Thesis/Final examination

The thesis is the culmination of the Second-cycle degree course

Characteristics of the final test

The final examination consists of a self-written paper on a topic assigned by the Professor that the student will choose in order to conclude his or her thesis under the Professor's supervision.
The thesis work consists of an in-depth theoretical and empirical study of the teaching content provided by the Professor, who acts as supervisor.
The student's dissertation, once approved by the supervisor, is presented in oral form to Degree Committee, whose task is to assess the student's 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 form (with the dissertation) and orally (the presentation) and finally the degree of autonomy of judgement on the issues covered by the dissertation. The preliminary committee's judgement is then forwarded to the Degree Committee, which assesses the student's career and calculates the final grade expressed in hundredths according to the criteria set out in the next section.

Conduct of the final examination

Once the student's thesis has been approved by the supervisor, it is presented in oral form to a Degree Committee, whose task is to assess the student's 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, communication skills in written form (with the paper) and oral form (the presentation) and, lastly, the degree of autonomy of judgement on the issues covered by the thesis. The preliminary committee's judgement is then forwarded to the proclamation committee, which assesses the student's career and calculates the final grade according to the criteria set out below.
The Degree Committee, taking into account the indications expressed by the Preliminary Committee, may award up to a maximum of 7.5 points distributed as follows
- up to 6 points to the thesis Based on the certification provided by the Student registry office, the Degree Committee will automatically calculate
- the number of praise:
1 praise: 0 points;

2 praise: 0.5 points;

3 - 4 praise: 1 point;

5 praise and above: 1.5 points.

Honours may be awarded as part of the final assessment for students with a meritorious study record who have done particularly good thesis work. For this reason, the award of honours must be expressly requested by the Rapporteur in the Preliminary Committee and confirmed by the Degree Committee. The Degree Committee may decide independently on the awarding of honours if the sum of the average, career, thesis and number of distinctions exceeds 110/110.

Every year, in the first semester, the course of study organises a Thesis Preparation meeting open to both first and second year students of the Second-cycle degree course, with the following aims: to illustrate the importance of thesis work, to explain the rationale behind the choice of topic and, within it, of a specific problem on which to focus, the stages of the research process that will lead to the "solution" of the problem chosen as the subject of the thesis. The meeting is also an opportunity to present the topics proposed by the individual lecturers of the course, in order to facilitate students' choice. The materials used for the meeting as well as the list of available titles can be found on the course website.
It is permissible to write and discuss the thesis in English, subject to the consent of the thesis supervisor and a formal commitment by the candidate to undertake a professional revision of the text to correct its form, before final approval by the thesis supervisor.

Already since 2017, a joint project with the Human Sciences division has been activated. Human Sciences of the University Library System a short series of meetings for students about to start their thesis work, aimed at providing them with the basic knowledge to use the bibliographic research tools and documentary sources available to carry out their thesis research. The rounds of meetings were very successful, both among the students and in the observation of the teachers, who confirmed that the participating students had developed the desired bibliographic research skills. The experience has been repeated every year since then, three times, when the thesis titles are awarded.
Seminars were also held to train basic skills in the use of SPSS software for data analysis specifically aimed at thesis projects.

The preparation of part or all of the thesis work during mobility periods abroad (Erasmus, Overworld et cetera) is encouraged, subject to agreement with the supervisor. A record is kept in the student's career of having developed part of the research for the purpose of the thesis abroad.

The TRADE thesis

TRADE assigns the thesis the value of 14 ECTS credits: it is therefore an important, demanding piece of work that will give the student considerable satisfaction if it is planned in good time and carried out with commitment. In order to provide all the information necessary for the successful development of the thesis, the Course organises the 'TRADE Thesis Meeting' every year in December.

Please find attached the slides used during the thesis meeting on 10 December 2021.

As part of the TRADE thesis meeting, all TRADE teaching staff members present the available topics, special projects, and the 'philosophy' of conducting a thesis work in each subject.

Before requesting the Second-cycle degree Thesis from TRADE Professors, students should carefully read the information material. The presentation, which can also be downloaded at the bottom of this page, contains all the relevant content to support the dissertation, including deadlines and the procedure for requesting a thesis supervisor and publishing assignments.

In particular, if you wish to request the thesis from a Professor in the Marketing Area, you should be aware that the Area uses a centralised assignment procedure with specific deadlines and forms, as indicated in the material below.
Contact person for further clarifications on the Second-cycle degree Thesis at TRADE is Prof. Silvia Bellini (email: silvia.bellini@unipr.it).

PLEASE NOTE: this assignment does NOT replace all the secretarial procedures required for graduation published on the DEGREES and SECOND-CYCLE DEGREES pages of the Department website.