During the academic year, for each of the courses, training sessions are held as follows: six (6) two-hour meetings with the lecturer for each course, who is responsible for informing, guiding, advising and evaluating students. These meetings are primarily aimed at the general support of students as well as in the elaboration, deepening and development of all what students are studying. Student’s presence at these meetings is not mandatory. However, the experience so far has shown that the student’s participation in them contributes to a fuller understanding of the subject matter, and in addition, increases the probability of a more positive student performance, both in the midterm assessments, and in the final examinations.
Each course is evaluated through the completion of one midterm assessment which is explicitly mentioned in the study curriculum and the study guides (essays, literature critiques, article manuscript for the university’s student journal etc.) during the semester, and final examinations at the end of the semester in appropriate locations identified in time, according to the geographic distribution of the students. Should a student not attend the examination, or has failed to take a winter or spring semester examination, he or she is entitled to re-sit the examination.
Midterm assessment can take various forms as described earlier like essays, research articles, presentations, literature critiques, book reviews etc, during the semester and corresponds corresponds to 40% of the final grade, while the final exam is 60%. For the student to succeed in a course, he / she must take both on the final grade and the midterm assessment a grade of at least 50%. The interactivity and formative assessment form part of the learning and teaching methodology.
In the third semester students complete their Dissertation which corresponds to 30 ECTS. The length of the thesis depends on the type. In the case of a bibliographic thesis, it cannot be less than 12,000 words and more than 15,000 words. The bibliography, the annexes and the abstract are not included. After submission, the supervisor submits a written and reasoned report, with the student’s consent, to the members of the committee. Support for the thesis is done publicly or via an electronic videoconference before a three-member committee.