Thesis and Graduation: Modalities

1. APPLICATION

The application for the graduation session is available 20 days before the application deadline. A graduation fee of €32 is due at the time of the application for the graduation session, only once per academic year. If students decide not to graduate within the session they had previously chosen, they have to send an e-mail to the Student Administration Office (Segreteria Studenti in Italian) at segecosta@unibo.it from their institutional e-mail address. The Student Administration Office will cancel reservation and allow the student to book forthcoming sessions. In this case, no further fees are due within the same academic year.

The title of your thesis – as previously agreed with your supervisor – has to be specified in your application. Please remind that this title will be reported in the official degree certificates.

LATE APPLICATION

Candidates are allowed to undertake a late application – after the first deadline – by paying an additional late payment fee of €100.

2. REQUIREMENTS FULFILLMENT CHECK

Candidates have to:

Pay all due fees and/or taxes. The Student Administration Office verifies the fulfillment of all the payments. Candidates are contacted at their institutional e-mail addresses in case of anomalies. In case of taxes 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 students have passed throughout their career – which are part of their study plan – must be registered. The Student Administration will contact candidates through their istitutional e-mail in case of anomalies.

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 on www.studenti.unibo.it.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

The supervisor will approve the final dissertation by the date specified in the deadline calendar. Candidates are invited to check the state of approval of their thesis and contact their 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.

GOAL OF THE THESIS:

The master thesis is an individual piece of research on a topic approved by the supervisor and based on the experience gained during the internship. The assignment is an opportunity for students to deeply explore an area of GIOCA interest, to summarize the main theories and models, and to discuss their applicability. The essential requirement of a master thesis is that it literally demonstrates that students have fully understood the state of the art in international economics and management. The objective of the thesis is to show that the student is able to perform scientific research individually and to report the study and its conclusions in a clear way. It likewise serves as a practice for those intending to pursue doctoral studies after their successful completion of the program.

TOPIC AND SUPERVISOR/THESIS SETUP:

The student may choose to major in a teaching activity (Insegnamento) belonging to his/her study plan (piano di studi) both from the first or second year. If a student attended the second year abroad (Erasmus or study exchange), he/she can decide to graduate in a subject of the second year anyway. In this case, the student must talk to the professor of the course and ask his/her availability to supervise the thesis. Students are strongly suggested to begin asking the availability and interest of professors to be their supervisor (relatore) as soon as possible, at least 4 months before the graduation session, and according to the internship experience and/or to the topic chosen for the dissertation. The title of the dissertation, agreed with the supervisor, should be submitted within the online application for graduation (see table of deadlines).

SOME DEFINITIONS: SUPERVISOR(RELATORE), CO-SUPERVISOR(CORRELATORE) AND DISCUSSANT(CONTRORELATORE)

Every graduating student needs a formal supervisor (relatore). Only full professors, associate professors, assistant professors (researchers) and contract professors holding a teaching activity within UNIBO can be supervisor. Lecturers of seminars or junior research associate cannot be supervisor (unless provided by a specific agreement). 

A discussant (controrelatore) is an academician chosen by the Supervisor according to the rules explained below with the aim of providing a further independent and detailed evaluation of the thesis, possibly taking part to the final defense to challenge the graduating student with specific questions. Presence of a controrelatore provides the student with the opportunity (and not the guarantee!) to achieve extra points for the final grade (see the grading section). As explained below, the controrelatore is not asked/chosen by the students, the request must be made by the supervisor based on her/his own evaluation of the thesis work. The controrelatore is then assigned by the Director of the program who can confirm the professor suggested or assign another professor. A co-supervisor (correlatore) is a teacher who may help the student prepare the dissertation, however, this figure does not imply the possibility to raise the final points. Lecturers of seminars and external experts can act as co-supervisor (correlatore).

A cultore della materia is a professor outside GIOCA or an external figure expert in the field of your research (your internship tutor, for instance) who provides support to the student while writing the thesis.

HOW TO APPLY FOR DISCUSSANT

A controrelatore can be only requested when a thesis has a particular relevance or interest for the supervisor, and the decision on its request rests solely on the supervisor’s individual judgment of the thesis work. It is necessary when the supervisor requests the honors (laurea con lode) – only if the candidate has an average grade below 108/110. The controrelatore may lead to the maximum of 3 extra points.

