Final examination: procedures and deadlines

Students who are graduating in March 2026 cannot change the study plan submitted in the AY 2024/25.

Students who are graduating in March 2025 cannot change the study plan submitted in the AY 2023/24.

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In order to get your degree, you need to pass a public final exam, written and oral, and if necessary, supported by presentations, videos, audios etc.

During the final exam you are expected to show your skills in critically interpreting historical sources as well as your ability in projecting, writing, and presenting a dissertation that originally faces an important historical and cultural issue.

The final exam of the Master's degree will be assigned preferably in a discipline indicated by the student. This discipline should normally be present in the study plan. The thesis supervisor is either the academic responsible for the teaching activity or the teacher with whom the student has taken the exam for the teaching activity. The student may, however, apply to the Board of the Master’s degree, using the 'Interdisciplinary Thesis Form' (box on the side), to request the assignment of a teaching activity that is not included in the study plan, as long as it is consistent with the specific educational objectives of the Master's degree. In this case, the co-supervisor is appointed by the Board from among the faculty affiliated with the Master's degree course. This application is not necessary if the discipline in which the student wants to graduate is present in the curriculum of the Master’s degree in History and Oriental studies.

In order to get 24 CFU, your dissertation must be at least 150 pages long (2000 characters including spaces for each page = 300.000 characters)

Your dissertation may be enriched by audio and visual media and must be conducted under the supervision of one faculty member (relatore).

Students usually choose the supervisor of their dissertation among the faculty members who teach courses listed in their study plan.

In case you would choose a faculty member whose course is out of your study plan, you need to ask the Board of the Degree Program. The Board will also appoint a co-supervisor among the faculty members of the Degree Program.

Dissertation and abstract must be uploaded only in pdf format on Studenti Online by the dates in which you have completed all requirements.

ATTENTION: Students are advised that, starting from the March 2019 session, it will be necessary to request the degree thesis from your supervisor at least six months before the deadline for submitting the graduation application. This means that, by that date, the thesis topic must already be defined, and the outline of the work along with the corresponding bibliography must be submitted to the supervisor.

Your dissertation and presentation will be graded and points will be added to the average grade to get your final grade:

• 4 points (excellent): only in case of outstanding research and brilliant presentation
• 3 points (very good)
• 2 points (good)
• 1 point (fair)
• 0 points (passing grade)

If you get a total of 110 points, the Degree Board may decide to add honours (lode) to your final grade.

In their study plan, students can choose among three different options for taking the final examination (Options A, B and C of the curriculum). The second and the third options allow students to gain part of the 24 CFUs of the final exam abroad.

A) Final examination (24 CFUs): students write their dissertation without any institutional activities carried out abroad.

B) Final examination (12 CFU) with Preparation for the final examination abroad (12 CFU): 
Students conduct a research period abroad in agreement with their supervisor. 

• 12 CFUs are recognised for the period abroad, which is exclusively aimed at completing the final dissertation. The mobility abroad must be carried out solely and exclusively within the scope of:

1. call for applications for scholarships for research periods abroad aimed to prepare a master's degree thesis; these CFUs must be certified by the supervisor, who will verify the completion of the research carried out abroad.
2. periods abroad within mobility programs (e.g. Erasmus+; Overseas); the credits acquired at a partner university may be recognised in accordance with the supervisor.

• The remaining 12 CFUs relate to the completion of the dissertation work.

C) Final examination (12 CFU) with Internship abroad (6 CFU) and Preparation for the final examination abroad (6 CFU): 
Students conduct a research period abroad according with their supervisor. The Department of History and Cultures might provide some fundings.

• 6 CFUs are recognised for the period abroad, which is exclusively aimed at completing the final dissertation. The mobility abroad must be carried out solely and exclusively within the scope of:

1. call for applications for scholarships for research periods abroad aimed to prepare a master's degree thesis; these CFUs must be certified by the supervisor, who will verify the completion of the research carried out abroad.
2. periods abroad within mobility programs (e.g. Erasmus+; Overseas); the credits acquired at a partner university may be recognised in accordance with the supervisor.

