Information on writing a dissertation

Choosing and proposing a subject

As part of the requirements for the completion of the degree, you must write a dissertation. The process of writing a dissertation starts with topic choice. Once you have decided what you want to write about, contact a Professor  who will be your supervisor (see requirements for supervisors below). The supervisor will have to be someone expert in your chosen field (see below) and will assess the consistency of your proposed topic with your study plan and professional objectives.

The purpose of the dissertation is to give you the opportunity to develop a deeper knowledge and understanding of a particular study area, in addition to research and writing skills. 

Broadly speaking, the dissertation serves as a way to demonstrate the ability to do independent work. In the dissertation, you have to prove knowledge of the most relevant theories and models in your chosen field, so the first step is building an exhaustive bibliography and review it in critical depth. You then have to re-elaborate the acquired information and any relevant data, so that your final output is a coherent and up-to-date presentation of the topic, with a critical discussion and application to specific (real-world or theoretical) cases.

The chosen topic has to be an in-depth research in a specific subject, that can be classified within a specific SSD (scientific-disciplinary area). The specific SSD  can be chosen according to the following guidelines:

1. A subject belonging to an SSD approved by the Degree Program Regulation. This applies even if the subject is taught in another degree program of the University of Bologna;
2. A subject which SSD is not among those approved by the Degree Program regulation. If this is the case, the student must ask for the authorization of the Degree Program Director, before applying for graduation. In his/her request, the student must detail the reasons for his/her choice. The request has to be sent (by e-mail) to the Degree Program Director, with the program coordinator (cdl.leif@unibo.it)  in Cc.

In case the student wants to prepare his/her dissertation with the aid of an internship (i.e., choosing to do an internship for the preparation of the final examination - 12 ECTS), either in Italy or abroad, the final dissertation topic and subject must consistent with the content of the internship

Editorial rules

Basic editorial rules to write a dissertation:

• -Fonts: Times New Roman, Courier or Helvetica;

  -Lines: maximum 32-35 lines each page;

  -Characters: 65-70 characters each line;

• Has to be written in both sides (mandatory);
• Tables and figures must be either in A3 or A4 UNI format;
• The table pocket must be of an appropriate dimension (A3 with an appropriate thickness)

Academic figures involved

During the defense, the candidate’s performance will be evaluated by a Board of Professors. These professors are essentially the supervisors chosen by each candidate taking part to the discussion. In case the legal number (3 Professors, of which at least 2 faculty members) is not reached, the offices will provide to call a substitute for the session.

Supervisor (relatore)

Each graduating student has to choose a supervisor (relatore) which can be an Ordinary, Associate, Assistant or Adjunct Professor from the Faculty. The supervisor will have to check the progress of the dissertation and determine whether it is suitable for the final discussion. The supervisor is usually the Professor in charge of the specific subject you are specializing in. 

Co-supervisor (correlatore)

The co-supervisor is an academic figure (Professor, Researcher, PhD student…) who helps the students carrying out the research along with the supervisor. The co-supervisor is not mandatory, and the presence of a co-supervisor does not give extra points to the work. 

Discussant (controrelatore)

In case of an outstanding dissertation work, the supervisor may apply for a discussant. This figure has the role to provide further and in-depth evaluation for the final dissertation. After the discussant’s evaluation, the academic Board might decide to award the discussant extra points.

Differently from supervisor and co-supervisor(s), the discussant cannot be chosen by the student. The supervisor has to send a written request to the Degree Program Director via email (adding the Program Coordinator/degree process supervisor  in cc) explaining the reasons for such an inquiry. The supervisor might propose the name of the discussant or leave the Director choose one (in case of a positive outcome). Discussant’s requests have to be sent within the deadline for supervisor approval of the dissertation online (see table of deadlines*).

The discussant will read the dissertation and give his evaluation by either participating to the discussion or by sending a written evaluation before the discussion by email to the program coordinator (email address alessandra.iosi2@unibo.it )

Candidates admitted to the final examination with a base grade lower than 108/110 will need the evaluation of a discussant in order to have the chance to obtain a “cum laude” final grade.

Please note that the discussant evaluation might not be enough to obtain the “cum laude” grade, since “cum laude” is granted with the unanimous decision of all the board members (see rules below).

Graduation Admission

In order to be allowed to graduate, LEIF students must have acquired 105 ECTS (the remaining 15 belong to the final examination and will be given after the defense) no later than the Requirements fulfilment deadline, indicated in the deadline table here.

Admission grade is calculated on the weighted average of all grades (grade*credits) and then converted into a 110 based scale. Please note that credits regarding pass/fail subjects won’t be included in the final average.  Extra points will be given for each laude (counting as 0,33 each) as well as scores for students graduating on time as follow:

• +2 points for students graduating in July, October and December;
• +1 point for students graduating in March.

On the defense day, the administrative offices will forward this information to the Board.

1.1 - Previous degree programme systems (before D.M. 509/99).

Admission grade is calculated using the weighted average of all registered exams . In case of transfers/study programmes changes within Unibo, the weighted average is done taking both exams registered in the last degree programme and those recognized from the previous programme. Language exams registered after May 1997 won’t be part of the average calculation.

1.2 - Current degree programme systems (D.M. 509/99 e D.M. 270/04): First and Second cycle degree programmes.
In case of transfers/study programmes changes within Unibo, the weighted average is done taking both exams registered in the last degree programme and those recognized from the previous programme.. Each exam grade from the previous degree program is weighted according to credits assigned after recognition. This system allows to gain an accurate average value (credit*grade) for each eligible exam.
Students enrolled in the current degree programme after transfer/study programme change before the 2007/2008 a.y. the admission grade is calculated as follows:

-arithmetic mean value of the grades registered in the previous degree programme;

-The resulting value is then weighted to the total credits transferred in the current degree programme 

(20+30)/2 = 25 (base score)

25* (8+4) = 300 (weighted average to be included during calculation with other exams)

Final grade calculation 

On the day of the defense, the Board will assess the candidate's Presentation performance

The final assessment is expressed through a grade out of one hundred and ten. The exam is deemed to be passed with a minimum grade of 66/110 and a maximum grade of 110/110. In the case of granting a maximum grade, the Board may also grant honours (lode) by unanimous decision.

Dissertation assessment criteria are as follows:

• Subject originality;
• Methodological correctness,
• in-depth analysis level,
• adequate writing and editing,
• public speaking and reporting abilities;

Grade values will be rounded to closest proximity value (i.e. 100,88 --> 101; 100,12 --> 100).

Up to 8 extra points can be given upon defense.

The Final Examination Board, having taken into consideration the dissertation discussion and your curriculum, will decide the final grade, which will be proclaimed after the discussion (or published on the last day of the Graduation Session on Studenti Online).

Graduation sessions

In each academic year, there are four graduation session

• July
• October
• December
• March

Please check the page with table of deadlines for each session.

References and plagiarism

In order to achieve good results, accurate referencing and bibliography are the key. Each student should adopt a citation system and bibliography format to be kept throughout the whole work. Plagiarism is taken seriously: every statement, concept and data taken from bibliography source has to be properly referenced and reworded.

Citations should be properly highlighted and the source should include page number.

Online sources are allowed if they meet the required scientific standards (and should be accurately referenced in the text). Generic sources (such as Wikipedia) that are not necessarily scientific and critically assessed, should be used very carefully.

It is important to be aware that plagiarims has both practical and legal implications. Copied thesis works cannot be accepted.