The name of the controrelatore might be proposed by the supervisor and the final decision is made by the Director of the program, who can confirm the professor suggested or assign another professor. The supervisor should submit the request of the controrelatore within a reasonable time, at least one month before the graduation, to allow the Director of the program to designate the lecturer and the candidate to provide him/her with a copy of the thesis on time.

The controrelatore may take part in the graduation session, if he/she is available. In case of absence he/she has to send the assessment of the thesis through a letter or email but addressed to Committee. The controrelatore must be an academician (professor or a researcher) belonging to the School of Economics or to other universities connected to GIOCA.

If a controrelatore was requested for a first graduation session but the candidate could not graduate, the request for this must be presented again for the next session. The student is required to deliver the thesis to the controrelatore AT LEAST 15 days before the graduation. In case he/she does not comply with this rule, the controrelazione cannot be accepted and additional points will not be provided.

STYLING AND FORMATTING THE THESIS

The length of the thesis should be between 60-120 pages including notes, tables and attachments. The thesis must meet the following criteria:

• Interlinea/line space: 1 or 1,5;
• Times or similar font: 12;
• Margin: 2-2-2-2;
• Cardboard cover: lightweight, light colored, not bright, figures and boards format UNI (A4, A3);
• For the title-page, frontespizio the use of the UNIBO logo is NOT allowed on the cover.

Accurate referencing and bibliography is an important element of the thesis. Students should adopt a standard citation system and bibliography format. Please note that besides these general guidelines, students will refer to each professor in order to use the appropriate referencing style of the department.

The university takes plagiarism very seriously and has legal implications: concepts and statements taken from the literature should be appropriately reworded and referenced. To avoid plagiarism all material, whether directly quoted, MUST be acknowledged correctly.

The admission grade averages the exams’ grades and converts it into the 66-110 scale (Possibily cum laude/with honors). 

Remarkably, courses and activities providing an assessment on a pass/fail basis (idoneità in Italian) such as laboratories, seminars or internships do not contribute to the admission grade.  

For every exam that the student passed with honors (lode), 0.33 points are added to the admission grade. The figure resulting from previous calculations is rounded up or down to the nearest integer value. 

The student admission grades, the graduation date and the names of the Graduation Board members will be published by the Ufficio lauree a few days before the graduation date on Studenti Online - SOL. 

Students may contact the Student Administration Office (Segreteria studenti) if they wish to check their average in advance.  

Extra points will be given to those students who graduate on time: 

• I and II Sessions (July, October and December): 2 points 
• III Session (March): 1 point 

The final examination requires the defense of the master thesis in front of a Graduation Board composed of professors of the School of Economics, Management and Statistics. 

The Graduation Board can grant a maximum of 5 points to the dissertation upon the thesis defense, which is added to the student’s admission grade. 

To earn more than 5 points and if the thesis deserves special attention, the supervisor can ask for a controrelatore (counter-supervisor). The controrelatore has to be an academic of the University of Bologna or a GIOCA degree programme adjunct professor. 

The supervisor will submit the request by email to the Degree Programme Director with the Ufficio lauree cc'ed (didatticasociale.emslauree@unibo.it) by the date the supervisor must approve the dissertation. The controrelatore may take part in the graduation session, if s/he is available. In case s/he were not, s/he has to send an evaluation of the student's work through a letter or email to be delivered to the Ufficio lauree, but addressed to the Graduation Board. In this case, up to 3 extra points can be unanimously granted by the Graduation Board. 

The assignment of a controrelatore is also necessary when the supervisor plans to request the honors (lode) and the candidate has an admission grade below 108/110. To award 110/110 with honors (110 e lode), the Graduation Board must approve unanimously. 

During the defense, candidates have approximately 10 minutes to discuss their dissertation, plus the possible questions that the Commitee may ask. Candidates may have a power Point or similar presentation, but it is not mandatory, using the computer that is available in each room while defending their thesis. It is suggested to upload slides before your session begins (no more than 10 slides), in order to facilitate a regular execution of the session. After all dissertations of the graduation session have been discussed, candidates will gather for the graduation ceremony and proclamation. To check information on how to take pictures and videos during graduation sessions, please refer to this page. 

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 their turn and make sure they and their 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. 

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 Student Administration 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.  

Students can print their degree certificates on www.studenti.unibo.it. 

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.