2018-2019 A.Y.
Integrated Master of Arts in Giurisprudenza (5-y; Law)
7.
THESIS AND GRADUATION SESSION
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7.1.
Thesis
To be admitted to the graduation session students must earn all the credit points provided for in the program structure except for those credits of the thesis.
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7.1.1.
Content
In order to obtain the Integrated Master of Arts in Law degree, a final exam is required. The exam requires students to present and defend their written thesis to the Degree Board. The thesis shapes the student's educational experience in a significant way. It is the result of research carried out under the supervision of the thesis advisor on a topic connected to the main subject area of the graduating student's curriculum. The topic of the thesis does not necessarily need to be associated with a course in the student's study plan. It can be based on work experience (internship) or a period of study in Italy or abroad. The thesis must demonstrate the student's command of the basic methodologies of the subject areas he/she has studied. Students must also prepare an in-depth analysis of a specific topic addressing the theoretical, practical and empirical aspects in a critical and original way. The thesis requires approximately 4 months of full-time preparation. Students can opt to write the thesis in either Italian or English. The defense language is the same as the language in which the thesis is written. Theses associated with the Angelo Sraffa Department of Legal Studies and the historical-economic area of the Department of Social and Political Sciences generally consist of 150-200 pages (around 50,000-70,000 words). Theses associated with other Departments generally consist of 50 pages (about 18,000 words). The thesis also has an abstract which concisely summarizes the main topic of the thesis. The "Guide to writing a degree thesis for the Integrated Master of Arts Program" (Italian version) can be downloaded from the website, designed to aid students in writing their theses.
We encourage you to carefully check the correct procedures for the use of citations in the above guide. The University pays particular attention to the originality of the students’ thesis. It must be the result of a personal contribution, it must not be carried out with the aid of outside consulting firms, special attention must be paid to citations and it must not contain texts taken from other sources. To this end, the University has adopted ad-hoc software in order to verify the originality of the work. Should copying of work be discovered, the student will be referred to the Disciplinary Board and appropriate measures will be taken. Last change 23/07/2018 11:13 |
7.2.
Graduation application procedures
The graduation application procedures process is divided into the following compulsory phases:
Students who do not complete all the phases of the graduation application procedure will not be admitted in the graduation session.
Bocconi University offers assistance at the Secretary’s Office of the School of Law (Location Table). Last change 29/10/2018 14:24 |
7.2.1.
Assigning thesis title
The thesis is formally assigned by the thesis advisor, who will supervise the progress of the work. The advisor may nominate a second advisor if:
The discussant is chosen from among the professors who can assume the role of thesis discussant according to rank and qualifications, as defined by the University. Title entering procedures Thesis title assignment can be made only if the student is enrolled in the fifth year of studies. After having agreed upon the thesis title with the Advisor professor, the graduating student must:
In case of a Second Advisor, the name must not be entered in the Graduation Application Procedure online but communicated in accordance with the procedure described above. The information entered in Graduation>Application procedures is immediately made available to the Advisor Professor who continues online with the assignment of the thesis and any change of the Discussant professor. Upon title assignment, the student will receive a notification via yoU@B Diary (To Do and Notices widget) and can continue with the following phases of the Graduation Application procedures. NOTE: Title approval by the Advisor professor is a compulsory requirement to make the graduation reservation. Therefore, please enter the title before the deadline scheduled for the graduation reservation (for deadlines, see: www.unibocconi.eu/graduationcalendar). Modifying the title of the thesis If the student wishes to modify the data relating to the title entered only, he/she must use the function Graduation Application procedure>Change title: in this case, if already assigned, the final paper title assignment by the Advisor professor is still valid. The student can change the title entered at Punto Blu until requesting approval from the Advisor professor: once he/she has forwarded the approval request, the function ‘Change title’ will no longer be available on Punto Blu. Cancelling the title entered If the student wishes to change the Advisor professor and enter a new title, he/she must use the function Graduation application procedures>Cancel title: in this case, he/she must repeat the whole procedure of title entering and must wait for the title assignment from the new Advisor professor. IMPORTANT: Students who continue with the cancelation of the title must also cancel any graduation reservation that may have been submitted. They must make a new graduation reservation after receiving the title from the new Advisor professor, within the deadlines. Uploading non-definitive thesis attachments Only upon approval of the Advisor Professor after a specific request, can the student forward NON-DEFINITIVE files of his/her work (e.g. single chapters of temporary sections) by using the appropriate function ‘Thesis attachments’ available in Punto Blu. The attached files in progress are made available to the professor. IMPORTANT: uploading the files in the ‘Thesis attachment non-definitive files’ function DOES NOT replace the upload of the one definitive file which MUST be made in any case by using the function ‘Thesis title Information completion’>Thesis final attachment. Once the title has been assigned by the tutor professor, the student can:
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7.2.2.
Graduation reservation
The first graduation session available for fifth year Integrated MA students duly enrolled in the 2018-2019 academic year will be held in July 2019. Graduating students make the graduation reservation via Punto Blu, by selecting the "Graduation Reservation" option. Students must meet the deadlines and timelines indicated on the Graduation Calendar that will be available later in year. Students do not need to have passed all the exams in the program structure in order to make the graduation reservation. In fact, it is advisable to make the graduation reservation before the submission of the thesis. When making the "Graduation Reservation" the procedure checks the regular administrative and financial status* of the student and that:
* Students are advised to complete the payment about one month before making the graduation reservation (for details on the graduation fee, see chapter 9.1 Costs). Students' regular administrative status implies:
For information regarding the financial status and installments, students are advised to check with the Fees Funding and Housing Office www.unibocconi.eu/fees Once registration has been completed, students are suggested to print, the receipt of the graduation reservation made through Punto Blu. In the days after the graduation reservation, students are:
After reserving a graduation session, students can no longer enroll in the new academic year unless they cancel the graduation session that they have reserved. Students who no longer wish to graduate during the chosen graduation session should:
If the reservation is refused for the last graduation session available in the academic year (March session), the student must enroll in the new year.
After enrolling in the academic year and duly paying the fees and tuition due, a new graduation reservation can be completed through the student diary.Last change 01/03/2019 09:25 |
7.2.3.
Title information completion - uploading the final attachment
After completing the first phases of the graduation application procedure, the graduating student must enter online all information still missing to complete the title of the thesis. Through the function Graduation>Application procedure>’Thesis title information completion’ the student can:
In addition, after the data entered have been confirmed, the student can
The student must upload the definitive file of the thesis by the deadlines specified in the graduation calendar published on the website at www.unibocconi.eu/graduationcalendar.
Uploading the definitive thesis file The upload of the definitive file must be EXCLUSIVELY carried out through the function Thesis title information completion>Thesis definitive attachment. The function Thesis Attachments-non-definitive files is therefore not the function used to upload the definitive file of the thesis. In addition, after the definitive version of the thesis has been uploaded and approval has been requested on Punto Blu, no changes will be accepted. The information entered and the definitive thesis attachment uploaded by the student online will be made available immediately to be viewed by the Advisor Professor. IMPORTANT NOTE:
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7.2.4.
Approval request
Approval is a declaration of approval released by the professor regarding the thesis written by the student and it represents the final phase of the graduation application procedures. The student may request approval after:
The approval request must be carried out via the yoU@B Diary upon selecting the function ‘Graduation>Application procedure>Request approval' by the dates specified in the graduation calendar published on the website at www.unibocconi.eu/graduationcalendar. Upon approval released by the advisor professor, the student will receive a message on the yoU@B Diary and can consider the graduation application procedure correctly completed. Last change 01/06/2018 08:00 |
7.3.
Format specifications
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7.3.1.
Thesis format specifications
The thesis must be uploaded in a single file, PDF format created with the program Adobe Acrobat. The name of the file must be TS, followed by the student ID number, e.g., if the student ID number is 1234567, the name of the file will be TS1234567.pdf. No reference to personal details must be entered in the thesis content. The definitive file must include the following pages as the first 4 pages:
The text (table of contents, introduction, body, etc.) MUST start AFTER the 4 pages described above, page numbering included. In addition, the body of the thesis must not include a title page or abstract, which will be automatically printed and it will include the information on the title entered by the student via Punto Blu. In addition, the following parameters must be respected:
The thesis must start on the right page (odd), because it will be printed on both sides.
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7.3.2.
Format specifications for any materials supporting the thesis oral defense
If the student wishes to prepare any support materials for the thesis oral defense (e.g. any paper presentation brought to the graduation session) he/she is encouraged to follow the indications below in line with the principles of environmental sustainability applied by the University:
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7.4.
Graduation Acceptance
After the period for completing the graduation applications procedure, the Study Planning office will determine whether or not the student meets all the criteria to graduate.
The thesis will be submitted to the Degree Assessment Board for assessment only if the above conditions are met and all the criteria to graduate have been fulfilled. Last change 08/06/2018 15:50 |
7.5.
Degree Assessment Boards
The thesis is evaluated by the Degree Assessment Board of which the advisor is a member. The Boards are appointed by the Rector or by one of his/her delegates, and are presided by a tenured Professor (1st or 2nd level) who can also take on the role of thesis advisor, and a second advisor and/or discussant of one or more theses which are subject to assessment. The Boards are made up of professors, researchers and professionals who are experts on the thesis topic and on the other educational activities included in the student's academic career. The Boards consist of at least 5 members including:
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7.6.
Graduation and awarding of the graduation grade
The thesis defense language will be the same of the thesis language. The graduation session (thesis presentation) includes:
Upon completion of the presentation, the candidate exits and the Board determines the student's graduation grade. Then, in the student's presence, the Board will proclaim that the student has graduated and announce the graduation grade.
The overall classification is expressed out of 110.Students pass the final exam if they obtain a grade of at least 66. The graduation grade takes into account all the educational activities included in the graduating student's academic career. The grade point average (GPA) is calculated by the weighted mathematical average on the credit point values of all marks expressed out of 30 and converted into a mark out of 110. Up to 6 points (out of 110) may be added to this score based on evaluation of the thesis and the student's overall curriculum. With reference to the "GPA" it should be noted that:
The thesis is evaluated on its content, presentation and defense. The content of the thesis is evaluated on the clarity and accuracy of the written work as well as the student's ability to summarize. The points awarded are based on the complexity of the topics covered, the thoroughness and depth of analysis, literature cited, methodology applied and quality and accuracy of empirical analysis. Originality and degree of innovation are also important factors. In addition, the adequacy of the conclusions reached is also assessed. The presentation is evaluated on the ability to express oneself clearly, plan and organize a well- structured presentation, apply critical reasoning and analytical skills, and respond appropriately to the questions and issues raised by the Board. A high GPA does not guarantee that the student will receive a high score for the thesis. On the other hand, a comprehensive and original thesis can be awarded a high score regardless of the student's GPA. The minimum graduation grade is 66 and the maximum grade is 110; if the decimal is equal to or higher than 5, then the graduation grade is rounded up, if the decimal is lower than 5 it is rounded down.
The Board can unanimously award "lode"(cum laude) to students who meet the following conditions:
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7.7.
Graduation sessions
The graduation sessions calendar (which will be available during the year) can be consulted in the graduation session calendar’s section of the website. There, the following information is also available:
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7.8.
Useful information
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7.9.
Self-declarations and degree certifications
As a general rule, on the days following the thesis oral defense, graduating students can:
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