Students are required to consistently attend courses and engage in study and research activities regularly, adhering to the guidelines and standards set by the Faculty Board (Collegio Docenti). Every year, Ph.D. students must report their research progress from the previous year to the Faculty (Collegio Docenti).
During their Ph.D. Program, students are obliged to earn a minimum number of CFUs (Crediti Formativi Universitari, equivalent to University Credit Units). These credits can be earned by attending various seminars and workshops.
Upon completing their Ph.D. studies, the Ph.D. candidates are expected to submit their dissertation thesis to the Faculty Board for approval to proceed to the final examination. The Ph.D. thesis is submitted for external evaluation to two highly esteemed professors in the specific field of interest.
The final examination involves a public defense of the dissertation, where candidates present and discuss the results of their research before a panel of experts in the field. The dissertation defense may be carried out in a language other than Italian.
Ph.D. students are required to submit an annual report detailing the activities undertaken throughout the year. This report must include:
A description of the research project, including a summary, introduction and rationale, objectives, methodology, results, conclusions, future perspectives, and a bibliography, with a maximum length of 4 pages.
A list of attended activities, including seminars, courses, and meetings. Students must attend at least 15 seminars each academic year.
A list of posters or oral presentations given at national or international conferences.
A list of publications.
It also required the incurred expenses report (use the file "riepilogo Budget di ricerca" that can be downloaded from the Forms and paperwork section on the UPO web page).
Thesis defenses are typically scheduled twice a year, in the latter half of February and in July.
One month before the defense date, Ph.D. students must submit a comprehensive report of the research activities conducted during the entire duration of the Ph.D. Program. This report should contain all the information listed for the annual report.
It also required the incurred expenses report (use the file "riepilogo Budget di ricerca" that can be downloaded from the Forms and paperwork section on the UPO web page).
The Ph.D. candidates are also required to submit their Ph.D. thesis in PDF format, along with the evaluation reports from two external reviewers. These reviewers are appointed by the Coordinator in collaboration with the students' Tutors.
Download the forms to be used here:
Forms for the thesis (the anti-plagiarism self-certification and the thesis release form) are available here