Thesis/Final examination

The writing of the dissertation constitutes the final moment of the training pathway

Characteristics of the final examination

The final examination consists of a written paper, in Italian or English, on a research topic agreed with the supervisor, chosen by the student for the conclusion of his or her course of study. The thesis consists of an in-depth theoretical and empirical study of the teaching content provided by the teaching staff member who acts as supervisor

Conduct of the final examination

The dissertation is written under the guidance of the dissertation supervisor, who meets with the graduating student periodically, proposing and exploring the topics of the dissertation with him or her in the months leading up to graduation.
The dissertation may be written in English, subject to the approval of the supervisor and to the student's undertaking to certify, in an appropriate manner, the adequacy of the language; approval by the course council is not required.
The student can graduate at one of three graduation sessions scheduled by the Department of Economics and Management (July, November and March). The thesis is discussed by the graduating student with the three-member Examination Committee, one of whom is the thesis advisor.
The Examination Committee has the task of assessing the level of knowledge and understanding of the subject matter, the ability to apply this knowledge and understanding to the specific problem covered by the work, the ability to communicate in written and oral form and the degree of autonomy of judgement on the issues covered by the thesis. The judgement of the Examination Committee is then forwarded to the Degree Committee, which assesses the student's career and calculates the final grade according to the criteria set out below.
During the discussion, the graduating student may present slides or material summarising the work done. At the end of the discussion, the Committee formulates a judgement and awards a score.
The proceedings of the Examination Committee are forwarded to the Degree Committee, which determines the final score.
The Degree Committee, taking into account the indications expressed by the Examination Committee, may award up to a maximum of 7.5 points distributed as follows:

up to 6 points to the thesis;

in addition, on the basis of the certification provided by the Student registry office, the Degree Committee will calculate the number of 'praise' and award

- 0 points for one distinction;

- 0.5 points for two distinctions;

- 1 point for 3/4 distinctions;

- 1.5 points for a number of distinctions greater than or equal to five.

The award of honours as part of the final assessment may be made for students with a meritorious study record who have done particularly good thesis work. For this reason, the awarding of honours must be expressly requested by the rapporteur during the Preliminary Examination Committee and confirmed by the Degree Committee.

The Degree Committee may decide independently on the awarding of honours in the event that the sum of the average, career, thesis and the number of honours exceeds 110/110.

Notes - At the beginning of Year II, a lecture entitled: 'How to do a dissertation', an initiative much appreciated by the students.

- From A.y. 2016-2017, the University allows students to acquire ECTS credits for thesis work even during study periods abroad.

Procedures, deadlines and forms

Useful information on the procedures for graduating students of all the Department's degree courses is published on the DEGREE and SECOND-CYCLE DEGREE pages of the Department's website