• 6 CFUs are recognised for the internship that students carried out abroad in accordance with their supervisor. Mobility abroad for internships must be completed solely and exclusively within the scope of:

1. Erasmus+ mobility call for internships: CFUs need to be certified by the supervisor who will verify the completion of the internship.
2. mobility programs (e.g. Erasmus+; Overseas); credits acquired at a partner at a university or organisation or partner company may be recognised in accordance with the supervisor.

• The remaining 12 CFUs relate to the completion of the dissertation work.

Please note that the size requirements for the dissertation remain the same for options A, B and C.

If you intend to graduate in a subject that is not included in your degree programme's official curriculum AND study plan, please complete the form on this page and send it via e-mail to the Programme Coordinator for signature.

Once the coordinator has signed the form to confirm approval of your request, submit the fully signed document to the Segreteria Studenti (Student Administration Office).

To ensure that you meet the admission requirements for the final examination, it is advisable to send the form well in advance.

For further clarification, please contact the Ufficio didattico (Teaching Office).

Verification of the Originality of the Dissertation

The procedure is straightforward (see the attached file ‘Compilatio Instructions’ in the box on the side). All dissertations must undergo a plagiarism check and be uploaded at an advanced stage of completion no later than three days before the final submission deadline. The decision regarding the candidate’s admissibility will rest with the supervisor, who will critically assess the results provided by the software.

Students must upload their dissertation file via the Compilatio link provided by their supervisor for submission and originality verification.

For the 2024/2025 graduation sessions, the following deadlines apply for thesis upload:

•  Summer session: by 9 June 2025 (12:00 noon)
• Autumn session: by 11 October 2025 (12:00 noon)
• Winter session: by 16 February 2025 (12:00 noon)

For the 2025/2026 graduation sessions, the following deadlines apply for thesis upload:

• Summer session: by 9 June 2026 (12:00 noon)
• Autumn session: by 9 October 2026 (12:00 noon)
• Winter session: by 14 February 2027 (12:00 noon)

Important: The system does not allow uploads after these deadlines.

Disclosure of Generative AI Use

If generative AI has been used in the final thesis—for example, in the critically supervised development of the thesis structure or in the critically supervised drafting of sentences or paragraphs—this use must be explicitly acknowledged in the thesis, in accordance with the University’s policy available here.

The preparation of a thesis in a foreign language is approved by the Degree Programme Board, in accordance with the guidelines adopted by the Academic Senate on 7 April 2009 and subsequently amended on 7 February 2012.

Students intending to write their thesis in a foreign language must submit a written or electronic request to the Degree Programme Coordinator well in advance (i.e. no later than six months before the graduation application deadline, which is usually 15 September, 15 January, or 15 May). The request must include a statement of motivation and evidence of the supervisor's consent (it is recommended that the supervisor be copied in on the communication). Students enrolled in the Global Cultures curriculum are exempt from this requirement.

Students may write their thesis in a foreign language provided that they meet at least one of the following requirements:

• enrolment in a degree programme that includes the acquisition of credits (CFU)  in a foreign language in addition to the compulsory foreign language proficiency test;
• enrolment in a course of study offered in agreement with foreign universities that leads to the award of joint or double degrees;
• enrolment in a degree programme delivered wholly or partially in a foreign language;
• completing your thesis abroad or in collaboration with international research institutions;
• completing a period of study abroad during the course of their university career.

Cases not falling within the above categories may be assessed by the University Teaching Committee and/or the Degree Programme Board.

In addition to meeting the above requirements, eligible students must also fulfil the following conditions:

• the thesis must be written exclusively in one of the following languages: English, French, German, or Spanish;
• the thesis must be accompanied by a 1-2 page summary in Italian;
• the student must obtain the supervisor’s consent:  the supervisor is responsible for ensuring the overall quality of the dissertation, including its linguistic accuracy, to the best of their knowledge and ability.