Thesis Writing Requirements for the LL.M. and MA Degrees:Short Thesis track (IBL/CCL):The writing requirement for students studying for an LL.M. in International Business Law and Comparative Constitutional Law is fulfilled by the submission of a paper ("short thesis") of about 30 - 70 pages (between 8000 - 18000 words) within the field of one of the courses taken by the student. The initial structure of the short thesis shall be submitted to the Professor for comments; this will serve as the basis for acceptance by the Professor. Beyond this, the Professor is not expected to advise students regarding the short thesis.
Students writing a short thesis shall pass the final exam of the relevant course. The final grade for the course is calculated on the basis of the result of the final exam and grade for the short thesis. In principle, the short thesis is worth 50% of the final grade in the relevant course.
If the difference between the grade received for the relevant course and the grade received for the thesis is exactly one grade level [e.g. A- and B+], then the final grade for the course will be the same as the grade received for the short thesis. If this difference is bigger, then the average of the two grades shall become the final grade.
Students have to submit their short thesis by March 29, 2010.
Long Thesis Track:Students in Economics and Legal Studies shall submit long thesis which is worth 12 credits. The thesis has to be on topics that involves both law and economics. Each thesis will have two supervisors, one from each department. As an exception, IBL and CCL LL.M. students interested in a teaching career, planning to undertake S.J.D studies or having other justified reasons to take a more demanding course of studies, may be admitted to the "long thesis track" upon consent of the respective Program Chair. Students writing a long IBL and CCL LL.M. thesis shall obtain 21 course credits. A long LL.M thesis is an original scholarly research paper on a comparative or theoretical legal subject, approximately 70 - 150 pages long (between 18000-38000 words).
A student may switch from a short to a long thesis under the following conditions:
1. proof of a serious academic reason,
2. modifies the title and subject of the thesis;
3. Attachment of the recommendation and declaration of intent of undertaking supervision of the long thesis by the respective professor. The deadline for submitting such a request is: February 6, 2009. The Program Chair may grant an additional exception in case the student makes an application to the S.J.D program.
A student may request to switch from the long to the short thesis until February 6, 2009, provided that the student has collected at least 10 credits in Modules I - III.
Please note: Central European University holds the copyright for all theses submitted to the Legal Studies Department as part of students' degree requirements.
Human Rights Thesis:The degree requirement for the MA and LL.M. in Human Rights is the submission of a thesis of 50 - 100 pages (between 10000 - 20000 words). The thesis should be submitted to the Academic Planning Assistant.
The topic of the LL.M./M.A. thesis is approved and the thesis advisor nominated by the Program Chair. Students must not change the topic (title) of their thesis without formal written approval from both their advisor and the Program Chair.