Graduating MV

FINAL EXAM REQUIREMENTS AND EVALUATION

Class LM-42 of Master’s Degrees – Single-Cycle Ministerial Decree 270/2004
Class 47/S of Specialist Degrees – Ministerial Decree 509/1999

In accordance with the Academic Regulations, the thesis is evaluated as part of the final exam. The thesis, consisting of original work by the student, may be either a compilation or an experimental project. Thesis topics may be interdisciplinary.

1) FIGURES INVOLVED

1.1 – Student
Students must comply with the provisions of these Regulations regarding the preparation and defense of their thesis. They must submit their thesis application at least eight months prior to the graduation session, fulfilling the administrative obligations set forth in point 2, paragraph 2.1.

1.2 – Supervisor and Co-Supervisor.
The Supervisor is a person identified by the Student from among the Faculty of the University of Pisa and communicated to the President of the Degree Program Council, indicating their name and qualifications in the Degree Thesis application, which also specifies the topic of the thesis. To prepare the Degree Thesis, the Supervisor and the Student may avail themselves of a Co-Supervisor, whose name must be indicated in the Thesis application. The Co-Supervisor may be from another University, including a foreign one, or be a professional external to the University, holding a degree, including a degree of another nationality. If the Co-Supervisor is a professional external to the University and has never served as Co-Supervisor in the Degree Program in Veterinary Medicine, a curriculum vitae of the indicated Co-Supervisor must be attached to the Thesis application.

The specific task of the Supervisor and Co-Supervisor is to coordinate the thesis work: on the day of the final exam, the Supervisor and any Co-Supervisor will express their opinion on the student’s work in preparing the thesis (commitment, ability to work independently, and critical thinking).

1.3 – Co-examiner. This position is selected from among the faculty of the Department of Veterinary Sciences.
In the thesis application, the thesis advisor must indicate the names of one to two co-examiners, who may or may not belong to the same Scientific Disciplinary Sector (SSD) as the thesis advisor and/or co-examiner. The co-examiner contributes to the development and preparation of the thesis through active dialogue with the student and the thesis advisor and/or co-examiner. During the final exam, after the candidate has presented the thesis, the co-examiner, during the final examination of the Committee, expresses his or her opinion on the student’s work.

2) OPERATING MODES

2.1 – Submission of the Thesis Application
The Bachelor’s Thesis application must be submitted at least 8 months before the graduation session, and the student must have previously earned 180 ECTS credits and passed the exams in “Computer Science” and “Foreign Language of the European Community.” The student must submit the Thesis application to the Teaching Unit of the Department of Veterinary Sciences using the forms available on the Degree Program website. The application must indicate the general thesis topic, the academic discipline (SSD) under which the thesis will be conducted, the Supervisor, any Co-Supervisor, and the latter must propose 1–2 Reviewers.

Within the Degree Program Council, together with the approval of the thesis topic, the Supervisor, and any Co-Supervisor, the Reviewer will be appointed. The Reviewer will be chosen from the suggested candidates or from others proposed and/or identified by the Council, in relation to the specific topic of the Bachelor’s Thesis, according to the implementation rules mentioned above. The Teaching Unit of the Department of Veterinary Sciences will notify the appointed Reviewers.

2.2 – Meeting of Involved Parties.
Within 4 months from the date of the Thesis application, the Supervisor must convene the Student, any Co-Supervisor, and the Reviewer to discuss the progress of the Thesis work. One month before the graduation session, the Supervisor must convene a further meeting of the involved parties to evaluate the Thesis work.

2.3 – Thesis Structure
The Thesis must include, on the first page, the title in Italian and in English, a summary in Italian and in English, followed by five “keywords” in both Italian and English. The Student is allowed to write the Thesis in English or another language, provided that the Supervisor, any Co-Supervisor, and the Reviewer give their approval. The student must submit a request to the Degree Program Council, attaching the declarations of the Supervisor(s) and the Reviewer. The Thesis defense will take place in Italian.

2.4 – Electronic Theses
The Thesis must be submitted exclusively in electronic format (ETD), in accordance with the rules established by the University Regulations on the matter, and made publicly available on the ETD website.

2.5 – Thesis Endorsement
At least 15 days before the scheduled graduation session (15 calendar days, not working days), the student must submit to the University Student Office, together with their academic record, the electronic cover page of the Thesis signed also by the Supervisor. The student must also submit the completed logbook to the President of the Degree Program.

When requesting the Supervisor to sign the electronic cover page, the Thesis must already have assumed a final form or, at least, be considered suitable for defense at the graduation session. It is therefore advisable that the student, at the same time as obtaining the Supervisor’s signature, presents their work to the Supervisor so that they can verify its content.

