The final dissertation consists of a written paper that must be different from the Master’s thesis. The dissertation must be supervised by a supervisor who may be internal or external to the Scuola Galileiana, as well as external to the University of Padua.
A Galilean student must complete their Master’s degree during a graduation session within the academic year in which they finished their course of study (the autumn session of the same academic year is considered the final opportunity). To earn the Galileian diploma, the student must defend their final Galileian dissertation within one year from the date they obtained their Master’s degree. The deadline can be extended to the next available Galileian session.
In the exceptional case where the Board of Directors grants an extension to the student, upon a justified request, for completing the Master’s degree, the interval between the date of degree completion and the defense of the Galileian dissertation will not be extended (the one-year period will still be calculated from the last available autumn session for obtaining the Master’s degree).
Students already abroad may defend their dissertation via Skype or other similar channels in the presence of the committee, following the standard rules. Other special cases must be pre-approved by the Board of Directors.
The maximum score obtainable for the Galileian dissertation is 100/100 (with possible honors) and is assigned based solely on the Galilean academic career: typically, a maximum of 80 points is awarded for the Galilean curriculum, while a maximum of 20 points is awarded for the final dissertation.
The grade will only be included on the diploma if the score is 100/100 with honors.
The committee responsible for evaluating the dissertation consists of the Director of the SGSS, the Vice Director, the Coordinator of the Class to which the student belongs, the supervisor, and, on a rotating basis, a member of the Board of Directors of the SGSS, ensuring the committee consists of five members.
The Galilean dissertations are scheduled in three sessions in March, June, and November. It is the Director’s responsibility to set the exact dates and convene the committee following the final dissertation requests.
Once the final discussion date is set, it will be communicated to the relevant students.
Here is the procedure for participating in the final dissertations:
Failure to submit documents by the specified deadlines will result in the student being excluded from the final discussion.
The Galileian diploma is generally awarded during a special ceremony held at the end of each year, with the administration informing the relevant students in due course.
The next sessions for defending Galileian theses are scheduled for the following dates: