Thesis defence

The thesis defence is public and it is done before a Thesis Commission composed of 1 President and 4 members nominated by the Dean.

It consists of

• an oral presentation of the thesis done by the student with the help of slides (max 10 min)
• a discussion on the topic of the thesis and on general topics of Computer Science (max 5 min)

The defence is held in English. 

Evaluation and grade

The final degree grade is composed of:

• the weighted average of the grades achieved in exams, calculated in 110/110 (the grades of the Free choice and Language exams are not considered for the mean);
• the points given by the Thesis Commission at the thesis defence.

The grade thus obtained is rounded to the nearest whole number.

Students enrolled before 2024/25: the maximum number of points given at the thesis defence is 5. 

Students enrolled from 2024/25: the maximum number of points given at the thesis defence is 7. 

Students enrolled before 2020/21: please get in touch with the Faculty Secretariat.

The thesis is graded on following criteria:

• Knowledge and Understanding: How well the student has demonstrated an understanding of the project’s background, including a comprehensive overview of related work and current state-of-the-art research.
• Applying Knowledge and Understanding: The extent to which the student was able to address the thesis topics with effective solutions, demonstrating the application of techniques learned throughout the study program.
• Learning Skills: The range and depth of essential skills acquired by the student during the course of the thesis work.
• Making Judgments: The level of independence shown by the student, assessing how much guidance was required versus the degree of autonomy achieved in conducting the thesis work.
• Communication Skills: The clarity and quality of the dissertation’s writing, evaluating the effectiveness of the presentation and articulation of the content. 

The Thesis Commission can fail a candidate if the thesis defence is considered insufficient; in this case you will have to present a new thesis at a later Graduation Session.

In accordance with the “general university study regulation” (Art. 26) of the unibz it is possible to give the “cum laude” starting from the grade 110/110. The "cum laude" has to be unanimously approved by the commission.