Diploma Thesis and the Assignment Process
The Diploma Thesis has the content and the minimal duration (one complete academic semester, the 10th) of a high level assignment. With the Diploma Thesis the specialization, provided by the courses in the last semesters of the Studies, is completed.
The Diploma Thesis is prepared by the final semester students in a Department and cognitive object of their choice, under the supervision of a School member of the chosen Department, who teaches the most relevant course, with the potential restriction of Section iv. The choice of the Department and the Diploma Thesis subject is made after the student applies to the Secretariat of the School, according to the academic calendar of the School. The determination of the Diploma Thesis subject and the Sector is done:
- By selecting from a list of specific Diploma Thesis subjects that each School member announces at the beginning of each academic semester.
- With direct agreement between the student and the School member.
- After a proposal by the student, provided that a School member accepts it.
- By an application of the student to the School.
Following the definition of the Diploma Thesis subject, the supervisor informs the Head of the Department, who keeps a record of the Diploma theses in the Department, and the Secretariat of the School, so that the applications are forwarded to the Board of Directors for the final approval and distribution of the Diploma Theses.
Each School member has the right and obligation of supervising Diploma Theses, in the field of the courses they teach or in relevant scientific fields.
In order to ensure the effective supervision and the balanced distribution of educational work among the School members, each School can define, according to the Sectors advice, a low and upper limit of Diploma Theses supervised simultaneously by a School member.
Since one of the main objectives is the enhancement of student initiative, the Diploma Thesis development is done by each student individually. If required by the nature of the thesis subject, and after the appropriate justification, a team of students can realize the Diploma Thesis provided that each student’s individual contribution to the work development and to the thesis presentation is distinct. The extent of the Diploma Thesis should be the appropriate, so that its completion is feasible in one academic semester of full time work, even though the real completion time depends on the student’s ability to fulfill the thesis requirements and his commitment.
Diploma Thesis development, submission and examination
The Diploma Thesis is developed under the student’s responsibility, with the continuous monitoring and help of the supervisor. The Sector is responsible for the unhindered development and presentation of the Diploma Thesis, using the means it allocates and, if it is needed, in collaboration with the Institution’s printing facility. Before each examination period, the supervisor fills out the relevant printed form certifying the initial acceptance of the Diploma Thesis that he/she supervises. After the initial acceptance of the Diploma Thesis, the additional expenses of the student until the final presentation are covered by the Departments or the Schools that are eligible for credit with the corresponding sums of functional expenses, supplies, etc. The eligible Departments or Schools are credited from the State’s Budget, after their application, at the beginning of the academic year with an upper limit determined by the Senate.
The final version of the Diploma thesis is submitted according to the academic calendar and in time, i.e. at least ten (10) working days before the defined examination day. The Diploma Thesis is submitted to the Department Administration, initially in three copies that are forwarded immediately to the three members of the examination committee. The finally approved copy remains in the possession of the supervisor, while two more copies are obligatorily submitted to the School library and the Central Library and are available for lending.
The Diploma Thesis presentation text is composed using a text processor and an approved template by the School General Assembly and it should include the following:
- Synopsis (1.200 to 2.000 words) and Summary (300 to 500 words) in Greek and a foreign language (preferably English).
- Table of contents.
- References.
The presentation is given by the student orally and in public, on dates set in the academic calendar of the School and according to the program defined by the School Secretariat. Each presentation should be minimum forty five (45-60) minutes long.
The examination and marking of the Diploma Thesis is performed by a three-member School Committee, proposed by the Department General Assembly and approved by the School’s General Assembly or the Board of the School, in case it is authorized. The committee consists of the supervisor, a possible common member and a member with relevant specialization. In case a Diploma Thesis is assigned to a student from a different School, the third member of the examining committee should be from the most relevant Sector of that School.
If a student does not pass the Diploma Thesis oral examinations, he/she can repeat the examination in the next period, after submitting an application. If he fails again, he applies for a new subject in the same or different scientific field, in order to be examined in another period.
Evaluation criteria of Diploma Theses
The main evaluation criteria are the following:
- Updating of the existing knowledge level with the corresponding literature research.
- Acquisition of special data (data from lab experiments or field data or theoretical results).
- Logical process (e.g. process of assembled data, definition of mathematic models, trials in computers, applications in concrete problems, evaluation of results).
- Structure and the written presentation of the Diploma thesis, e.g. the continuity of text, the right use of terminology and language, the precise formulation of concepts, the adequate documentation of scientific conclusions, etc.
- Originality.
- Student’s eagerness and initiatives.
- Thesis oral presentation.
The weighting factors of the above criteria depend on the nature of the thesis subject, and they are in the judgment of the examining committee. For the thesis final degree synthesis it is recommended to use special printed forms. The Thesis final grade is the mean value of the three examiners grades, rounded to the nearest integer or half integer. The lower grade, for successful examination, is 5.5. (Scale is 0-10).
From the five years Course Programme of the School and the Diploma Thesis of the fifth year, it can clearly be concluded that the Diploma offered to the students by N.T.U.A. is substantially at least equivalent to the Master’s Degree of acknowledged Anglo –Saxon universities.