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Final examination: modalities and deadlines

To graduate, you have to sit a final examination designed to verify that you have reached the education objectives set by the Degree Programme.

Topic Choice

In order to graduate, students have to write a final thesis. A thesis is an original scientific document that proves you are knowledgeable about the information learned throughout your graduate program. There are two types of thesis:

  • Project thesis focuses on the application of the studied topics and acquired skills to a real project. It is mainly carried out in a company and more rarely at the university.
  • Research thesis aims to study innovative approaches within one of the areas of interest relating to the degree course. It is mainly carried out in collaboration with a university researcher, but can also be carried out in collaboration with an external body as long as the purpose of research and innovation is recognized.

 

The work must be done under the guidance of a Supervisor. The Supervisor is a Professor from the Degree Programme the students should contact before starting the work on the final dissertation and should be chosen among the degree programme faculty. It is the thesis supervisor who, by assessing the subject of the thesis, determines its type (project/research).

 

In DTM, it must be linked to an internship that enables you to gain knowledge and practical skills related to your thesis topic. The internship is linked to the activity to be carried out: in the case of a project thesis, during the internship the student will be trained in the project's subject matter and will carry out its activities; similarly, in the case of a research thesis, the intern will collaborate with the research group in the field of research.

 

A thesis is not just a report of the internship activity but rather it is a comprehensive reworking of knowledge related to the internship topic including, among others, the analysis of related scientific literature.

 

Final grade

The Graduation Committee will evaluate the students’ whole academic career following specific guidelines: dissertation, curriculum of studies, time taken to complete their studies, transfers from another University or Degree Programme.

The Committee expresses their assessment with a grade out of 110. The evaluation will be considered to be positive with a grade between 66 (minimum) and 110 (maximum). In case of granting the maximum grade, the Committee might deliberate to grant the honours.

The final grade is the sum of the base score and the defense.

Base score

The base score is the CFU-weighted average of the exams passed during the second cycle degree calculated on a 110-point basis (i.e., the CFU-weighted average of the passed exams, which is expressed with a grade out of 30, is turned into a grade out of 110 by multiplying it by 110/30), plus possible bonuses. Bonuses are added to the CFU-weighted average on a 110-point basis as follows:

  • 0.33 points for each 30 cum laude grade registered
  • 1 point for graduating in due time
  • 2 points for the internship in a company (For students enrolled in the a.y. 2021/2022, 2022/2023 only)

Defense score

For students enrolled in academic year 2021/2022 and 2022/2023:

Up to a maximum of 5 points will be assigned upon defense responding to the following criteria:

  • Originality of the chosen topic
  • Methodological accuracy
  • Degree of in-depth topic analysis
  • Final dissertation writing and editing adequacy
  • Ability to expose topics

In order to earn the full 5 points, a co-examiner (controrelatore) is required. The co-examiner must be requested to the Degree Program Director by the Supervisor.

The request for a co-examiner must be submitted at least 30 days prior to the defense.

For students enrolled in academic year 2023/2024 onwards: 

- Maximum 5 points for project thesis

-Maximum 6 points for research thesis

Defense modalities

Upon defense, students must briefly discuss the results of their dissertation in front of a selected board of professors.

Each candidate will be given 15-20 minutes to defend; a power point presentation is recommended.

Important note: it is forbidden to add any logo of the University of Bologna in any part of the thesis or power point presentation

On campus graduations 

Final dissertations and graduation ceremonies shall be held in person.

Students may invite a number of guests determined by each Department based on logistics and organisation requirements. No maximum limit applies to the number of participants that can attend remotely.

For health reasons students may request to take the final examination online.

The final examination consists in writing a dissertation on a subject pertinent to your studies, elaborated in an original way, under the guidance of a supervisor. The dissertation will be discussed publicly during a specific final examination session in front of a Board.
The Board will assess your performance using your curriculum as a reference. During the dissertation discussion, you may use slides and the Commission may ask you in-depth questions on methods, results and any developments of your work

Graduation application

To submit your application online, you must access Studenti Online before the deadlines set for the application submission and the requirements.

Admission Requirements

In order to graduate, you must have:

  • sat all the exams in your study plan and had them recorded;
  • paid all tuition fees;
  • uploaded the dissertation in pdf format on Studenti Online. The dissertation can be uploaded multiple times, until the requirements deadline expires. When uploading the dissertation, the system will ask you to enter some key words and a brief abstract;
  • compiled the Alma Laurea questionnaire on Studenti Online.

The Student Administration Office will verify all requirements and will contact you if there are any issues, to allow you to regularise your position before the final examination.

The graduation application is valid for just one graduation session. If you graduate in a later session, you will have to re-submit your graduation application and pay only the duty stamp.