Final examination and degree thesis

Final examination and degree thesis

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

Final examination

The Final Examination for obtaining the Master's degree consists in a thesis that has to be written and elaborated originally by the student under the guidance of a supervisor, and in its discussion in front of a Degree Committee.

Degree thesis

The student has the right to choose his/her thesis supervisor by directly contacting one of the professors of the Degree Programme. After that, the student must apply for the assignment of the Degree Thesis at least 3 months before the expected graduation date. The student has to submit the “Thesis Request Form” to the Degree Programme Director, who will discuss it within the Degree Council for the purpose of verifying the issues that concern the insurance coverage and of assigning an Opponent Professor who will have the task of evaluating the thesis at the time of the final discussion.

The thesis deals with and tackles a scientific problem on a topic compatible with the objectives of the curriculum and is devoted to the recognition, evaluation and management of primary and secondary raw materials within a broader circular economy framework, possibly in combination with an entrepreneurial orientation. The thesis must contain a section dealing with analysis and interpretation of the gathered data, possibly of experimental nature, which may include the collection of field and/or laboratory data . By the end of the Final Examination the students are expected to demonstrate that they have the ability to operate autonomously and with critical ability, and to present and discuss the results of their dissertation with clarity and full mastery.

The thesis must be submitted in digital format within 10 days of the discussion, following the procedure and deadline indicated on Studenti Online. The content of the thesis and the level of access must be agreed upon in advance with the supervisor. The thesis file must be in PDF text format complete with Title Page (based on the model provided by the Degree Course) and without any protection or password. It is recommended to name the file with surname_name_thesis (not thesis title). Low-resolution images can be inserted into the thesis file. The file cannot exceed 30Mb. For larger files or support for the procedure, please contact: help.studentionline@unibo.it – tel 051 2099882. The use of the University of Bologna logo in any part of the final thesis is prohibited.

At the moment of submitting the thesis, the possible levels of access are:

• online access for everyone immediately after the discussion
• online access for everyone only after a date (of your choice) of end of embargo (level to be chosen in the event that the thesis must be classified for a period of time (for example for patent activations or following confidential agreements with third parties), and during the embargo period the thesis is accessible exclusively to the author and the supervisor;
• online access limited to authenticated UniBo users and external users who authenticate themselves at the UniBo libraries.

After the thesis has been approved by the supervisor and, only if an immediate or deferred access of the file has been authorised, the graduate receives an email with instructions for printing the .pdf file of the declaration necessary for the publication of his thesis. If the graduate chooses not to publish the thesis or to publish only the bibliographic metadata in AMS tesi di Laurea, the thesis is sent exclusively to the PARER archive for long-term conservation. This choice is irreversible and therefore it is not possible for the AlmaDL staff to recover the thesis file or publish the file later. Students who choose to make their thesis available through AMS Tesi di Laurea must deliver or send by email (along with a scan of their identity document), within 30 days of the discussion, the original of the paper declaration, with an autograph signature, to the BiGeA Library, located in via Selmi 3, for the attention of Mirco Travaglini (051-2094151; mirco.travaglini@unibo.it). In the event of failure to deliver within the expected timeframe, the thesis will be withdrawn from the archive. For further general information on AMS Tesi di Laurea: helpdesk.amslaurea@unibo.it - tel: 051 20 94318

Graduation application

To submit your application for graduation online, you must access Studenti Online within the given deadlines set for the application submission and the corresponding 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 thesis in pdf format on Studenti Online within the given deadline. The thesis can be uploaded multiple times, until the deadline expires. When uploading the thesis, the system will ask you to enter some keywords 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 regularize your position before the final examination.

The application is valid for just one graduation session, which is scheduled each (academic) year. One session includes a number of dates, each with their deadlines for the submission of the graduation application, requirements and dates (dd/mm/yyyy).If you graduate in a subsequent session, you will have to re-submit your graduation application and pay only the duty stamp.

Deadlines and final examination dates a.y. 2023/2024

The Final Examination Discussion

The thesis is discussed orally with the support of PPT slides during a public Final Examination session in front of a Thesis Committee. The Thesis Committee is composed by at least three members chosen among the professors involved in the Degree Programme. The student illustrates the thesis project and its results in 15 minutes, followed by a Q&A session with the Opponent Professor and the Thesis Committee.

The final examination is held in person (except for special situations that will always be communicated in advance), and it will be open to guests of the graduate, in a number indicated by the Department based on logistical and organizational needs related to the number of graduates and the availability of classrooms, but in any case not less than 3. More precise indications will be provided to graduates before each degree session. The possibility of attending the Final Examination remotely is guaranteed upon request. The Final Examination can take place remotely only in particular situations that must always be agreed with the offices and the Degree Programme Director.

The Degree Thesis evaluation and final grade

The thesis is evaluated by the Supervisor and the Opponent Professor who submit a written grade (expressed in points out of 10) to the Degree Programme Director. The evaluation of the Supervisor assesses the autonomy, accuracy and results, while the evaluation of the Opponent assesses the consistency of the results and interpretation, editorial accuracy and overall methodology.

The final grade is the sum of the following evaluations:

30. average degree score calculated by transforming the weighted average grades of the exams deemed by the candidate during its course of study (which are expressed with a grade out of thirty) into a grade out of one hundred and ten (/110); to calculate the average degree score, each grade of a valid exam (pass-fail exams are excluded) is multiplied by the corresponding amount of credits obtained by passing the exam, the totals are added together and then divided by the total number of credits obtained, and then the result is multiplied by 110 and then divided by 30.
31. +1 point if the student is completing the course during its regular duration (2 academic years);
32. average of the evaluations of the Supervisor and Opponent expressed in points out of 10;
33. evaluation of the Thesis Board awarding from -2 to +2 points, based on the quality of the discussion and the effectiveness and accuracy of the answers during the Q&A session; the sum of c) and d) is rounded to the nearest whole number (expressed as out of 10) and cannot be higher than 10 points.

The Final Examination is deemed to be passed with a minimum grade of 66/110. When granting the maximum grade (110/110), the Board may also grant the honours (lode). The honours (lode) are automatically granted by the Thesis Board if the final grade is equal or above 113. If the final grade is between 110 and 113, the awarding of the honours can be proposed by any one of the Supervisor, the Opponent or one of the members of the Thesis Board, and the decision must be unanimous among the members of the Thesis Board.

Degree Certificate

The Degree Certificate will be sent directly to your residence or home address, as indicated on Studenti Online for communications. When completing the application, make sure that your address is correct. Errors could cause significant delays in delivery. The University covers the shipping costs, ensuring that you receive your certificate within four months of the end of the graduation session in which you obtained your degree.

Attention: please note that shipments require a signature upon delivery. It is the recipient's obligation to verify the integrity of the package containing the Degree Certificate and refuse delivery in case of damaged packaging. If damaged packages are received without a signature upon delivery, please do not open them and return them to the shipper. The University is not responsible for damaged Degree Certificates if the above rules are not followed. You can, in any case, apply for Certificate Degrees as early as a few days after the proclamation.