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Final Examination

The Final Examination (AN/AM-501, ANN/AMN--ZV) ends the studies at the degree course by testing whether the Candidate possesses the necessary knowledge and is able to apply the acquired knowledge or not. From a legal point of view, the Thesis also forms part of the Final Examination, but in everyday terms (and consequently also on these pages) it is only the oral part of the final examination is what we call ``Final Examination''.

The prerequisites for the Final Examination are (i) the Final Certificate in English/American, (ii) an accepted Thesis (with a grade better than 1), (iii) certificate of the required language examination..

Candidates must register for the Final Examination at the TO, three months before the beginning of the exam period (ETVSz §66 (4)). The dates of the Final Examinations are determined in advance by the TO; so, requests regarding these should be addressed to them. On the given exam date Candidates must turn up at the relevant room at 9am. The Final Examination Committee sequences Candidates according to the availability of the Referees.

The Final Examination Committee consists of the chairperson and at least two members, one of whom is the Referee of the Candidate's Thesis. and the other -- in the case of a teacher's degree -- a specialist in methodology. One of the members is always an external expert (someone not employed by the Faculty). It does not influence procedures, however, if the chairperson or a member of the committee also happens to be the Supervisor of the Candidate. During the exam at least three committee members have to be present in the room.

Candidates wishing to hold a teacher's degree have to take the relevant examination at another date. This examination is organized by the Pedagogy Faculty (PPK).

The nature and subjects of the Final Examination

The candidate's exam lasts about 30 minutes. The main parts of the Final Examination are (A) the defence of the Thesis, (B) the main subject examination (in the topic assigned by the Head upon the submission of the Thesis title) and -- if the candidate wishes to receive a teacher's degree -- (C) the methodology examination.

A. Thesis defence

The defence aims to assess whether the Thesis was truly and completely written by the Candidate. It tests how well the candidate is able to argue for the opinions expressed in the study, including the refutation of contradictory opinions expressed by others whose work is cited in the Thesis. It also tests what answers the candidate can give to the questions and critical remarks expressed in the Referee's report (handed over to the Candidate prior to the exam and raised orally during the defence). The Candidate might be asked to elaborate on how the Thesis could be improved or further developed. The defence is moderated by the Referee (but, naturally, as at other parts of the exam, all the members of the committee may intervene or ask questions).

B. Main subject exam

This is a comprehensive exam in the previously assigned topic (fôtárgyi témakör). The complete list of topics and exam questions can be found here. Candidates are expected to draw a question from their topic and speak about it without preparation. If one of the questions matches the topic of the Thesis, that question is removed from the pile of cards before the Candidate draws one. (E.g., if the Thesis was written on G. B. Shaw, the topic which includes Shaw is removed from the pile.) The main subject exam is moderated by the chairperson of the committee or one of the members appointed by her.

The topic of the main subject exam is determined in advance by the Head when signing the Candidate's Thesis title submission form. If possible, the topic has to be related to the thesis, but may only be taken from the published list of topics. Thus all Candidates have to prepare for the questions of only one topic. Each topic contains at least twelve, continuously numbered questions, and Candidates are expected to prepare for all of the questions within their topic.

C. Methodology

Candidates wishing to obtain a teacher's degree have to take an exam in methodology (drawing one from the questions of topic 91) before the committee's expert in the field. at another date. This examination is organized by the Pedagogy Faculty (PPK) and includes an examination in pedagogy and psychology, as well.

Supplementary students with a BEd degree from ELTE CETT are exempt from all teacher training components, including this component of the Final Examination. Other supplementary students, however, do have to take a final exam in English methodology if they wish to obtain their teaching qualifications for secondary school level (középiskolai tanár). All supplementary students are exempt of the pedagogy/psychology part of the examination, accordingly they take the methodology exam together with the rest of their final examination.

If the candidate fails only the methodology component of the exam, the issuance of a degree without the teaching qualifications can be requested on the spot from the Committee.

Grading

The results of the oral exam (defence + main subject exam (+ methodology)) are graded independently by the members of the Committee and the average of their grades forms the grade of the oral exam. The oral exam and the Thesis constitute the grade of the Final Examination. The grade received on the Thesis may be given greater weight. In case of doubt, the chairperson decides on the final grade.

Retaking of the Final Examination

In case of failing a single component of the exam the student may make another attempt in the same exam period (ETVSz §67 (4)). The Final Examination can be retaken twice (i.e., attempted only three times; KTVSz §124).


edited by Péter Szigetvári <szigetva@seas3.elte.hu>
contents last touched Mon Mar 14 15:06:20 CET 2005