Final defence Procedures: Overview of the PhD Evaluation and Defence Process
By the end of the final year of the PhD program, each doctoral candidate must present a comprehensive report detailing the research activities conducted during the entire PhD path. A positive evaluation by the Board is a mandatory prerequisite for admission to the final examination. The result is communicated to the candidate at the conclusion of the presentation. Moreover, as part of the requirements for admission to the final examination, the Faculty requires at least one publication.
The student must submit the thesis to the reviewers within six months following the discussion of the third-year report. If the student is unable to meet this six-month deadline, they must submit a formal extension request, co-signed by both the student and their tutors, to dottorato.csls@unito.it and the PhD program’s coordinator. Please note that any extension granted cannot exceed 12 months from the date of the third-year report discussion.
When the reviewers received the thesis have one month to evaluate and return the completed evaluation form to the candidate.
- If the evaluations is positive, the candidate and supervisor(s) may proceed directly with organizing the thesis defence.
- If the reviewers recommend major revisions, the candidate has up to six months to revise the thesis. Once revisions are complete, the candidate resubmits the thesis to the reviewers, who will assess whether all critical issues have been resolved.
Once the revision process has been completed and approved, the composition of the Examining Board for the thesis defence may be initiated. The defence must be scheduled within three months, after which the final version of the thesis must be deposited in the institutional repository. In the following all steps of PhD evaluation and defence process are described in details.
- The doctoral thesis must be written in English.
- It must be accompanied by:
- an English-language abstract,
- a report on research activities conducted during the PhD program,
- and a list of scientific publications.
Each candidate, in agreement with their supervisor(s), must propose at least two external reviewers who meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Must not be affiliated with the same institution as the candidate or supervisor(s),
- Must demonstrate recognized scientific expertise,
- At least one reviewer must be a university professor,
- At least one must be affiliated with a foreign university or institution.
The supervisors are responsible for formally contacting the reviewers and clearly communicating the expectations and procedures.
Reviewers are expected to provide a written, analytical evaluation within 30 days of receiving the thesis. They must recommend one of the following outcomes: Admission to the public defense then the defense may proceed. Major revisions required the PhD candidate, in collaboration with the supervisors, must carefully revise the thesis and submit a formal response letter addressing the comments and suggestions of the reviewers. This outcome results in a postponement of the defense, not exceeding a period of six months.
The final exam consists of a public defence of the thesis, which may be conducted remotely, if necessary. The Examining Board shuold be organized by the supervisor and must consist of:
• At least three official members and three alternates,
• At least two-thirds of the members must be academics not affiliated with the hosting institution,
• No more than one-third of the members can be affiliated with institutions participating in the PhD program, generally the supervisors belogon to the board will be the president of the commission.
The Board is proposed by the Faculty, with attention to gender balance, and formally appointed by Rectoral Decree. A single board may be appointed for multiple candidates.
At the conclusion of the defence, the Board issues a collective evaluation:
• The thesis may be approved or rejected.
• Honors (cum laude) may be awarded unanimously in cases of exceptional scientific merit.
When it is feasible, it si encorage the discussion of more student in a single date.
• The Board’s minutes must be drafted using the official template provided by the administration.
• The Board must complete its duties within 90 days from the Rector’s appointment decree. Failure to do so will result in the automatic dismissal of the Board, and a new board will be appointed.
Upon successful defence, the Rector confers the title of Doctor of Research (Dott. Ric./Ph.D.).
Within 30 days of the thesis defence, the final version of the thesis must be deposited in the institutional open-access repository, in compliance with national legislation.
Extract from the Regulations of the University of Turin concerning the functioning of the Doctoral School and Doctoral Courses (pursuant to Ministerial Decree No. 226 of 14 December 2021)