Final examination: modalities
To graduate, you have to sit a final examination designed to verify that you have reached the education objectives set by the Degree Programme.
Updated: August 21, 2024
General Information
At the end of their study path, there will be a final examination. In order to be admitted, the EPOS student must have earned sufficient credits from the modules and learning activities.
The final examination consists of a written exam on an assigned topic through which the student demonstrates that she or he has acquired the knowledge and the methodological skills throughout the threee years of study. The student should show autonomy in preparing for the final exam and tackle the topic from an interdisciplinary perspective.
Two months before the final examination takes place, the student is notified of three macro-themes that will be the subject of the exam. On the day of the test, the specific issues that the commission has assigned for each macro-theme is communicated and the student can choose which theme to pursue. The test is held in English and, unless otherwise specified, is carried out by computer in an IT laboratory. The Graduation Commission will evaluate the students exams within five days from the date of the test. The Commission may occasionally call students for a short interview to clarify the content of the exam. The evaluation results in the assignment of a grade, ranging from 0 to 3 points. The proclamation will follow, with the announcement of the overall grade.
The candidate must participate in person to write the Final essay and on Graduation Day (proclamation), as indicated in the University-wide rules. We will communicate the schedule for the Final essay and of the Graduation Day (via Students OnLine).
Method of conducting the final examination
- About two months before the date set for the Final essay, three macro-topics are published online on this page. The candidate will choose the macro-theme on the day of the Final essay, not before.
- On the day of the Final essay, the Commission announces the three specific questions, each one associated a macro-theme. Each candidate chooses the question to tackle.
- The candidate has up to 3 hours to write the Final essay, which cannot exceed 15,000 characters.
The three macro-topics for the September 2024 session are (i) Ageing in Western Societies, (ii) The Crisis of Globalization, (iii) Ukraine’s Path: Conflict and European Integration .
The three macro-topics for the October 2024 session are (i) Global warming and migration flows , (ii) Artificial intelligence and automation , (iii) Global governance in times of war .
Rules for the Final Essay
- Access to the test is granted through Unibo institutional credentials (yourname@studio.unibo.it + password).
- Once the test has begun, the student may not withdraw.
- Under no circumstances may the student refuse the evaluation and ask for a retake of the test.
The Final essay is designed to assess the candidate's ability to address the proposed topic using all the skills acquired during the three-year period. In addition to maturity of argumentation, syntactic correctness is also asked. Spelling and/or structural errors will be penalized. Grading takes place within five working days after the Test is held. The points assigned for the Final essay are completely independent and can have no relation to the grade point average earned in previous classes. You will be informed about your final grade only during the proclamation cerimony at Graduation Day.
Your Overall EPOS Grade
While exam grades are on a 18-30 scale, the final grade is on a 66-110 scale. Such final grade is the result of the starting grade + the bonuses (see below). The starting grade is the mathematical average of all of your exam marks weighted on the corresponding credit point values, converted into a mark in the 66-110 scale.
- Courses and activities in your records that are not graded, that is those assessed on a pass/fail basis, such as internships or idoneità, do not count towards the starting grade.
- The value resulting from previous calculations is rounded up to the nearest integer value: if the decimal point is equal to or higher than 5 then the score is rounded up, whereas if the decimal point is lower than 5 it is rounded down.
- Exams from previous academic careers appearing on your records as “acknowledged” will not count towards the starting grade (however, if the were recognized via the “transfer from another Italian university” procedure, they will count).
- To students whose academic curriculum is particularly deserving and whose final essay is high quality, the Graduation Board may decide to award honours (110 e lode).
Bonuses
Your final grade may benefit from adding the following bonus points to your starting grade.
Final essay:
0 to 3 points
Lodi Bonus:
For every exam passed with honorus (30 e lode) 0.33 points are added
Speed Bonus:
1st session of your third year (July): 3 points
2nd and 3rd (the following September and October): 2 points
4th (the following March): 1 point
Graduation Day
The Graduation Day will take place few days after the day of written exam. The calendar for the Final Examination will be available on Studenti Online (see also the side bar on this webpage). Through this channel, the date, time, place and members of the Graduation Commission will be announced. The President (or his delegate) will proceed with the proclamation of the candidates.
Your guests may be able to participate to the proclamation cerimony in presence or remotely. To allow your guests to participate in the graduation session remotely, click on the "Guests" button in the graduation application on Studenti Online: you will receive an e-mail containing the credentials that must be used to authenticate on Teams and access the virtual classroom of the session. Credentials can be used by multiple people at the same time. Only then does it disclose the link in the call.
Graduating students and guests are required to comply with certain rules of conduct during graduation sessions. Be at the meeting location with the utmost punctuality, respecting the convocation time. The celebrations must take place exclusively outside the structure, avoiding any excess and taking care to maintain a sober and appropriate behavior. However, it is strictly forbidden to dirty the occupied spaces (inside and outside the structure) with food, drinks, confetti. In case of disturbances, the President of the Graduation Committee is authorized to suspend the session.