Graduating SZS

The Thesis (12 ECTS) consists of writing a report on original research related to the topics of the Degree Programme. It may be written in English, subject to agreement with the Supervisor and Co-Supervisor, and must include an extended summary in Italian; the discussion may also be conducted in English.

For the preparation of the thesis, it is recommended to follow the relevant Guidelines (see Thesis Forms). The student must submit the Thesis application to the competent office using the appropriate form (see Thesis Forms) and subsequently submit the Degree application via the University portal.
The thesis must then be sent to the Co-Supervisor. The student must upload the title page, digitally signed by the Supervisor, on the student portal and finally deposit the complete and final version of the thesis in the ETD system.

• Submission of the thesis application by completing the appropriate form accurately and in full: at least six months before the expected discussion date.
• Submission of the thesis defence application to the University Student Office: at least 30 days before the Final Examination.
• Submission of the final draft to the Co-Supervisor for the necessary revisions: at least 20 days before the defence.
• Upload to the Alice portal of the PDF of the title page, digitally signed by the Supervisor: at least 15 days before the defence.
• Upload of the complete and final thesis file(s) to the ETD system: at least 6 days before the defence.

The presentation has a total duration of 20 minutes:

• 20 minutes for the student’s presentation
• 10 minutes for discussion, including any questions from the Examination Board

The final assessment is structured in multiple stages:

1. Assessment of the academic career:
   The assessment of the academic career is based on a base score calculated from the weighted average of the curriculum in one-hundredth points, to which the scores for the internship and study abroad activities are added, up to a maximum total of 3 points.

2. Thesis assessment (up to 8 points):
   The Examination Board assigns a score to the thesis based on:
   • Assessment of the relevance and topicality of the topic to the Degree Programme, its originality and interdisciplinarity, and the applied experimental methodology
   • degree of completeness and currency of the reference bibliographic research
   • organisation and clarity demonstrated in the writing of the thesis
   • Ability to process, discuss, and interpret the presented data, as well as to perform critical analysis
3. Assessment of the thesis presentation (up to 3 points):
   The Examination Board evaluates the student’s presentation skills according to the following criteria:
   • presentation skills
   • quality of supporting materials (presentation)
   • ability to adhere to the allotted presentation time
4. Final grade: calculated as the sum of the scores obtained in the three previous stages.
   The maximum grade is 110/110 (honours may be awarded unanimously by the Examination Board).

January 16, 2026
December 12, 2025
November 14, 2025
October 17, 2025