Final Exam Guidelines & FAQ

Example Guidelines for PhD Candidates:

Image 37th Cycle Defense NovDec Session Guidelines Rev

Final Exam general timeline for 37th cycle

Image 37th Cycle Timeline PhD Final Exam Estimate Rev

PhD title countdown: what is there to know

28/02/2025 slide presentation:  Image Final Exam Presentation Rev

Yr4 final presentations with the OC should be planned in accordance with student preparation and session chosen for the thesis discussion. The latest possible date is September 10.

Thesis format and printing guidelines
There is no specific format for the thesis. However, it must show affiliation to the Doctorate in Cognitive and Brain Sciences at the University of Trento. When emailing the thesis to the committee members you ought to offer to send them a printed version of your thesis. They may not request one, but in such a case it is up to you to have one printed in time for the discussion for the Doctorate School’s archives. In this case the thesis should be printed front and back, and at a printer OTHER THAN the one in Palazzo Fedrigotti’s reception. Please ensure that the printed copy is at reception of Palazzo Fedrigotti the day before the exam at the very latest.
In order to see CIMeC PhD theses from past PhD candidates you are welcome to see them in the 2nd floor meeting room of Palazzo Fedrigotti. Leah has the key to the cabinet where they are.
Last but not least, plagiarism is a serious matter. Be sure you aren’t purposely or accidentally plagiarizing in your thesis. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plagiarism. In accordance with the PhD Director, the amount of plagiarism allowed in a thesis is at most 20% (via Turnitin check), excluding the section on methods.

Slides from a seminar given by University staff on depositing PhD theses can be found on this page:  https://www.unitn.it/en/research/research-support/scientific-publications/submitting-phd-theses and are also available here in English:

Image Guidelines For Loading The Doctoral Thesis Into IRIS  

Reviewer Profile and Criteria

In order to be nominated, Reviewers:

- mustn’t have published any manuscript with Supervisor or PhD candidate within last 5 years;
- mustn’t have a pre-print with Supervisor or PhD Candidate;
- mustn't belong to the institution whose title will be that of the PhD program (esterni ai soggetti che hanno concorso al rilascio del titolo di dottorato). Therefore cannot be a member of the school’s DPC, even if an "Esperto", or of UNITN;
- can be foreigners or Italians with appointments abroad;
- can be researchers/scientists/non-academic staff, as long as they are experts in the field of the thesis. If this were the case then the other reviewer must be an academic professor (docente Universitario).
 

Review outcomes

Accepted: No rebuttal necessary but, should the reviewer make comments, it is up to you and your Supervisor to decide whether to take the comments in consideration and retouch the thesis accordingly. A rebuttal, however, is not obligatory.

Accepted with minor revisions:  A rebuttal is necessary, along with thesis revision, to be sent 2 weeks prior to the final exam date.

Major revisions required:  The Reviewer requires a major revision of up to 6 months. 

 

FOR QUESTIONS/COMMENTS PLEASE WRITE TO PHD.CIMEC@UNITN.IT

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