At least 15 days before the scheduled graduation session, the Student must submit to the Teaching Unit of the Department of Veterinary Sciences a self-certification (signed by the Candidate, the Supervisor(s), and the Reviewer) declaring that the Thesis title is consistent with the thesis topic approved by the Degree Program Council (forms available on the Degree Program website).

Two days before the graduation session, the student must submit a hard copy of the Thesis to the Teaching Unit of the Department of Veterinary Sciences for the use of the Department’s Central Library.

2.6 – Changes to Thesis Topic, Supervisor, Co-Supervisor, and Reviewer.
Any change to the Thesis topic or to the involved faculty members must be promptly communicated to the President of the Degree Program so that the appropriate procedures can be initiated within the Degree Program Council.

In the event that the Supervisor or Co-Supervisor is unable to attend the final defense, they must promptly inform the President of the Degree Program. Their replacement is not required, provided that at least one of the Supervisors is present.

In the event that the Reviewer is unable to attend the Thesis defense, they must promptly inform the Supervisor and the President of the Degree Program. The President will then arrange, either through a Council resolution or an Urgent Measure, for the replacement of the Reviewer with the second candidate listed in the Thesis application or with another person proposed by the Supervisor and/or deemed suitable by the Degree Program Council.

3) FINAL EXAMINATION PROCEDURES

3.1 – The President of the Final Defense Committee is normally the President of the Degree Program. In case of absence, they may be replaced by another faculty member, appointed by the Director upon the proposal of the President of the Degree Program.

3.2 – In individual graduation sessions, it may be necessary to establish more than one Committee.

3.3 – The number of graduation sessions scheduled in the calendar year, according to the University Academic Regulations, is set at a minimum of 6 and a maximum of 9.

3.4 – The Thesis presentation must be completed within a maximum time of 15 minutes.

3.5 – The discussion, including questions addressed to the Student, must last a maximum of 10 minutes.

3.6 – The time allowed for the presentation and the discussion must be the same for all candidates and for all graduation sessions, regardless of the number of candidates.

4) EVALUATION OF THE THESIS AND GRADUATION GRADE

The graduation grade consists of the sum of the two scores derived from the following stages:

STAGE 1 – Thesis Evaluation:

The criteria that the Committee members of the graduation session must take into account when assigning the score for the final defense are:

1. Assessments provided by the Supervisor, any Co-Supervisor, and the Reviewer regarding the Student’s performance during the preparation of the Thesis.
2. Scientific validity of the work.
3. Presentation skills.
4. Quality of the supporting materials for the presentation.
5. Ability to adhere to the allocated presentation time.

The Committee members assign their score, which will range from 0 to 12.

The score for the final defense is calculated as the arithmetic mean of the scores assigned.

STAGE 2 – Evaluation of the Candidate’s Academic Record up to the Time of the Final Examination.

1. Grade Point Average – The Committee takes note of the overall score the Student has achieved during their academic career, as reported in the records provided by the Student Office. For students enrolled in the 2013-14 academic year and subsequent years, the calculation of the average grade is obtained by computing the weighted average of the grades received in individual exams, with weights corresponding to the ECTS credits (CFU) of each exam. For students enrolled in earlier academic years, both the arithmetic average (as established by the previous Academic Regulations) and the weighted average will be calculated, and the method most favorable to the Student will be chosen.
2. Academic Record – Before assigning the graduation grade, the President of the Final Defense Committee presents the Candidate’s academic record to the Committee, highlighting any particular merits, especially with regard to the duration of the university program.

The final graduation grade is obtained by the sum of the scores from STAGE 1 and STAGE 2. The maximum grade that can be awarded is 110/110. In the event that the maximum grade is achieved, the Committee, upon the proposal of the President, may award honors (cum laude), exclusively by unanimous decision.

5) COURSE COMPLETION QUESTIONNAIRE

Each graduating student must complete a statistical end-of-course questionnaire developed by the interuniversity consortium AlmaLaurea, with the purpose of collecting evaluations and feedback regarding the university experience, monitoring students’ academic paths, and improving the educational offerings. This questionnaire therefore represents a useful element in assessing the study program, as the National Committee for the Evaluation of the University System and the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) periodically require the University to provide documents containing information on graduates’ performance.

At the time of submitting the ETD cover page to the University Student Office, the Student must also provide a printed receipt confirming the completion of the AlmaLaurea questionnaire.

6) ADDITIONAL REGULATIONS

The final defense should preferably take place in the Department’s Aula Magna, and the Committee members, if not provided with academic gowns by the Central Administration, must attend wearing attire appropriate for the occasion.

When completing the graduation minutes, in the field “Faculty Code,” the code of the President of the Final Defense Committee must be entered.

Approved by Resolution No. 10 of the Degree Program Council in Veterinary Medicine on 14/12/2017.