Law Students at UWP Graduate Without Thesis Through Accredited Journals, Some Even Reach SCOPUS!

SURABAYA – Universitas Wijaya Putra (UWP) Surabaya has made history in its student graduation process. For the 2025/2026 Academic Year, nearly all students graduated without writing a thesis—an increasingly rare approach that is now being adopted in the modern era.

This was directly stated by the Dean of the UWP Faculty of Law in his address during the graduation ceremony. He explained that law students now have an alternative graduation path by writing scientific articles published in accredited national journals, at least SINTA 4.

"Generally, students must complete a thesis to graduate. But at the UWP Faculty of Law, they can choose the scientific publication route. This is a concrete implementation of higher education flexibility in accordance with Permendikbudristek No. 53 of 2023," explained the Dean.

This policy is part of the Legalpreneur vision promoted by the UWP Faculty of Law—aimed at producing law graduates who are not only academically strong but also productive in generating scientific work with real impact in the field of law.

Dozens of articles by this year’s students successfully made it into accredited national journals, making them eligible to graduate. One of them, Kusnatun Kasanah, achieved an extraordinary accomplishment by publishing her article in a reputable international journal indexed by SCOPUS, the Bonum Commune Business Law Journal.

On the same occasion, a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Law expressed deep appreciation for the students’ achievements.

"Academic legacy is no longer just about passing exams or thesis defenses, but how students can contribute tangibly through documented scientific publications that can be widely read," he said.

He is also optimistic that this positive trend will lead the UWP Faculty of Law to achieve superior accreditation in the near future.

"With an increasingly strong publication culture, coupled with a growing number of doctoral-degree lecturers and prospective professors, we aim to achieve superior accreditation by 2027 at the latest," he emphasized.

This innovative step taken by the Faculty of Law at Universitas Wijaya Putra not only responds to government regulations but also reinforces the institution’s commitment to equipping students with relevant skills in the academic and professional world. Amid changing paradigms in higher education, UWP demonstrates that scientific publication can be the future path for legal education in Indonesia.