The final examination consists of preparing and discussing an original dissertation on topics related to the university course. This work summarises and illustrates the results obtained by the student following a period of internship.

Master’s degree internship

Students can start their Master’s degree internship at the beginning of the second year, except for cases duly authorized by the Traineeship and Graduation Committee. The internship consists of 850 hours in total during a period of at least 8 months and gives the students 34 ECTS.

A Master’s degree internship may be carried out at a research laboratory of the University of Padua or, on the basis of special agreements, at companies or public and private bodies where the student may carry out a period of research activity consistent with their university course.

During the internship, students will be supported by their supervisor (and possibly by a co-supervisor), who will assist them as they work on their dissertation and will approve its content.

In the event that the internship is carried out at an external body or company, students will identify, in addition to their university supervisor, a company tutor who will assist them in the organisation at which the internship will take place.

Students are required to adhere strictly to the confidentiality criteria agreed with the contacts of the university and non-university facilities when disseminating the results of research connected with their work. For further information please consult the Code of Ethics and the University’s Patent Regulations

Supervisor, Co-Supervisor, Advisor

• The Supervisor is responsible for following the student in the development of the dissertation, for approving its content and for assessing the student's scientific and cultural abilities also in the case of external research activities. The supervisor may be a faculty member of the degree course or another professor or researcher at the University of Padua. The thesis subject and the thesis supervisor will be assessed by the Traineeship and Graduation Committee.

• The Co-Supervisor is an optional figure whose role is to assist the supervisor in guiding the student during the internship. He/she must possess qualified scientific and/or technological skills proven by at least three years of postgraduate teaching experience or alternatively, a person who has passed the entrance exam and is enrolled in a PhD program. For external internships, the host institution will designate a co-supervisor who will collaborate with the student in close contact with the supervisor, who is nevertheless responsible for constantly monitoring the student. Maximum 2 Co-Supervisors.

• The Advisor (usually two) is appointed by the Traineeship and Graduation Committee and will be present at the graduation session for the purpose of analysing in detail the work submitted by the candidate.

Starting the internship: formalities and forms

Students should send the following forms to the Biology Department’s Academic Office (didattica.biologia@unipd.it) at least 15 business days before the start date of the internship:

• The Master’s Degree Internship Application;
• Self-certification of Enrolment with Examinations (downloadable from the Uniweb personal page, by accessing “Didattica” → “Autocertificazioni” (Teaching → Self-certifications));
• the Education and Guidance Project form on the University internship page www.unipd.it/stage in the personal area for students (attention: select “Progetto Formativo”/ "Education Project” and enter the VAT no./tax identification number of the chosen body or company in the dedicated space and choose “Stage Libero”/ “Free Internship”). International students can fill in the document in English, but the final document will be printed in Italian if the internships are activated in Italy.

The Education and Guidance Project must be completed with the following information in the different fields:

a. Tasks to be performed: enter the topic of your dissertation specifying the techniques that will be adopted during the internship.
b. Functional area: select “Altro – specificare” (Other - specify) from the drop-down menu.
c. Office/Service/Operational Unit/Department: specify the facility where the activity will take place and enter its address in the following fields.
d. Company tutor: indicate the person in charge at the external body, or the lecturer in charge of the laboratory for internship within the University.
e. Duration (months): indicate the period for which the student will attend the facility for the internship.
f. Timetable: indicate the time slots in which the student will carry out their activity.
g. Days of the week: e.g. Monday to Friday.
h. Start Date and End Date: indicate the period during which the internship is intended to be carried out, in any case not exceeding 12 months in total.
i. Academic tutor: indicate the dissertation supervisor

With regard to the Education Project, students will have to follow the new signature submission methods, which are described below

1. Students must download the Project from the Unipd Careers Platform in PDF/A format;

2. Students must have the Project digitally signed by the host body or Unipd laboratory manager;

3. Students must send the Project signed by the company tutor, in PDF/A format, to the Biology Department’s Academic Office (didattica.biologia@unipd.it). The Academic Office will upload the document to the E-Sign Platform;

4. Via the E-Sign Platform, students can generate their electronic signature and sign the document;

5. Once the signature has been acquired, the Biology Academic Office sends the Projects to the Rector’s Delegate who will sign all the forms via the U-Sign Platform;

6. Once all the signatures have been obtained, the document is complete and the internship can be started on the date indicated in the Project.

The education project must be completed paying particular attention to the correct filling in of all required mandatory fields and must be downloaded in PDF/A format.

