Complex Exam and Proposal Defense
The Complex Examination is composed of two parts.
A. Proposal Defense (Research Forum) — typically June
- Candidates submit their research plans in early May. The submitted plan is evaluated in writing by the supervisor and an independent reviewer who is teaching at the Faculty. The written evaluation uses the Pass / Fail scale. Copies of the written evaluations are provided to candidates prior to the Research Forum.
- At the Research Forum the candidate presents the research plan and progress in a short presentation (maximum 15 minutes). A presentation template (PowerPoint) is available for download. The supervisor and the reviewer attend the Forum and provide an oral evaluation of the plan immediately after the presentation.
- On the basis of the research topic the Forum chairman, in consultation with the supervisor and the reviewer, assigns to the candidate one bespoke, theory-intensive comprehensive question that covers relevant fields in business sciences; this personalised complex question is to be addressed during the subsequent oral examination.
B. Oral examination — mid-to-late June
- The oral examination consists of two questions: one generic (randomly drawn from a set of twelve standard questions common to all candidates) and the personalised question assigned at the Research Forum.
Entry requirements for the Complex Examination
- Fulfilment of all curricular study obligations (all coursework must be completed and grades recorded in the student information system). Even a single missing compulsory course disqualifies the candidate from the Complex Examination.
- Partial fulfilment of the publication requirements: candidates must have collected at least 4 publication points prior to the Complex Examination (publication points are earned only for items registered in MTMT).
- Candidates are responsible for registering their publications in the MTMT database (Magyar Tudományos Művek Tára; https://www.mtmt.hu/). Only MTMT-registered items are eligible for publication points.
Failure to meet the Complex Examination requirements
The following constitute failure to meet the Complex Examination obligations and may lead to termination of student status:
- An unsuccessful Complex Examination (one or both parts graded Fail and the candidate does not pass at the permitted repeat within the same semester).
- Failure to attend the scheduled regular or make-up Complex Examination.
- Failure to satisfy entry requirements (missing coursework or fewer than 4 publication points).
Complex exam topics 2026 (in progress)