The academic year consists of two semesters and student registration takes place during the first week of each semester. Attendance is compulsory for all courses. Students are expected to complete their graduate studies in three semesters but this can be extended to a maximum of six semesters for full-time students or eight semesters for part-time students. The total time for the completion of a Ph.D. degree can not exceed seven year for full-time students or eight years for part-time students.

Also in exceptional circumstances students can be eligible for temporary leave of absence for a maximum of two semesters. Students applying for leave of absence 'for personal reasons' must consult the Students Welfare Officer of the University.

Each student of the Department has a member of teaching staff as her/his academic advisor. Academic advisors hold meetings with their tutees, advise them on all matters relating to their studies, oversee their academic progress and confirm that their choice of courses is in agreement with the degree requirements. Students are expected to consult their academic advisors regularly throughout their studies and keep her/him informed about theirs academic progress.

Students are required to complete and submit to the Academic Affairs and Student Welfare Service the course selection form within the first two weeks of the semester. They are responsible for selecting their semester courses and for consulting their advisor to confirm that their selection satisfies the formal degree requirements. Full-time and part-time enrolments are available to master’s students. Part-time students register for at least two courses per semester until they satisfy the course requirements of their degree. Students can withdraw from a course and/or select more courses during the first three weeks of the semester. Withdrawal from a course before the seventh week of the semester is also possible, in this case however this will appear in the course transcript.

Admission

Cypriots living in Cyprus are admitted to the Department on the basis of the results achieved in Entrance Examinations organised by the Ministry of Education. The candidates are required to take the following examination papers: Modern

Greek, English, Mathematics and either History or Physics or Political Economy or Technology or Computer Science. Eligible to take these examinations are persons with Cypriot citizenship. Persons without Cypriot citizenship are also eligible if at least one of their parents is of Cypriot origin.

The University regulations allow the Department to consider for admission Cypriots resident abroad (except Greece) with the following qualifications:

Grading System

The grading of students is based on some combination of written and/or oral final examinations, mid-term examinations, written or other assignments, class work. The particular combination and weighting of the grading methods applied to each course are defined in the course description handed to the students during the first week of the semester.  The dates of the mid-term examinations are also announced in the course description.
 
The grading is on the scale 0-10 with .5 intervals. The lowest pass mark is 5. The degree award is graded on the basis of the weighted average grade achieved in all courses. The marks obtained in each course are given in the course transcript. The weight given to each course in grading the degree award is described below.
A student can be given an ‘incomplete mark’ in a course only under substantiated exceptional circumstances (e.g. illness). The procedure for a mark to be deemed incomplete is as follows: (i) the teacher of the course, must complete with the student and submit to the Board of the Department and the University the incomplete mark contract, specifying the date by which course requirements have to be met. If the mark is not completed by the time agreed then the incomplete mark is changed automatically to ‘0’ and this becomes the final mark for the course.

A student must repeat compulsory courses they have failed. Following two consecutive failures in the same compulsory course the Board of the Department can recommend to the Senate his/her expulsion from the University. This also applies to cases where a student fails in more than two compulsory courses in the same semester. All course failures appear on the course transcripts. Students wishing to attend a course without having satisfied the prerequisites must have permission from the teacher of the course.

Students with an average mark below 5 in a semester are deemed to be ‘on probation’. The Board of the Department can recommend to the Senate to expel students from the University if they remain on probation for two consecutive semesters.

A student can appeal to the Department for his/her final course mark, requesting his examination paper to be re-marked. This request has to be made in writing to the Head of the Department. The teacher of the course re-grades the paper and makes a recommendation to the Board of the Department the decision of which is communicated to the student. The new mark awarded can be the same, higher or lower than the previous mark
 
Incomplete grade

Students may receive a grade of “incomplete” in exceptional circumstances (such at documented medical or personal reasons).
Students are expected to know and abide by the University regulations. Plagiarism or other forms of examination deceit are considered punishable offences and will be referred to the University Disciplinary Committee for further action. The University disciplinary regulations are available from the Student Affairs office of the University. 

Prizes

The Department awards prizes to the best first, second and third year students and the best three final year students. The awards are made by the Board of the Department purely on the basis of academic merit.