Procedure, calendar and graduation day

1. Application

The application for the graduation session is available 20 days before the deadline (consult the deadlines below). A graduation fee of €132 is due at the time of the application for the graduation session. If you decide not to graduate within the session you have chosen, you have to send an e-mail to the Registrar Office (Segreteria Studenti in Italian) at segecosta@unibo.it from your institutional e-mail address. The Registrar Office will cancel your reservation and allow you to book forthcoming sessions. In this case, no further fees are due within the same academic year.

2. Requirements fulfillment check

Candidates have to:

• Pay all due fees and/or taxes. The Registrar Office verifies the fulfillment of all the payments. In case of taxes are due after the aforementioned deadline, the candidates should fulfill the mandatory requirements within the deadline anyway (i.e. the fee related to integration for ERGO students).
• Pass all the exams included in their study plan. All exams you have passed throughout your career – which are part of your study plan – should be registered. 
  
• Fill in the “AlmaLaurea” online form. Candidates will find the appropriate link to Alma Laurea during the completion of their application (successful procedures will be acknowledged by the system within 2 hours).

3. The final thesis upload

Candidates have to upload their thesis in pdf format (max 30 MB) in the appropriate section of their application. It is not possible to upload a thesis after the deadline. Candidates who do not manage to upload it within the required terms are not allowed to graduate in the chosen session.

Candidates should check that the title of their thesis as indicated in the application is consistent with the title they have indicated in the pdf file. The title of the thesis can be modified within the upload deadline. Please remember that the indicated title will be included in degree certificates.

4. Approval of the final thesis

Your supervisor will approve the final dissertation within 3 days of the upload deadline. Please check the state of approval of your thesis and contact your supervisor if needed.

5. Graduation session

The graduation session usually covers more than one day. Students are informed about the exact date and the composition of the Graduation Board one week in advance through their institutional e-mail address. The information is also available at www.studenti.unibo.it in the Graduation section.

- Defense process and recommended behaviour

During the defense, candidates have about 10 minutes to discuss the dissertation and answer the possible questions from the Graduation Board. Candidates can use a set of slides using a computer that is available in each room.

Candidates and their guests are requested to respect the following rules of behaviour on graduation day:

• Arrive at the designated graduation site around 15 minutes before the assigned time (to upload the presentation and check-in).
• Wait for your turn and make sure you and your guests keep quiet, showing respect for fellow graduands who are presenting their projects.
• Celebrations should exclusively take place outside the university premises, and fouling both internal and external areas of the University with food, drink, etc. is strictly forbidden.

The University refers graduands and their guests to Article 2043 of the Civil Code, with particular consideration for responsibility for damages and Article 635 of the Penal Code, referring to criminal damages. The President of the Graduation Board reserves the right to refuse to sign the degree certificate in case of problems and misbehaviour.

• Information on pictures and videos during graduation sessions

The University must guarantee a disciplined and regular pattern of graduation sessions, thus it is highly recommended that those who are willing to take pictures in the University rooms during these sessions:

• comply with the general guidelines provided by the academic structures, which effectively regulate the access to their buildings and the indications given by the Chairman of the Graduation Board;
• carry out their service without prejudice to the discussion of the dissertation or any other academic activity;
• carry out their service exclusively during the following moments: before the beginning of the discussion, when the candidate enters the room of the discussion and during the proclamation of the candidate.

Candidates are free to choose any photographer, not only a professional one, but also a relative or a friend. 

A  group of professional photographers has activated a self-managed coordination service, which is committed to guaranteeing the presence of a photographer in each graduation seat and for each graduation session. The service does not entail any exclusive right or any obligation for students to purchase pictures. 

The University is not related to this service, which is performed by self-managing professional photographers.

Students will receive their diploma (original parchment) directly at the address they have indicated in www.studenti.unibo.it  for communication purposes. Please check carefully the address you have indicated in your application. 

If  you would like that your diploma is send to an address outside of Italy, please write an email to Registrar office (segecosta@unibo.it)  indicating your name and the full address to which you ask the delivery of the parchment, and attach a copy of your passport. 

Degree certificates and models for self-certifications are available for download on your SOL profile a few days after your Graduation day. Make sure you choose to download the right option for your purposes. Please click here for more information on the downloadable certificates, self-certification models and on the Diploma Supplement.