EXAMINATIONS AND ASSESSMENT OF POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS

The educational work of each academic year is structured into two semesters, the winter and the spring semester, each consisting of at least 13 weeks of teaching and three weeks of examinations. Courses of both semesters are re-examined during the September examination period.

Attendance of courses/laboratories, etc., is mandatory.

In case a course cannot be conducted, a make-up session is scheduled. The date and time of the replacement are announced on the MSc program website.

If a student’s absences exceed 20% per course, there is a possibility of dismissal. This matter is examined by the Coordinating Committee, which makes a recommendation to the Department Assembly.

The evaluation of postgraduate students and their performance in the courses they are required to attend is carried out at the end of each semester through written or oral examinations or through assignments completed throughout the semester. The method of assessment is determined by the course instructor. Grading is based on a scale of 1–10. Course grades are submitted to the MSc Secretariat within 20 days from the end of the examination period.

To obtain the MSc degree, each postgraduate student must successfully attend and pass all courses offered in the program and complete a Master’s thesis, thus accumulating a total of one hundred and twenty (120) ECTS credits.

If a postgraduate student fails a course more than twice, either during the regular examination period of the current semester or during the September resit period, and is therefore considered not to have successfully completed the program according to the Regulations, they may be examined, upon request, by a three-member committee of faculty members of the School or related departments of NKUA. The members of this committee must have the same or a related subject area to the course examined and are appointed by the School Assembly. The course instructor responsible for the examination is excluded from this committee (Law 4485/2017, article 34, paragraph 6).

In the 4th semester of the program, the preparation of a Master’s Thesis is required. The Coordinating Committee, following an application by the candidate (which includes the proposed thesis title, the proposed supervisor—if not already assigned—and a summary of the proposed work), appoints the supervisor and forms the three-member examination committee for the approval of the thesis, one member of which is the supervisor (Law 4485/2017, article 34, paragraph 4).

The supervisor of the Master’s thesis must be a faculty member teaching in the MSc program and may be an active, emeritus, or retired professor. Members of the three-member examination committee may be all instructors of the MSc program who hold a doctoral degree in a relevant field.

The subject of the Master’s thesis must be research-oriented and original.

The thesis may be written in Greek or English.

The Master’s thesis must be research-oriented and approximately 15,000 words in length. This word count excludes the cover page, table of contents, abstract, bibliography, and appendices.

A. SELECTION OF TOPIC

Each student must select the topic of their thesis no later than the end of the 2nd semester, in consultation with their supervisor. Once the topic is selected and the members of the three-member committee are proposed by the Coordinating Committee, it is approved by the School Assembly. During the preparation of the thesis, the student and the three-member committee must collaborate.

Indicative stages of cooperation between postgraduate student and supervisor:

Literature review in a broad field of knowledge.

• Identification of research gaps in the literature related to the topic.
• Literature review in a specialized field related to the topic.
• Presentation of this specialized literature to the supervisor.
• Discussion of research interests and problems for designing the study. Identification of 2–3 significant research questions forming the basis of the thesis.
• Writing the research proposal according to research methodology principles.

B. CONTENT

The content must correspond to the topic stated in the title and remain focused throughout. The importance of the topic must be explained, and key concepts must be clearly analyzed. A key indicator of quality is whether the thesis is suitable for publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals (medical, sports medicine, exercise physiology, coaching, psychology, nutrition, etc.) or presentation at international or Greek conferences.

C. FORMAT

1. It must follow the basic rules of scientific article presentation as taught in the course “Research Methodology”.

Specifically:

1.1 The title must reflect the content.

1.2 It must include an abstract in both Greek and English.

1.3 It must include an introduction stating the purpose and outlining the chapters. Chapters must have titles.

1.4 References must be cited within the text and listed at the end according to international standards (APA format).

2. Models and formulas must be fully explained, and standardized terminology and notation should be used in both Greek and English.

1. COVER PAGE:

MSc IN EXERCISE & HEALTH

NATIONAL AND KAPODISTRIAN UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS

MEDICAL SCHOOL

MASTER’S THESIS

Candidate’s Name (CAPITAL LETTERS)

Thesis Title e.g. …………………

ATHENS, YEAR

2. INNER TITLE PAGE (1st certification)

This thesis was prepared in the context of studies for the award of the Master’s Degree in

“EXERCISE & HEALTH”

awarded by the Medical School of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens

Approved on ………………… by the examination committee:

NAME – RANK – SIGNATURE

(Supervisor) PROFESSOR …………

(2nd Member) ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR …………

(3rd Member) ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR …………

3. DEDICATION PAGE (optional)

4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (optional)

5. TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapters and subchapters with page numbers

FINAL PAGES

ABSTRACT (in Greek and English)

BIBLIOGRAPHY

D. SUBMISSION AND PRESENTATION PROCEDURE

1. Theses are presented on scheduled dates determined at the beginning of each academic year by the Coordinating Committee. The exact date and time are set by the Secretariat in agreement with the committee and the candidate.

2. Attendance of thesis presentations by all first- and second-year students is mandatory. Each student must attend at least 10 presentations to be eligible to present their own thesis.

3. The thesis must be submitted to the three-member committee one (1) month before the presentation.

4. The presentation is conducted using a computer and lasts 30 minutes, followed by 20 minutes of questions from the committee and 10 minutes from postgraduate students. Slides must be adapted for presentation (not direct copies of thesis pages).

5. Before the presentation, the student must submit one printed copy and a CD to the Secretariat.

Approved theses are mandatorily uploaded to the official website of the Medical School of NKUA.

Additionally, the thesis must be electronically submitted to the digital repository “PERGAMOS,” in accordance with the decisions of the NKUA Senate.