Final exam procedure for degree in Chemistry

For students enrolled from 2020/2021 onward

The degree is conferred on the acquisition of 180 ECTS, including the final exam.

The final exam consists in a verification of the candidate's ability to present and discuss a written thesis, with clarity and command of language and in an interview aimed at ascertaining the knowledge acquired during the course, in the presence of a Degree Commission appointed by the Course Council.

In the event that the examination focuses (preferably) on the topic dealt with during the internship, the internship tutor will also be the thesis Supervisor.

If the paper is developed on a topic consistent with the student's educational project that results on the syllabus of an exam included in the student's study plan and successfully passed, the supervisor will be a teacher from that course.

Depending on the specific profiles of the topic, students may complete the thesis entirely in a foreign language, complying with the following conditions:

1. the paper must be written in the chosen foreign language
2. the paper must contain a summary in Italian
3. the student must acquire the consent of the Supervisor, who is the guarantor of the linguistic quality of the paper.

The written report must highlight the methodologies used and offer a critical analysis of the results. The deadlines and administrative procedures for the final exam viva and obtaining the degree are established by the Department.

Admission to the final exam

In order to be admitted to the final exam and viva, the student must have accrued all the credits required. Furthermore, in order to access the final exam, students must take the first four modules of the Bibliolab course, the University Library System project with assistance on the drafting of degree theses and final papers. This will result in a certificate, to be delivered to the admin office at the time of the graduation application. The graduation application must be filed with the Student Admin Office the month prior to the date set by the Annual Degree Calendar approved by the Department Council. Completion of credits to access the final exam must be earned at least 15 days prior to the graduation date.

Assessment

The Graduation Commission, made up of 5 professors, is proposed by the course council and appointed by a Chair’s decree. The final test will be assigned a grade by the Commission, which must be at least 'sufficient' to be considered a pass. If the final exam is passed, the Commission assigns the graduation grade by adding up to a maximum of 7 points on the average mark (calculated as the weighted average of the marks of the exams, reported in one hundred and ten), with an increase of 0.33 points for each exam passed with a grade of 30/30 cum laude (up to a maximum of 3 points) and 3 bonus points for students who graduate within the recommended time frame of the course. To these are added any points deriving from further activities * compliant with the course of study (supernumerary credits), in variable amounts up to 1 maximum point (corresponding to a maximum of 6 academic credits), at the discretion of the Degree Commission, including merit credits for any role as student representative in one of the various governing bodies (of the University, Department, degree programme) and participation in international mobility programmes.

For the purposes of calculating the weighted average, only credits of exams that lead to the completion of the degree programme up to 186 training credits will be considered (where the 6 additional credits cannot be separated from the exam credits, otherwise all credits corresponding to courses will contribute to the calculation of the average): the remaining supernumerary activities accrued at the time chronologically closest to the final exam viva will be certified, but not be included in the calculation of the average mark which will constitute the final grade expressed in one hundred and ten points.

In the event that the final score arrives at 114/110 and the student has at least one exam mark of 30/30 cum laude, the tutor can propose the attribution of honours, while if the score reaches 117/110, the tutor can propose Special Mention status. In both cases, the proposal must be majority-approved by the Degree Commission.

The Chair then asks the Council to approve the aforementioned decision of the Chemistry Degree Council.

For students enrolled before 2020/2021

The final exam consists in a verification of the candidate's ability to present and discuss a written thesis, with clarity and command of language and in an interview aimed at ascertaining the knowledge acquired during the course, in the presence of a Degree Commission appointed by the Course Council

The examination focuses (preferably) on a topic connected to the internship. The text will outline the issues and results of the activity under the internship tutor, who will also act as thesis Supervisor.

Alternatively, the paper must be developed on the contents of an exam passed and present in the student transcript booklet. In this case, the teacher of the exam will be the Supervisor.

Depending on the specific profiles of the topic, students may complete the thesis entirely in a foreign language, complying with the following conditions:

1. the paper must be written in the chosen foreign language
2. the paper must contain a summary in Italian
3. the student must acquire the consent of the Supervisor, who is the guarantor of the linguistic quality of the paper.

The written report must highlight the methodologies used and offer a critical analysis of the results. The deadlines and administrative procedures for the final exam viva and obtaining the degree are established by the Department.

Admission to the final exam

In order to be admitted to the final exam and viva, the student must have accrued all the credits required. The graduation application must be filed with the Student Admin Office the month prior to the date set by the Annual Degree Calendar approved by the Department Council. Completion of credits to access the final exam must be earned at least 15 days prior to the graduation date.

Assessment

The Graduation Commission, made up of 5 professors, is proposed by the course council and appointed by a Chair’s decree. The final test will be assigned a grade by the Commission, which must be at least 'sufficient' to be considered a pass. If the final exam is passed, the Commission assigns the graduation grade by adding up to a maximum of 7 points on the average mark (calculated as the weighted average of the marks of the exams, reported in one hundred and ten), with an increase of 0.33 points for each exam passed with a grade of 30/30 cum laude (up to a maximum of 3 points), 0.33 points (equivalent to an honours credit) for any role student representative in a university governing body (University, Department, degree programme) and 3 bonus points for students