In order to be admitted to the Degree exam, students must:
- have obtained 180 credits related to the disciplines covered by the degree course, including credits for the final exam;
- have drawn up an essay and an individual portfolio under the guidance of a supervising lecturer;
- have submitted the application form and fulfilled all administrative requirements within the deadlines set by the academic calendar according to the procedures laid down by the University.
The exam consists in the presentation of a product (poster, prototype, video, etc.) representing the project(s) developed during the Final Synthesis Laboratory, and a portfolio containing projects and personal experiences relevant to the educational path undertaken.
No materials need to be uploaded during the final exam registration. Presentation + final paper (book/album/tables) + portfolio must be uploaded from the online services in the "Final Exam Registration" application within 5 days from the date of the discussion, for this fulfillment will be forwarded notice when the final exam registration closes.
Both products will be written under the guidance of the supervising lecturer. However, the portfolio must be produced under the guidance of the lecturer responsible for drafting it, where the CCS has so provided.
The portfolio is strictly individual, while the dissertation may be the result of a coordinated group work, with parts common to several students.
The Commission must always be able to identify each candidate's contribution.
The awarding of PEL certifies the completeness of the paper and portfolio, but does not certify the completion of all the exams in the course of study.
There is only one Supervisor, who must be a professor or researcher, either structured or on contract at the University (in the current or previous academic year), and may be part of the Degree Committee.
The Supervisor may be assisted by one or more Co-supervisors or "experts" on specific topics, including people from outside the School.
A lecturer who is not part of the Final Synthesis Laboratory attended by the student cannot be appointed as a Supervisor.
The application for enrolment in the Degree exam must be submitted by the students via their Online Services within the deadlines set by the University.
After a presentation by the Supervisor, the candidate illustrates the work carried out and the results obtained, and answers any questions asked by the members of the Degree Committee and the Supervisor. The candidate has a maximum of 10 minutes for presenting both the dissertation and portfolio, including any questions from the Commission.
The dissertation and the portfolio are normally written in Italian. At the justified request of the candidate, the work may be written in other languages, if authorised by the Degree Director. In any case the presentation must be held in Italian.
Students' attention is drawn to the issue of plagiarism, i.e. the copying (even unintentional) of parts of other authors’ books, essays, theses, articles, projects, without citing the source.
This constitutes the appropriation of another person's work authorship, through total or partial copying.
Students are therefore invited to check their own work and to always cite the sources from which texts and images are taken.
In this sense we recall the following passage from the Ethics and Conduct Code of the Politecnico di Milano: "The Politecnico promotes the integrity of research, condemns plagiarism and the violation of intellectual property, and provides opportunities for all those who carry out research activities to have adequate training in research ethics and integrity."
Following the evaluation, presentation and discussion of the dissertation and the student's entire career within the Degree Programme, the Degree Committee assigns a mark to the candidate's presentation.
The score assigned by the Degree Committee shall have a minimum value of -1 (minus one) point out of one hundred ten to 8 (eight) points out of one hundred ten.
The degree mark awarded by the Degree Committee is expressed using a 110-point scale and it is based on the sum of the average marks obtained by the student in the courses, weighted by the credits and expressed in a 110-point scale rounded off to two decimal places (without taking into account any extracurricular activities and commendations), and the mark awarded by the Degree Committee, expressed in a 110-point scale rounded off to two decimal places.
This sum shall be rounded off to the nearest whole number (0.50 is rounded off to 1.00) and limited to 110.
The minimum graduation mark will always be 66.
The Degree Committee may decide to assign honours.
The Committee shall follow the form attached to these Regulations to evaluate and assign marks. The form has been defined by the School and the CCS and contains relevant areas for the purposes of judging the completeness of the final work submitted.
The Graduates’ Proclamation ceremony is held in solemn public form to celebrate the event.
Graduates will receive the Degree Diploma in accordance with the procedures laid down by the University.
In order to be admitted to the Mater’s Degree exam, students must:
have obtained the 120 credits foreseen in the Master’s Desgree course, including those related to the Internship and to the final exam;
have written an individual thesis under the guidance of a supervising professor;
have submitted the application form and fulfilled all administrative requirements within the deadlines set by the academic calendar, in accordance with the procedures and deadlines established by the University.
The final examination for the assignment of the Master’s Degree and Single-Cycle's Degree consists of the presentation and discussion of an original thesis, which may be of a theoretical, experimental or design nature and must be prepared by the student under the guidance of a Supervisor (D.M. 270/04, art. 11, paragraph 5).
Thesis work is strictly individual.
Theses may be coordinated with each other, with a common introductory part and separate volumes of theses.
The thesis may be written by a maximum of three authors, even if they are enrolled in different Master's Degree courses.
The project work developed within the framework of the Final Synthesis Laboratory is assessed at the end of the course, which lasts six months. The final exam of the Laboratory will verify the complete development of the design process.
During the FSL and in agreement with the Laboratory lecturers, the student will be able to set out possible theoretical or practical developments of the topic addressed in the FSL, which could form the core of the Thesis work.
Students can also decide to carry out their Thesis on different topics from those addressed in the Laboratory work or with Professors other than those of the FSL, as long as they are tenured and belong to the CCS.
