Assignment of thesis title and degree exams

You can choose the topic of the thesis among those courses for which you have sat exams, or obtained recognition/validation, except for additional courses and pass-or-fail exams. The topic needs to be agreed with a professor who is, or has been, the holder of the subject chosen, or in any case competent in the subject and who, at the time of the request, is a lecturer or has a contract with the University. The Supervisor will be the guarantor of the work carried out. The Co-Supervisor is appointed designated by the Dean of the Undergraduate School or their delegate, based on the discipline and topic chosen. No preferences can be expressed regarding the assignment of the Co-Supervisor.

If you are participating to Double Degrees, Structured Partnerships and International Exchange Programs, or you wish to write your final paper in a course taken abroad and registered in your academic record with its original denomination - even if this course is not offered at Luiss, as long as it is coherent with the educational objectives of your Degree Program - you must verify the feasibility respectively with the International Development Office (international@luiss.it) in the first case, or with the Student Office (segreteria@luiss.it) in the second case.

1. Submit the thesis title assignment form five months prior to the Degree Session in which you intend to graduate
2. Submit the degree exam request and pay the degree fee
3. Upload the thesis
4. Complete the exams

1. After having liaised with the Supervisor, access your Web Self Service, click on the right-hand menu, then on the Degree Examination and fill in the thesis title assignment form by the deadline set in the calendar of administrative deadlines;

2. the Supervisor, through their own Web Self Service and within a period of time following the deadline for submission of the thesis title assignment form, will have to approve/reject the proposed thesis title;

3. the status of the thesis title assignment can be checked on the Web Self Service under Degree Examination. The Supervisor’s approval marks the formal start of writing of the thesis, and the status of the thesis title assignment will change from "Filled in on line" to "Assigned"; in the event of rejection, the student will receive a communication to that effect at their University e-mail account;

4. after the Dean of the Graduate School or their delegate appoints a Co-Supervisor, their name will be displayed on the Web Self Service and the status of thesis title assignment will change to "Approved".

Important: the assignment of the Co-Supervisor, who ensures the quality of the work carried out by the student and will participate in the Degree Examination alongside with the Supervisor, is of considerable didactic and academic importance. Therefore, we encourage you to reach out to your Co-Supervisor at the start of the thesis drafting process and to keep them updated on your progress throughout.

The thesis title assignment form specifies the first session in which the student can graduate and therefore should not be filled in again if the Degree Examination is being postponed to a subsequent session (unless you intend to change your thesis subject or Supervisor). Registration for a specific Degree Session, however, requires the submission of the degree exam request and the payment of the degree fee.

If you only submitted the thesis title assignment form and not the degree exam request, you do not need to formally withdraw from a specific Degree Session.

1. Access your Web Self Service, click on the right-hand menu, then on the Degree Examination section to fill in the degree exam request, according to the administrative deadlines indicated in the calendar above;
2. immediately after, access the Payments section to pay the € 200,00 degree fee;
3. check with the Career Service the status of the internship if it has not been registered in the academic record yet.

Only students enrolled prior to the a.y. 2015/2016 will have to return their badge and academic record booklet (or libretto universitario) via mail to Luiss Guido Carli - Student Office - Viale Romania, 32 - 00197 Rome.

It will no longer be possible to change the data therein, except for the title of the thesis, which can be slightly changed at the moment of the upload of the thesis.

The degree exam request will be considered effective only once the payment of the degree fee is marked with a green light.

If the payment of the degree fee has not been made, or the badge and the academic record booklet have not been submitted to the Student office (this last one only applies to students enrolled prior to the a.y. 2015/2016), students will be excluded from the Degree Session.

Go to the Degree Examination section of your Web Self Service. To find out when, refer to the calendar of administrative deadlines.

Read carefully the stylistic guidelines for the final paper and the provisions concerning the Authorization to online publication of the thesis in Luiss archives and select one of the three options (for further information, see LuissThesis).

Comply with the Norms of the University regarding plagiarism.

Before uploading the file, check its readability and compatibility with Windows.

Upload the thesis as a single PDF file under 15 MB. It is not necessary to submit any documentation to the Student Office. The thesis file can be uploaded only once during the process timeframe and will be considered as definitive.

After the deadline for the upload, the Supervisor will approve/not approve your thesis through their Web Self Service.

The digital copy of the thesis will be kept in the digital archive of this University in compliance with the security measures provided by the Code regarding the protection of personal data and will be available, for administrative and scientific reasons when permitted, only by authorized persons, according to the same rules for consultation. The Student Office will do spot checks to verify the file. 

A failure to upload the thesis by the required deadline and the Supervisor's unapproval will lead to exclusion from the Degree Session.

For margins, line spacing and font to use, please follow the instructions of your Supervisor and the stylistic guidelines for the final paper / Guidelines for sustainable printing of theses and papers.

If you are no longer graduating in a Degree Session, you must waive your participation from your Web Self Service under Degree Examination, by clicking on “Renounce Degree Session”. The € 200,00 degree fee need only be paid once and, if you register to a new Degree Session by the deadlines published on the University’s website, you will only have to pay the € 16,00 duty stamp.

The date of the thesis discussion (Degree Examination date) will be published on your Web Self Service under Degree Examination, as well as on the University's Notice Board. Closer to the Degree Examination date, we will send you further details via e-mail.

There is no possibility to express any preference as to the Degree Examination date.

A PC will be available if you wish to discuss your thesis with a presentation, so you do not need to bring your own.

The purpose of these guidelines is to ensure that candidates can face the final stage of their university careers with the utmost peace of mind. Therefore, we kindly ask graduating students, their relatives and friends to adhere to the following rules to ensure the Degree Session is conducted smoothly:

• all candidates should wait their turn in the hall adjacent to the Sala Colonne, accompanied by their relatives and friends, while avoiding any disruptions to the ongoing Degree Session;
• after the discussion, celebrations must be held respectfully, within the bounds of good manners and civil behaviour, so as not to disturb the continuation of the session;
• please note that it is strictly prohibited to throw confetti or any other materials on University premises.

For information on how to request an official degree certificate, please refer to the Graduates page.

Students graduating from the Master's and Single-Cycle Master's Degree Programmes who achieve the highest mark with honours and a ‘special mention’ will have the opportunity to publish their thesis (or an abstract of it) in PubbliTesi, a national database supported by MIUR. This database collects and disseminates, for bibliographical and merit-based purposes, the best Degree and Doctoral Theses submitted at Italian universities participating in the initiative.

All relevant information and the PubbliTesi authorization form can be found directly on the website: www.pubblitesi.it.

Luiss students who are interested should follow the procedures outlined below. When completing the forms, it is necessary to provide a personal e-mail address, not the institutional Luiss address, as the latter will change after graduation. It is the students’ responsibility to have the documentation signed by the Supervisor and the President of the Degree Committee and to deliver a copy to the Student Office, which will then forward it to the Library.

The thesis will be visible on the PubbliTesi database and will contain a direct link to the full text or, alternatively, to the abstract (should the graduate choose not to publish the full text under Open Access). This link will refer to the LuissThesis institutional archive. Please note that publication in PubbliTesi is not officially certified by Luiss and does not exempt degree candidates from completing the necessary administrative formalities.

The best theses of the Master's and Single-Cycle Master's Degree Programmes will have the opportunity to participate in the ‘Theses of Excellence’ project. The two best theses from each department, discussed in the relevant academic year and selected from those awarded a special mention, will be published online in the Luiss Working Paper series. Participation in the project is automatic, but it is important to note that it is reserved for graduates who obtained their degree during the prescribed timeframe and who have given their consent for their theses to be made publicly accessible.