Applying for graduation

The undergraduate student must complete the on-line Graduation Application (via the Uniweb system), which involves the student entering the title of the thesis and its subsequent approval by the lecturer by computer only.

The complete online graduation application procedure can be found by following the path: www.unipd.it - “Studentesse e Studenti” (Students) - “Gestione carriera studenti” (Student career management) - “Laurearsi” (Graduation) - “Domanda di laurea” (Graduation Application).

Students are also required to check the deadlines for submitting their final dissertation to the Biology Department’s Academic Office for the period in which they intend to graduate, as indicated in the graduation notices for each period.
 

Regulations for the final exam for the Master Degrees in Molecular Biology and Sanitary Biology (DM 270)

Master's Research Project and final thesis

The final examination consists of preparing and discussing an original thesis on topics related to the university course. This work summarises and illustrates the results obtained by the student following a period of internship, and gives the student a total of 35 ECTS (CFU).

The Master’s Degree internship may be carried out at a research laboratory of the University of Padua or, on the basis of special agreements, at companies or public and private bodies where the student may carry out a period of research activity consistent with their university course.

During this period, students will be assisted by a Thesis Supervisor chosen from among the lecturers at the University of Padua (and a possible Thesis Co-Supervisor) who will follow them through the preparation of the thesis and approve the content of the final paper.

In the event that the internship is carried out at an external body or company, the student will identify, in addition to the university thesis supervisor, a company tutor who will assist them in the facility at which the internship will take place.

At the beginning of the internship period, the Traineeship and Graduation Committee assigns each student a Co-Examiner who acts as a reviewer throughout the course of the thesis preparation. The student is required to adhere strictly to the confidentiality criteria agreed with the contacts of the university and non-university facilities when disseminating the results of research connected with their work. For further information and insights please consult the Code of Ethics and the University’s Patent Regulations

The internship implies a total commitment of 875 hours over a period of at least 6 months. Before commencing the period devoted to the final examination, the student must have passed all the first year exams.

Starting the internship: formalities and forms

For the internship to be activated, the student must:

1. follow the course “General training - basic course on worker safety” accessible at the link: https://elearning.unipd.it/formazione by clicking on “Area sicurezza” (Safety area) and then “Formazione generale” (General training) (authentication via Single Sign On will be required) provided by the university, and pass the relevant final test;

2. follow the course “Specific training in health and safety protection for workers employed in laboratory activities - High risk class” accessible at the link: https://elearning.unipd.it/formazione by clicking on “Area sicurezza” (Safety area) and then “Formazione specifica – attività a rischio alto” (Specific training - high risk activities) (authentication via Single Sign On will be required) prepared by the university, and pass the relevant final test;

3. fill in the Education and Guidance Project on the University internship page www.unipd.it/stage in the personal area for students (attention: select “Progetto Formativo - Nuovo Progetto” (Training Project - New Project), in the dedicated space enter the VAT no./tax identification number of the chosen body or company and choose “Stage Libero” (Free Internship);

The Internship Activation Form must be completed with the following information in the different fields:
a. Tasks to be performed: enter the topic of the thesis specifying the techniques that will be adopted during the internship;
b. Functional area: select “Altro – specificare” (Other - specify) from the drop-down menu;
c. Office/Service/Operational Unit/Department: specify the facility where the activity will take place, in the following fields indicate its address;
d. Company tutor: indicate the person in charge at the external body, or the lecturer in charge of the laboratory for internships within the University;
e. Duration (months): indicate the period for which the student will attend the facility for the internship.
f. Timetable: indicate the time slots in which the student will carry out their activity;
g. Days of the week: e.g. Monday to Friday;
h. Start Date and End Date: indicate the period during which the internship is intended to be carried out, in any case not exceeding 12 months in total;
i. Academic tutor: indicate the thesis supervisor supervising the thesis work.

4. send, at least 15 working days before the start date of the internship, the following forms to the Biology Department’s Academic Office (didattica.biologia@unipd.it):

• The Master’s Degree Internship Application;
• Self-certification of Enrolment with Examinations (downloadable from the Uniweb personal page, by accessing “Didattica” → “Autocertificazioni” (Teaching → Self-certifications);
• The intern identification form and copies of safety training course certificates (only for students whose thesis supervisor belongs to the Biology Department).
• The Education and Guidance Project in PDF/A format electronically signed, preferably in PAdES format, by the host body (for internships outside the university) or by the laboratory manager (for internships within the university). The Academic Office of the Department of Biology will initiate the electronic signature procedure for the intern and for approval by the Degree Programme Internship Officer (NB if the company does not have an electronic signature, please send the downloaded education project to didattica.biologia@unipd.it pointing out that the body is not in possession of the electronic signature; it will be the office’s task to contact the body to obtain the signature);

With regard to the Education Project, students will have to follow the new signature submission methods, which are described below:

1. Students must download the Project from the Unipd Careers Platform in PDF/A format;

2. Students must have the Project digitally signed by the host body or Unipd laboratory manager;

3. Students must send the Project signed by the company tutor, in PDF/A format, to the Biology Department’s Academic Office (didattica.biologia@unipd.it). The Academic Office will upload the document to the E-Sign Platform;

4. Via the E-Sign Platform, students can generate their electronic signature and sign the document;

5. Once the signature has been acquired, the Biology Academic Office sends the Projects to the Rector’s Delegate (Prof. Giovanni Vazza) who will sign all the forms via the U-Sign Platform;

6. Once all the signatures have been obtained, the document is complete and the traineeship can be started on the date indicated in the Project.