Please note that any changes made to the project once downloaded will delete the PDF/A format, so before sending it to the company, or to the laboratory manager, check and if necessary save it again in the format indicated. Once downloaded and signed, the Education Project cannot be modified, so please pay attention when filling it in.

To be noted: any changes to the initial education project, including any extensions or early conclusions, must be communicated well in advance by the company tutor to: stage@unipd.it, cc'ing: didattica.biologia@unipd.it.

Only if the tutor belongs to the Department of Biology, interns must also send the following documents:

• The intern identification form 
• Certificate of the course “General training - basic course on worker safety” accessible at the link: https://elearning.unipd.it/formazione by clicking on “Area sicurezza” (Safety area) and then “Formazione generale” (General training) (authentication via Single Sign On will be required) provided by the university, after passing the relevant final test;
• Certificate of the course “Specific training in health and safety protection for workers employed in laboratory activities - High risk class” accessible at the link: https://elearning.unipd.it/formazione by clicking on “Area sicurezza” (Safety area) and then “Formazione specifica – attività a rischio alto” (Specific training - high risk activities) (authentication via Single Sign On will be required) prepared by the university, after passing the relevant final test.

Note: In the event that the student undertakes field trips during the internship, it is necessary for the supervisor to send a communication to the Career Service Office (stage@unipd.it) and for information to the student and the Academic Office (didattica.biologia@unipd.it), indicating the period (day(s), hours) in which the student will be working outside the location indicated in the Education and Guidance Project.

Request of badge activation for access to the laboratories of the Vallisneri building

Students requiring access to the Biology Department’s facilities (Laboratories of the Vallisneri building), under the Thesis Supervisor’s instructions, must fill in the appropriate forms to be requested to the Academic Office.

Documents at the end of the internship

At the end of the internship, students must send to the Academic Office the certificate of completion of master’s degree internship duly completed and signed.

Internship during Erasmus programme

Internships are possible through Erasmus+ mobility, which has two sub-programmes, the Erasmus+ study and the Erasmus+ internship.

For both programmes, students must submit the same forms except for the Education and Guidance Project, which will be replaced by the Learning Agreement.

Upon completion, a copy of the Transcript of Records or Short Evaluation Report for Thesis Work must also be handed in to the academic office.

Writing the thesis

Students are invited to follow the instructions provided by their Supervisor. If they choose curriculum A (SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT), the thesis must be written in English. If they choose curriculum B (TEACHING AND COMMUNICATION), students can decide whether to write it in Italian or English.

Graduation application

The undergraduate student must complete the on-line Graduation Application (via the Uniweb system), which involves the student entering the title of the dissertation and its subsequent approval by the lecturer by computer only.

The complete online graduation application procedure can be found by following the path: www.unipd.it - “Studentesse e Studenti” (Students) - “Gestione carriera studenti” (Student career management) - “Laurearsi” (Graduation) - “Domanda di laurea” (Graduation Application)

Students are also required to check the deadlines for submitting their final dissertation for the period in which they intend to graduate, as indicated in the graduation notices for each period.

Discussion and Announcement

The dissertation (in English for students who chose curriculum A, in Italian or in English for those who chose curriculum B) will be discussed before a Master’s Degree Committee appointed by the Director of the Department of Biology and consisting of a President and at least four Commissioners, including the Supervisor and the Advisors. The final assessment by the Master’s Degree Committee will take into account the entire course of study and the competence, knowledge and skills acquired by the student. In the event of the excused absence of the Supervisor, the student’s assessment and proposed mark must be drawn up in writing by the person who actually supervised the student and then forwarded to the President of the Master’s Degree Committee.

Graduation scoring system

The final graduation mark is determined by the Master’s Degree Committee by adding up:

• the weighted average marks of the examinations of the compulsory educational activities and free-choice activities, weighted for the relevant ECTS credits and related to 110ths;
• the mark increment, also in 110ths.

The maximum mark increment is 12 points, distributed as follows:

• 0 to + 4 points awarded by the Supervisor;
• 0 to + 4 points awarded by the Advisors;
• 0 to + 4 points awarded by the Master's Degree Committee.

If the Supervisor deems it appropriate, they shall inform the Master’s Degree Committee, as soon as it has been set up, of their intention to propose the student for honours. The honours proposal must be accepted by a majority vote of the Master's Degree Committee, which may award honours to students who achieve a weighted average of 100.