To graduate, students must write and defend a thesis.
What's a master thesis?
The master thesis consists of a written dissertation showing the graduating student's specialized knowledge and skills, as well as her/his ability for autonomous and critical processing.
The work required for the thesis is equivalent to 15 ECTS (375 hours), expected during the 2nd year.
The essay topic is agreed between the student and a supervisor, who must be a professor responsible for one of the training activities included in the student's study plan. Students should contact their chosen professor well in advance (at least seven months before the expected date of graduation) to ask for thesis supervision, as the thesis acceptance procedure can take time. It is strongly recommended that the professor is contacted in person, rather than only by email.
Thesis formal request
The student must submit the formal request for assignment of the thesis, duly accepted by the supervisor, at least 6 months before the thesis defense via the University's online teaching management services (Gomp). The thesis can be carried out in co-supervision at a university with which there is a collaboration agreement.
Thesis work
The thesis represents the culmination of a student's academic training. Therefore, the thesis must meet quality requirements that demonstrate mastery of the subject and the specific topic covered, knowledge of the relevant literature and must also possess characteristics of originality.
Thesis defense
The graduating student defends her/his thesis with a Graduation Committee, made up of at least 5 members including the supervisors and co-supervisors assigned to the candidates. The Commitee expresses its vote out of 110 and, unanimously, considering the student's entire career within the program, the credit acquisition speedy, as well as the quality of the thesis and its presentation-discussion during the final assessment, can award the candidate with honours.
The quality of the thesis is determined based on both its formal contents (bibliography, syntax, spelling, clarity, readability and organicity) and substantial contents (degree of depth, basic knowledge, methodological tools, experiences and applications, use of specialist literature).
Graduation mark
The final mark out of 110 is the sum of the following two components:
1. the weighted average of the marks obtained in the exams passed within the program, converted on a basis of 110;
2. a score the Graduation Commitee computes as follows:
quality of the thesis: up to 4 points +
presentation/discussion: up to 2 points +
speedy: 2 points if the candidate achieved the first 105 ECTS in 2 years +
internationalisation: 2 points if the candidate has carried out studying and/or training activities abroad under University mobility programs.
The request for honors can be presented by the supervisor only if the basic score is equal to or above 100.
Deadlines and administrative procedures: To graduate students must follow some administrative procedures consisting of different steps (thesis assignment request, graduation application, graduation fee payment, thesis upload), each characterized by a different deadline.
For more details on each step and related deadlines, please visit the following page:
Graduation sessions: There are usually 8 graduation sessions in each academic year, namely in March, June, July, September, October, January and February.
For more details on your chosen graduation session, please visit the following page: