Printable versionFinal Exam
Final Exam Admission Process
As a PhD student in International Studies, you must submit a request for admission to the Final Examination by September of your third year. Your request will be evaluated by the Programme Committee, along with a report on your activities. In your request, you should also state whether you aim to receive the "Doctor Europaeus" label, provided you meet all the necessary criteria.
Doctor Europaeus
The School of International Studies provides an opportunity to earn the distinction of "Doctor Europaeus" alongside the PhD degree. To be eligible for this distinction, you must fulfil certain conditions that are generally easy to meet within the program's structure. During your final exam admission request, you need to inform the PhD Programme Committee of your intention to pursue this distinction.
To earn the "Doctor Europaeus" label, you must meet the following criteria:
- Your thesis must be reviewed by at least two professors from European Union universities outside Italy.
- At least one jury member from a European institution outside Italy must be included.
- Part of your defense should take place in an official EU language other than the country where the defense is held.
- Your research should include a trimester spent in another European country, with the period and activities certified by the host institution.
Procedure
Before submitting the final dissertation, the student must discuss its state with their supervisor. The request for admission to the final examination must be submitted online through the Esse3 system www.esse3.unitn.it/Start.do. This request requires a contribution fee of €72.00, which covers two duty stamps of €16.00. PhD students must have paid all three-year PhD course fees before submitting the online final examination form. Information regarding the online application process is available at www.unitn.it/en/ateneo/1932/final-examination.
The supervisor will suggest some external experts to the PhD Programme Committee, who will then nominate two external referees. These referees will examine the dissertation before it is admitted to the final examination. The Administrative office (phd [at] sis.unitn.it) will send PhD students all the necessary details about their referees and provide instructions on how to submit the required documents, which include the dissertation (.pdf files) and a report on their activities during the Programme (PhD Completion Report). PhD students must also send a hard copy of their dissertation to the referees (and their supervisor) by courier.
Referees may propose one of the following results as an overall evaluation of the student's thesis:
- MINOR Revision: the student is eligible for the final examination/PhD defense.
- MAJOR Revision: the student must resubmit a new version of the thesis with a rebuttal letter within 6 months.
Once both referees submit their evaluations, the Administrative office (phd [at] sis.unitn.it) will send the PhD student the reviews via email. The PhD Programme Committee will then submit a proposal for a Final Examination Commission to the Rector, which may include the referees. The Central PhD Office of the University (phd.office-cssh [at] unitn.it) will send an official notification letter to the PhD candidate, which will include the composition of the Commission, the date and room where the Examination will take place.
Publication of the Dissertation
The University's Central PhD Office (phd.office-cssh [at] unitn.it) will provide instructions to PhD candidates on how to upload their dissertations in the Research Registry of the University of Trento (IRIS), where research data is collected, managed, disseminated, and preserved. The URL for the registry is https://iris.unitn.it.
The dissertation in electronic format and the related disclaimer must be uploaded at least 10 days before the final examination date.
Further information about the examination
Dissertations are defended publicly, and members of the Commission can participate through video conference. Final Examinations are individual and specific to the candidate. They are a true exam, meaning that they are substantive and not just ceremonial. The Final Examinations typically last between 90 minutes and 3 hours and are conducted in English. However, in exceptional cases, by agreement of the candidate and all members of the Examination Commission, another language can be used.
During the Examination, the candidate must defend their work. The members of the Commission will primarily examine whether the candidate has a comprehensive understanding of the academic literature in the field in which they have undertaken research, whether the thesis is the candidate’s own work, whether it makes an original contribution to the academic literature, and whether the candidate is fully able to explain and discuss the research and its results.