2nd-Cycle Graduation Process

General Provisions Regarding the Thesis

1. The procedure for the preparation and defense of a master's thesis in the second-cycle study programme is governed by the Regulations on the Procedure for the Preparation and Defense of Thesis in First- and Second-Cycle Study Programmes at the University of Maribor (2021 in English; 2025 in Slovenian).

2. This summary of instructions regulate the specific procedures for the preparation and defense of a master's thesis in the second-cycle study program in Economics and Business Sciences at the UM FEB, and are to be used as an addendum to the aforementioned regulations.

3. The forms attached to this summary of instructions are used in the procedures for preparing and defending a Master's thesis in the second-cycle study program in Economics and Business Sciences.

4. Students must follow specific Guidelines regarding the use of generative AI tools when preparing, writing and designing their final thesis.

STEP 1: Choosing a Topic

Master's Thesis Topics and Mentors for the Study Year 2024/2025

Master's Thesis Topics and Mentors for ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS STUDIES for the Study Year 2025/2026

Master's Thesis Topics and Mentors for DATA SCIENCE IN BUSINESS for the Study Year 2025/2026

STEP 2: Topic Registration

A student enrolled in the second-cycle study program in Economics and Business Sciences is required to register the topic of their master's thesis with the consent of the proposed mentor as soon as possible at the beginning of the spring semester of the second year, but no later than the end of May of the second year.

The student submits the Application for the Master's Thesis Topic (Attachment 1) for the registration of the thesis topic to the Study in English Office alongside with three copies of the thesis proposal (four if a co-mentor is involved). The scope of the thesis proposal is limited to 3 to 5 pages, not including the list of references and sources.

The topic is valid for 1 year (the exact validity date of the topic is stated in the Decision on the Thesis, which you receive once the topic registration has been processed).

Extension of Topic:

The master's thesis topic can be extended once. Before the deadline for completing the final thesis, as specified in the Decision on the Thesis, the student must submit a Request for Extension of the Final Thesis Topic (Form 4) to the Study in English office.

ATTACHMENTS AND FORMS:

ATTACHMENT 1 ‒ APPLICATION FOR THE MASTER'S THESIS TOPIC

ATTACHMENT 1A ‒ APPLICATION FOR A CHANGE OF THE THESIS TOPIC (CHANGE OF TITLE)

ATTACHMENT 1B ‒ APPLICATION FOR A CHANGE OF THE THESIS TOPIC (CHANGE OF MENTOR AND/OR CO-MENTOR)

FORM 4 – REQUEST FOR EXTENSION OF THE FINAL THESIS TOPIC

MASTER'S THESIS PROPOSAL TEMPLATE

MASTER'S THESIS PROPOSAL

EXAMPLE OF A GOOD PROPOSAL

STEP 3: Preparation of the Thesis

1. The student of the second-cycle study programme Economic and Business Sciences prepares their master’s thesis in accordance with the guidelines outlined in the Master's Thesis Template.

2. The student must follow specific Guidelines regarding the use of generative AI tools when preparing, writing and designing their final thesis.

3. The master's thesis, whether in Slovene or English, must undergo language proofreading. A Statement of Language Proofreading (Form 3) is attached to these instructions. The signed statement must be submitted along with three hardbound copies of the master's thesis.

ATTACHMENTS AND FORMS:

FORM 3 – STATEMENT OF LANGUAGE PROOFREADING OF THE MASTER'S THESIS

MASTER'S THESIS TEMPLATE

STEP 4: Submission and Registration of the Submitted Thesis in DLUM

When the final version of the master’s thesis has been agreed upon with the mentor, the student may, in accordance with the prior agreement with the mentor, upload the thesis to DKUM for the purpose of obtaining the Similarity Check Report.

Link: dk.um.si/info/index.php/eng/upload-document

STEP 5: Submission and Recording of the Submitted Thesis (Soft-Bound Copies)

The submission of the master's thesis is conditional upon the completion of all other academic obligations as prescribed by the study programme, except for the defense of the master's thesis.
After finalizing the thesis with the mentor, the student may submit the documentation in one of the following ways:
Depending on the submission method, the mentor is responsible for forwarding the received documents to the Centre for Educational Activity.

If they received the electronic copies of the master’s thesis and attachments, the mentor must send to the Center for Educational Activities, no later than 14 days before the scheduled defense date, the printed and signed Statement on the Adequacy of the Thesis (ATTACHMENT 3), Proposal for the Appointment of the Defense Committee Members (FORM 2), completed and signed by the head of specialization, indicating the proposed date and time of the defense.
If they received the softbound copies of the master’s thesis and attachments, the mentor keeps one softbound copy of the thesis, submits two softbound copies to the chair and member of the defense committee (and, in case of co-mentorship, one copy to the co-mentor), and submits to the Center for Educational Activity, no later than 14 days before the scheduled defense date, the printed and signed Statement on the Adequacy of the Thesis (ATTACHMENT 3), along with the Proposal for the Appointment of the Defense Committee Members (FORM 2), completed and signed by the head of specialization, indicating the proposed date and time of the defense. If the head of specialization and the mentor are the same person, FORM 2 is signed by the head of department.

ATTACHMENTS AND FORMS:

Attachment 3 and Form 2 – STATEMENT OF THE MENTOR_CO-MENTOR ON THE ADEQUACY OF THE MASTER’S AND PROPOSAL FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION FOR THE DEFENSE OF THE MASTER'S THESIS

STEP 6: Appointment of the Thesis Defense Committee

1. The Dean of the Faculty issues a decision on the appointment of the defense committee members within 3 working days after receiving the proposal for the appointment of committee members.

2. The defense committee is composed of a chair and at least two members. The mentor and co-mentor are usually members of the committee but cannot be appointed as the chair. At least two members must be elected university teachers in the relevant subject field of the thesis, and the chair must be a university teacher.

3. After receiving the Decision on the Appointment of the Committee for the Defense of the Thesis, the following information must be sent by email to library.epf@um.si, in order to obtain a UDC classification for the master’s thesis:

Title of the master’s thesis,
Keywords,
Abstract in Slovenian,
Decision on the Appointment of the Committee for the Defense of the Thesis.

The UM FEB Library will assign a UDC classification to the master’s thesis within 3 working days. This classification must be included in the electronic or hardbound version of the thesis (on the page with the abstract in both Slovenian and English). Before the thesis defense, the master's thesis with the allocated UDC must be uploaded to the DLUM system once again.

A hardbound copy of the master’s thesis is submitted after a successful defense only if the student wishes to submit it, it is not mandatory.