Step 2: Presenting and defending the thesis in front of a committee of professors which ordinarily includes the thesis’ supervisor.

In order to take this step, the student must have passed all the other exams in their study plan, and needs to apply through this page. The professors sitting in the committee are determined about two weeks before the theses' presentations and defences: please see this page.

The presentation may rely on slides and should last no more than 15 minutes. It should initially describe the context of the thesis work and then focus on the most important and original content of the thesis. It is not necessary to bring a printed out copy of the thesis. After the presentation, the committee may ask the student questions about the thesis' content and its presentation.

The student's final grade in the MSc in Economics and Development is determined through the following steps.

• (a) The ECTS-weighted average of the grades earned by the student at all exams they passed is determined, excluding the exams for which the possible grades are just Pass/Fail, and excluding the grade of the thesis.
• (b) The average derived at (a) is multiplied by 11/3.
• (c) To the result derived at (b), the fraction 1/3 is added for each exam with grade 30 cum laude (for an integrated exam, 1/3 is added if and only if the grade is 30 cum laude for each of the modules of which the integrated exam consists). The result is rounded to its closest integer number, with rounding by excess if the decimal part is 0.5.
• (d) To the result derived at (c), the grade of the thesis (and of its presentation&defense) his added. The grade of the thesis is not greater than 7 and is determined by the committee mentioned at the beginning of Step 2.
• (e) The sum derived at (d) is the student's final grade for the MSc in Economics and Development, with the following exception. If the sum derived at (d) is at least 110, and the thesis has received a grade of 7, and the committee mentioned at the beginning of Step 2 unanimously agrees, then the final grade is 110 cum laude, that is 110 with distinction.

The graduation parchment will not be available the day of the thesis presentation and defense, but it will reach by surface mail (2-3 months later) the address the student has indicated when applying to take Step 2.