Minister Nadiem Makarim Changes Graduation Requirements for S-1 and D4, Here’s How You Graduate Without Thesis

TIME.CO, Jakarta – The Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbud Ristek), Nadiem Makarim, announced a new regulation regarding changes to the graduation requirements for undergraduate (S1) and graduate (D4) students in Indonesia, no longer writing thesis.

This announcement was made in the 26th episode of Merdeka learning discussion via YouTube channel KEMENDIKBUD RI on Tuesday 29th August 2023.

Under this new policy, students taking graduate and graduate programs are no longer required to write a thesis as a condition of obtaining a degree. This policy has also been strengthened through the Regulation of the Minister of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Permendikbudristek) No. 53 of 2023 on Quality Assurance of Higher Education.

Minister Nadiem Makarim stressed that final assignments will be replaced with alternative forms of final projects, such as prototypes, blueprints or other formats that reflect the experience and skills acquired by students during their studies. This change gives universities the freedom to find ways that are most relevant to students’ fields of interest.

“Applying project-based learning and assessment will later show graduate competency achievement in lieu of final theses and assignments,” said Nadiem.

Announcement

Nadiem also revealed that the new policy also falls under the “Freedom to Learn” agenda. He argues that not all areas of expertise can be measured by thesis. This is especially true for professional programs, where practical skills are more important than written work.

However, this does not mean that the norms become the elimination of theses. Because universities can still choose to apply a thesis if they consider it still current. Nadiem gives each tertiary institution the freedom to decide how best to measure the proficiency of its graduates.

This regulation also maintains the thesis as a requirement for applied masters and masters students. This is in line with the aim of further deepening research at higher education levels. With this change, Nadiem Makarim wants to create an educational system that is more dynamic and responsive to the needs of the world of work. This is an important step in the government’s transformation of education in Indonesia.

FANI RAMADHANI | SALSABILA NOVAANTI
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