There is only one Supervisor, who must be a professor or researcher, either structured or on contract at the University (in the current or previous academic year), and may be part of the Degree Committee.
The Supervisor may be assisted by one or more Co-supervisors or "experts" on specific topics, including people from outside the School.
The application for enrolment in the Master’s Degree exam must be submitted by the students via their Online Services within the deadlines set by the University.
After a presentation by the Supervisor, the candidate illustrates the work carried out and the results obtained, and answers any questions asked by the members of the Degree Committee and the Supervisor.
In the case of a Double Degree, the discussion of which is held at the University where the candidate obtains the other Degree, or in other exceptional cases, at the unquestionable discretion of the Dean, it is possible to take the Degree exam not in presence, by connecting remotely via computer, as long as it is possible to identify the student with certainty.
Students submit their Thesis to the Degree Committee, which may consist of:
the development of a theoretical, design, experimental or innovative Research Thesis;
the Thesis must:
explore the project in its technical-specialist and/or systemic aspects, in relation to the educational objectives of the course of study. The discussion must include an in-depth theoretical/critical, methodological and/or historical dissertation and/or an in-depth examination of an experimental nature;
include a substantial preliminary part devoted to research, which has to be conducted using scientific criteria, and access to scientific sources of knowledge (databases, scientific articles, conference proceedings, etc.);
propose to broaden knowledge of a poorly consolidated topic and its potential applications, or a greater contribution to the advancement of knowledge with respect to a specific area of research (theoretical nature Thesis);
require a minimum development time of six months.
This type of Thesis confers a maximum score of 8 points when assessing the dissertation and its presentation.
the development of a Thesis for the consolidation and refinement of knowledge already acquired (Consolidation Thesis);
the Thesis must:
illustrate the project by enhancing the technical-specialist and/or systemic aspects in accordance with the educational objectives of the course of study. The discussion must include an adequate methodological argumentation, historical aspects, theoretical/critical elements;
focuson topics already consolidated in scientific research and design applications;
include a part of research functional to the development of the project and the simple enucleation of the basic assumptions and the main hypotheses on which the proposed project application is based;
befocused primarily on potential project applications;
require a minimum development time of two months.
This type of Thesis confers a maximum score of 4 points when assessing the dissertation and its presentation.
Students may apply for either the Innovative Research Thesis or the Consolidation Thesis. However, the request for either type of Thesis must be made (and assessed by the Supervisor) according to the minimum time required to complete one or the other and the commitment that the student intends to make.
The student must provide the Commission with at least two copies of the Thesis, which can be taken back at the end of the discussion.
The Thesis is normally written in Italian or English.
At the justified request of the student, a Thesis written in other languages may also be accepted, if authorised by the Degree Director. In any case the presentation and discussion must be held in Italian or English.
If the thesis is written in English or another foreign language, in any case it must contain an extract in Italian.
Students' attention is drawn to the issue of plagiarism, i.e. the copying (even unintentional) of parts of other authors’ books, essays, theses, articles, projects, without citing the source.
This constitutes the appropriation of another person's work authorship, through total or partial copying.
Students are therefore invited to check their own work and to always cite the sources from which texts and images are taken.
In this sense we recall the following passage from the Ethics and Conduct Code of the Politecnico di Milano: "The Politecnico promotes the integrity of research, condemns plagiarism and the violation of intellectual property, and provides opportunities for all those who carry out research activities to have adequate training in research ethics and integrity."
Following the evaluation, presentation and discussion of the dissertation and the student's entire career within the Master’s Degree Programme, the Degree Committee assigns a mark to the candidate's presentation.
The score assigned by the Degree Committee shall have a minimum value of -1 (minus one) point out of one hundred ten to 8 (eight) points out of one hundred ten.
For Single-cycle (five-year) Degree courses only, the maximum score is 10 (ten) points out of one hundred ten.
The degree mark awarded by the Degree Committee is expressed using a 110-point scale.
The Politecnico di Milano considers the Master’s Desgree exams as moments of great importance, and on such occasions it intends to provide the graduating students and other people attending the event a high-level image of itself.
The Proclamation of the Master's Graduates ceremony is held in solemn public form, in order to highlight the event.
Graduating students will receive the Master's Degree Diploma in accordance with the procedures established by the University.
The online storage of the Bachelor’s Degree dissertations is not available for students of the School of Design.
Students of any Master's Degree course of the School of Design have the possibility to store their Thesis online (without a counter-supervisor).
How to store a Thesis online
The Thesis must be uploaded in pdf format through Online Services, after enrolling for the Degree exam, within the deadline set by the academic calendar.
Procedures for storing the Thesis online
The supervisor, through its Online Services, can proceed with:
- the temporary postponement, if changes need to be made to the Thesis.
In this case, once the file has been modified, the student will have to deposit the Thesis again within the deadline set in the calendar.
- approval, which involves the Thesis being officially stored and ready for discussion.
- the rejectionof the Thesis and the consequent invitation to the student to resubmit in a subsequent graduation session.
The procedures described above are also valid for students of the Old Order.
For further information please consult the Thesis Deposit page and the timetable for enrolment in Degrees.