Final examination for students enrolled in degree programme L 8048

How to register for the final examination

It is necessary to fill in the online degree application (see attachments "online application manual" and "rules and deadlines 8048").

In order to graduate, students must pass a final test of interdisciplinary nature.

Final examination procedure

Based on the resolution issued by the University of Bologna, final examinations will be taken in person.

The Final Examination is organized as follows:

• one month before the date set for the final examination, the three macro-themes covered by the test will be published online. The candidate will notify the committee her choice on the day of the test by selecting one of the proposed themes (see point B below).
• At the beginning of the final examination the specific theme assigned to each macro-theme is communicated. The student chooses which theme she proposes to develop.
• The chosen theme must be carried out within the peremptory term of 4 hours and its length must be contained in 15,000 characters.

By way of example, the macro-themes could be:

1. Globalization, which could be specified by the topic: "Discuss economic, social and political transformations in the era of globalization".
2. The collective security system, which could be specified by the theme "Discuss the collective security system theorized and implemented in the 20th Century in the Western world, from the failure of the Society of Nations up to the United Nations Organization, with particular reference to the role played by regional organizations and to peacekeeping processes".
3. The great economic crises, which could be specified by the theme "Discuss, even with reference to a case study, the political consequences of the great economic crises"

Final examination rules

• Once the test has started, the student cannot withdraw.
• In no case can the student refuse the evaluation and ask for the test to be repeated.
• The candidate who submits a blank assignment sheet or a totally off-topic paper will be invited to repeat the test in the next graduation session.

Evaluation criteria for the final examination

The final examination is designed to evaluate the candidate's ability to tackle the proposed topic by using all the skills acquired during the three-year period of study. By the very nature of the Degree Course, particular relevance is ascribed to the candidate's ability to develop an interdisciplinary approach by highlighting, where possible, complementarity, shared elements and differences between the various approaches. The candidate is not required to develop new and original arguments. In addition to the maturity of the argument, syntactic correctness is also required. Spelling and/or structural errors will be penalized.

Final degree mark

The final degree mark is made up of the average of the marks obtained in the exams taken during the three-year course of study plus the points related to the assessment of the Final Exam and possible award points.

• from 0 to 3, depending on the assessment
• from 0 to 2, for tests with spelling or syntactic errors due to numerous typos.

Furthermore, in the case of tests containing structural gaps in the drafting of the text, the evaluation of the Final Exam can be reduced by 2 points (that is, once the content of the Final Exam has been assessed and the grade assigned, this can be reduced by 2 points). In no case will the score obtained from the whole university career (i.e. the one obtained before the final exam) be decreased.

Distribution of award points

• Award for graduation in progress: 2 points if the student graduates in July and September sessions; 1 point if the student graduates in the October session;
• Internationalization Award: 1 point if the student has participated in an internationalization program (Erasmus, Overseas, or other agreed programs);
• Average award: 2 points if the student has an average equal to – or greater than – 102; 1 point if the student has an average equal to – or higher than – 94.

Graduating students who exceed 110 with the points assigned to the final exam are not automatically entitled to "honors", which can be assigned at the discretion of the examination committee.

Graduation sessions are in: July, September, October, and March.

The last exam must be taken within the indicated deadline for possession of the relevant requirements (see the "Deadline rules" in the attached section).

Deadlines to remember:

To graduate, students must submit an online graduation application within the established deadlines. Students who have enrolled will be allocated to the various graduation committees. The macro-themes and the calls will be made public on the site. Students can take the last exam by the deadline indicated for "possession of the relevant requirements" (see attached Deadline rules).

If the graduate student no longer intends to participate in the Final Exam to which he/she had previously enrolled, he/she must send, within the scheduled time,a written communication to the Student Administrative Office.

For further information write to: didatticaforli.lsid@unibo.it