The chairperson of state examination board, opponent and supervisor of master’s thesis may specify the literature which students need to study for the purpose of defense. However, this requirement must take account of availability of respective sources or time period necessary for their obtaining.

The Master degree thesis is the result of the student's own work. It must not show elements of academic fraud and must meet the criteria of correct research practice defined in the Rector's Decision no. 21/2021, which lays down the rules for assessing plagiarism at Pavel Jozef Šafárik University in Košice and its constituents. Fulfillment of the criteria is verified mainly in the process of supervising and in the process of the thesis defense. Failure to do so is grounds for disciplinary action.

To obtain the required number of credit points in the structure prescribed by the study plan.

The state examination board will decide on students’ assessment. Final assessment consists of the following elements:

Assessment in the supervisor’s review - 20 %

Assessment in the opponent’s review - 40 %

Discussion within defense - 40 %

Contentual and formal (language) aspect of student’s verbal and written presentation of knowledge will be reflected in the final assessment in the following ratio: 80 % : 20%.

English

The aim:

The aim of the course Master’s Thesis Defense is that the students demonstrate their interest in the selected topic, mastering of the topic from both theoretical and practical point of view, as well as the competence to apply acquired knowledge in a creative way by working independently.

Verification of student’s acquired competences in compliance with the graduate profile.

Syllabus:

KAA 2026 Thesis Defense – information for students:

1. The student briefly, without a paper or presentation, presents his/her thesis. He/she presents the topic and objectives (not the title), research questions (linguists), research questions and hypothesis (others), data collection method (if applicable), primary sources, research methodology, most important conclusions. He/she speaks for no longer than 4 minutes.

2. The student responds to the opponent's questions, should have a printed opponent's report, may also use homework preparation on paper, but may not read from it, may only read if it is necessary to cite from sources.

3. The student responds to the supervisor's questions, if they are in the supervisor's report, should have a printed supervisor's report, may also use homework preparation on paper, but may not read from it, may only read if it is necessary to cite from sources.

4. Discussion on the theoretical and methodological part of the thesis, where the student demonstrates to the committee detailed knowledge of the theoretical and methodological foundations of their work, their sole authorship, and proves that the text of the thesis was not created by AI tools (the use of AI in searching for and identifying relevant sources and language control of the text must be stated in the Introduction text, RR No. 1/2025 applies https://www.upjs.sk/app/uploads/sites/7/2011/05/RR-1_2025_AI-na-UPJS_final.pdf).

Students are evaluated based on the opinions of opponents (40%) and supervisors (20%), based on the level of presentation of the thesis (including compliance with the 4-minute time limit), based on answering/not answering questions from opponents, supervisors and committee members, while linguistic expression and overall appearance, manner of expression and self-presentation (40%) will also be evaluated.

We recommend that students respect the basic requirements for a formal dress code, as these are state exam subjects.

The student's assessment is made by the state examination board. The assessment will comprehensively take into account proven knowledge, especially the ability of its creative application. In the final evaluation, instead of presenting isolated facts, emphasis is placed on the ability to think in context based on the knowledge gained during the course of study across the field. The state examination board will further assess the content and formal (linguistic) side of the student's performance.

The Master degree thesis demonstrates mastery of extended theory and professional terminology of the field of study, acquisition of knowledge, skills and competences in accordance with the declared profile of the graduate of the study program, as well as the ability to apply them in an original way in solving selected problems of the field of study. The student demonstrates the ability of independent professional work in terms of content, formal and ethical aspects. Further details of the Master degree thesis are determined by Directive no. 1/2011 on the essential prerequisites of final theses and by the Study Rules of Procedure at UPJŠ in Košice for the 1st, 2nd and combined 1st and 2nd degree.

The aim of the course Master’s Thesis Defense is that the students demonstrate their interest in the selected topic, mastering of the topic from both theoretical and practical point of view, as well as the competence to apply acquired knowledge in a creative way by working independently.

Verification of student’s acquired competences in compliance with the graduate profile.

The updated list of recommended literature is available on the Department’s website.

To obtain the number of credits required by the study plan.

English

The aim of state examination is to demonstrate professional knowledge. Students are required to present their general knowledge of partial areas of the specialization. They also need to prove that their knowledge of the particular area corresponds to the deeper interest in the selected issue and exceeds the standard content and scope of subjects of the given study level. The chairman of state examination board, guarantor of study programme or guarantor of the respective area will specify the literature which students need to read and study for the purpose of state examination. The literature will be specified in line with the learning path to achieve learning outcomes, selected by a student, separately for each module, Module 1 The English language and culture and Module 2 Modern languages - the French language.

State examination board decides on students´assessment. Assessment fully reflects demonstrated knowledge, in particular the competence of creative application of knowledge. In final assessment, the emphasis is put on critical thinking making use of knowledge acquired during the study across the field of study rather than on presenting isolated facts. State examination board will further assess the content and form of student´s performance.

Verification of competences acquired by students in compliance with the graduate profile.