The final exam

• By 10 October (except in the event of extensions or suspensions), complete and submit to your Coordinator, with a copy to your Supervisor:
  
  • the annual report on the research carried out during the third year;
  • the abstract of the thesis indicating the subject of the research, the methodologies used, the results and impact achieved, and the bibliographic sources consulted;
  • Declaration form (with a request for an embargo on the thesis for a defined period of time, signed by your supervisor);
  • Doctor Europaeus application form, if the conditions are satisfied.
• Within 30 days of completing the PhD Course, submit your application for the degree on the portal http://studiare.unife.it, following the instructions contained in the document ‘Operational guide to applying for a PhD degree’ ; during this procedure, you must attach the thesis document, which must potentially be the final version (i.e. COMPLETE IN ALL ITS PARTS - title page, contents, correct spelling, acknowledgements, etc.) because, if the assessors give a positive evaluation, it will no longer be possible to modify the thesis attachment and this will AUTOMATICALLY become the final thesis file, stored in the UNIFE Institutional Archive of Research Products, SFERA (www.sfera.unife.it), as well as in the Catalogues of the Central National Libraries of Rome and Florence.

• The Academic Board will decide on the appointment of the Referees (2 effective and 1 substitute) who will evaluate your thesis and propose the Final Examination Committee valid for the relevant Cycle.
• The Evaluators will compile their assessment of your thesis exclusively by completing the online form available on the PICA Platform.

The assessment options indicated in the form are as follows:
A. Acceptance of the doctoral thesis (positive assessment): the thesis is admitted directly to the Final Examination without changes.
B. Minor revision required: the thesis is admitted directly to the Final Examination, but the quality must be improved through minor revisions (indicated). No new submission to the assessors is necessary.
C. Major revision required: the thesis is not admitted directly to the Final Examination as its quality must be improved through major revisions (specified). It must be resubmitted to the assessors after 6 months.

N.B. The PICA Platform assigns the worst of the two assessments received as the overall assessment.

• Once the referees have completed their assessment, you will receive an automatic email from the Pica Platform inviting you to view the assessment in the Personal Area of the portal http://studiare.unife.it (Title Obtainment Notice Board)
• If necessary (minor and major revisions), complete the thesis by uploading the revised thesis to the portal http://studiare.unife.it (following the procedures and deadlines indicated in the Operational Guide and Guidelines).

• An overall grade of A or B means that you will take the final exam on the first session;
• In the case of a major revision C, you must complete the revised digital thesis within 180 days of receiving the assessment (and in any case no earlier than 90 days).
  Once the thesis has been uploaded, the system will send an automatic notification to the Evaluators and Supervisor to inform them of the new thesis attachment: within 30 days of receipt, the Referees will reformulate their Assessment. The final examination will take place in a second session.

• The IUSS Office monitors the entire process, sending official communications to the parties involved.

• The final examination takes place in person (except in cases duly authorised by the Academic Board).
• For details on the thesis discussion (duration of the presentation, specifications on slides, language in which the discussion will take place, etc.), we suggest you contact the Coordinator/UNIFE Internal Member of the Examination Committee.
• The outcome (thesis approved, approved with honours or not approved) will be recorded after the IUSS Office has received the Final Examination Minutes from the Examination Committee. You will receive an email confirming the award of your degree and the completion of your studies as soon as the IUSS Office has processed this.