma work; - in Nursing Master’s program:
ca) written theoretical part,
cb) written practical part,
cc) oral theoretical part,
cd) thesis defense.
(7) At least two final examination periods per academic year are set in the academic calendar at the Faculty of Medicine, the Faculty of Dentistry, and the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, regarding the specifics defined by the National Final Examination Committees for Medicine and for Pharmaceutical Sciences. Final examinations may only be taken in the designated final examination periods.
(8) Organizing the final examination is the responsibility of the Deans of the faculties. The number of final examination boards is determined according to the number of registered students in such way that no more than 10 students may be sorted for one occasion at one Final Examination Board. This number is 12 at the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences and the Faculty of Health and Public Administration.
(9) Students are assigned to an examination date either by registration or by the Registrar’s Office, in which case, if justified, the possibility of changing the date shall be provided. If more than one examination board is scheduled on the same date, the allocation to one of the boards may be made on the basis of previously published professional criteria or, in the absence of this, by drawing lots. The assignment to a board shall be published in the usual manner at the relevant faculty no later than one day before the examination. Students shall be informed electronically about the examination site and the board assignment one day before the examination.
(10) The final examination shall be taken before the Final Examination Board consisting of a chairperson and at least two members. The chair and the members of the board are appointed by the Dean from the candidates chosen by the Faculty Council for up to one academic year. The Final Examination Board shall have at least one member who is a university or college professor or an associate professor, and one member who is not an employee of the University, or is a lecturer of a different faculty or training program of the University. The mandate of a Final Examination Board member – not including the chairperson of the board – may be valid for only a single part of the final examination.
(11) For students who miss to take their final examination and certify that it was through no fault of their own, the faculties may provide a date to supplement their final examination within the relevant final examination period.
(12) A record shall be kept at the practical and theoretical final examination. The grade of the written part of the examination shall be entered in the record of the theoretical examination.
(13) The members of the board evaluate the performance of the student with a grade, then in a closed session – in case of a debate, with voting – they determine the grade of the oral final examination. In case of a tied vote, the vote of the chairperson is definitive. In addition, the committee confirms the grade of the practical part of the final examination and the grade of the thesis/diploma work.
(14) The final examination is successful if the grade of each part of the final examination defined in paragraph (4) and the grade of the thesis/diploma work are at least “satisfactory/pass”. A successful final examination cannot be re-taken.
(15) The final grade of the final examination is the arithmetic mean of the grades of all parts of the final examination. The final grade of the final examination is announced by the chair of the Final Examination Board.
(16) The evaluation grades of the final examination are:
- 2.00 – 2.90: pass,
- 2.91 – 3.50: satisfactory,
- 3.51 – 4.50: good,
- 4.51 – 4.99: excellent, if the grade of each part is very good: outstanding.
(17) If the grade of any of the parts is “unsatisfactory”, the candidate has to retake the specific part of the examination. At the Faculty of Medicine, if the written or the oral part of the final examination is graded as “unsatisfactory”, the candidate has to retake both parts of the final examination. This final examination may be retaken twice only. Final examination retakes may only be done in the following final examination period. Credit value cannot be attributed to the final examination. If the candidate has used all the opportunities to retake any part of the final examination as defined in this paragraph, and a partial examination grade is “unsatisfactory”, all parts of the final examination shall be retaken.
(18) In case of an unsuccessful written final examination, candidates cannot take the oral part; however, they may take the practical part of the final examination; if the practical part is successful, it shall not be retaken. If it is unsuccessful, the candidate cannot take the oral theoretical final examination.
(19) If a candidate fails to take a successful final examination before the termination of their student status, they may attempt to retake the final examination in any final examination period after the termination of their student status. If the final examination is taken at a later date, the candidate shall not be required to take an equivalency examination, but shall take the final examination in accordance with the program and outcome requirements in force for the final examination at the time of the examination. Students who started their studies after 1 September 2012, may not take a final examination after the fifth year following the termination of their student status.