Here are the articles of the Rules of the University of Discipline of the PhD related to the final exam and the doctoral thesis. These articles (n. 19 and n. 20) regulate the issue of the title of PhD and the procedures for the drafting and evaluation of the doctoral thesis, and for the admission of the doctoral candidate to the final exam by the Faculty Commitee.
Art.19 (Final Examination)
The title of Ph.D., abbreviated with the words: "Dott.Ric." or "Ph.D.", is obtained upon passing the final exam, at the end of the PhD course. It is conferred by the Rector and the University certifies the achievement, even with the issue of the parchment, with the name of the doctorate attended and, at the proposal of the Faculty Commitee, the Thematic Area in which, possibly, the doctorate itself.
The final examination consists in the evaluation of the scientific results achieved, the degree of deepening of the methodologies for research in their respective fields and the scientific training achieved by the candidates during the PhD studies.
The final exam sessions will be held in two annual sessions, one of which will be an extraordinary one; they are public and the publicity of the proceedings is assured.
The title is awarded following the positive evaluation of a research thesis that contributes to the advancement of knowledge or methodologies in the chosen field of investigation. In the context of the above mentioned evaluation, account will also be taken of the evaluation expressed by the Faculty Commitee on the overall activity carried out by the candidate and the presentation of the final thesis.
Art. 20 (Doctoral thesis and admission to the final exam)
The doctoral thesis, accompanied by a summary in Italian or English, is written in Italian or English or in another language with the permission of the teaching staff.
The Faculty Commitee, at the end of the course, expresses for each doctoral thesis, the activities carried out during the course and any publications and sends them to the Doctorate, Grants and Scholarships Office and to the doctoral students concerned.
The thesis, accompanied by the report of the doctoral candidate on the activities carried out during the PhD and any publications, is evaluated by at least two highly qualified teachers, including those belonging to foreign institutions, external to the subjects who contribute to the award of the doctoral title, hereinafter referred to as evaluators. The evaluators, who can not be part of the Selection Committee for the final examination referred to in Article 22 below, express a written analytical judgment on the thesis and propose its admission to public discussion or postponement for a period not exceeding six months if they consider significant additions or corrections necessary.
By the end of the PhD course, the Faculty Commitee identifies the evaluators and sends them the thesis for evaluation. The evaluators are also selected on the basis of their declared willingness to review the thesis in a maximum of 30 days. The written analytical judgment on the thesis, containing the proposal for admission or referral, is communicated to the College itself, which will promptly forward it to the competent Office and to the PhD students concerned.
In the case of referral and within the deadline set in the referral itself, the thesis integrated and/or corrected on the basis of the indications provided by the evaluators, is transmitted to the same by the Faculty Commitee. Within thirty days of receipt, the evaluators will express a new judgment on the thesis, made in the light of any corrections or additions made. The evaluators themselves will communicate this judgment to the Faculty Commitee, who will forward it to the competent Office and to the PhD students concerned.
After the postponement period set by the evaluators, the thesis is in any case admitted to public discussion, accompanied by the new written opinion of the evaluators.
The postponement referred to above involves only the obligation to supplement and/or correct the thesis and does not result in an extension of the duration of the PhD course, which ceases at its natural expiry date.