The education project must be completed paying particular attention to the correct filling in of all required mandatory fields and must be downloaded in PDF/A format.

Please note that any changes made to the project once downloaded will delete the PDF/A format, so before sending it to the company, or to the laboratory manager, check and if necessary save it again in the format indicated. Once downloaded and signed, the Education Project cannot be modified, so please pay attention when filling it in.

ATTENTION: as of 1 May 2022, only digitally signed education projects in PDF/A format will be accepted.

Finally, students requiring access to the Biology Department’s facilities, on the Thesis Supervisor’s instructions, must fill in the appropriate forms to be requested from the Academic Office.

At the end of the internship, students must send to the Academic Office:

• The certificate of completion of master’s degree internship duly completed and signed.

Thesis Supervisor,Thesis Co-Supervisor, Co-Examiner

The Thesis Supervisor can be:

- a full Professor or Researcher of  the Degree programme Board of Molecular Biology
- a full Professor or Researcher of the Biology Department
- a full Professor or Researcher of the University of Padua.

The thesis subject and the Thesis Supervisor will be evaluated by the Traineeship and Graduation Committee,

The Thesis Co-Supervisor is an optional figure, with the function of assisting the Thesis Supervisor in guiding the student during the internship. They may be professors, PhD or a person with qualified scientific and/or technological skills, proven by at least three years of post-graduate experience.

In the event that the internship is carried out at an external body or company, the company will identify, in addition to the university Thesis Supervisor, a company tutor who will assist them in the facility at which the internship will take place.

The Co-Examiner is nominated by the Traineeship and Graduation Committee. He will be part of the examination board with the task of analizing carefully the progress of the thesis. The student is required to make contact with the assigned Co-Examiner and to discuss their research activity with them periodically, for a maximum of 3 meetings during the internship period.

Internship during Erasmus programme –Double Degree

Internships are possible through Erasmus+ mobility, which has two sub-programmes, the Erasmus+ study and the Erasmus+ traineeship, or through the Double Degree

For both programmes students must submit the same forms except for the Education and Guidance Project, which will be replaced by the Learning Agreement.

Upon completion, a copy of the Transcript of Records or Short Evaluation Report for Thesis Work must also be handed in to the academic office.

Students must verify that the tutor of the foreign company completes and sends via email the student evaluation form

How to write the thesis and to obtain the Master’s degree (DM 270)

The final examination consists of an original thesis written by the student under the guidance of a Thesis Supervisor, based on the experience gained during the traineeship. It gives the student 35 ECTS (CFU).
The thesis must be written and discussed exclusively in English for the LM Molecular Biology, in English or Italian for the LM Biologia Sanitaria.

The thesis will be discussed before a Master’s Degree Committee, evaluation the entire course of study and the competences, knowledge and skills acquired by the student. The presentation an discussion of the thesis must be exclusively in English for the LM Molecular Biology, in English or Italian for the LM Biologia Sanitaria.

The students completing their internships, or part of it, abroad, can write the thesis in English, including a broad summary in Italian.  
For those students it is not necessary prior notice.

For the LM Biologia Sanitaria, based on specific deliberations of the Teaching Committee, it is possible to write the thesis in English even if it is written in Italy, on the following conditions:

1. adequate request motivation of the student, addressed to the President of the Traineeship and Graduation Committee;
2. favourable opinion of the Thesis Supervisor, directly demanded by the Traineeship and Graduation Committee   

The Traineeship and Graduation Committee is responsible for the evaluations of those requests.

Discussion and Announcement:

The student who has passed all the exams and the ECTS of the program, excluded the ones referring to the final examination, discusses the thesis before a Master’s Degree Committee.

The Master’s Degree Committee, appointed by the Director of the Department of Biology, consists of a President and at least four Commissioners, including the Thesis Supervisor and the Co-Examiner. The final assessment by the Master’s Degree Committee will take into account the entire course of study and the competences, knowledge and skills acquired by the student.

Thesis characteristics:

• A maximum of 80 pages (40 two-sided sheets) including Figures, Tables and Bibliography:
• Abstract (maximum 200 words) in either Italian or English language
• Bibliography (maximum 35 references)

Score

The final graduation mark is determined by the Master’s Degree Committee by adding up:

a. the weighted average grades of the examinations of the compulsory educational activities and free-choice activities, weighted for the relevant ECTS credits and related to 110ths;

b. the grade increment, also expressed in 110ths.

The maximum grade increment is 12 points, distributed as follows:

0 to + 4 points awarded by the Thesis Supervisor;

0 to + 4 points awarded by the Co-Examiner;

0 to + 4 points awarded by the Master’s Degree Committee (STARTING FROM THE DEGREE SESSION OF JULY 2022 - until March 2022 the points awarded by the committee may be a maximum of 3)

If the Thesis Supervisor deems it appropriate, they shall inform the Master’s Degree Committee, as soon as it has been set up, of their intention to propose the student for honours. The honours proposal must be unanimously accepted by the Master’s Degree Committee.

The Master’s Degree Committee may award honours to students who achieve a weighted average grade of 102 and a sum of marks equal to or greater than 111.

The University offers the opportunity to enter the curriculum vitae into the database of AlmaLaurea and the University of Padua.