General Information

To be admitted to the final exam, the student must have earned all the credits required by their study plan (except those required for the final exam) and be up to date with the payment of university fees. Students are invited to verify their career status (credits/exams and fees) in advance, following the recommendations written by the SMFN School, which can be consulted on the dedicated webpage. In particular, it is important to have acquired the credits required for the internship.

New regulation for Master's theses in Physical and Astrophysical Sciences (effective from April 2024)

Calendar of graduation exams in Physical and Astrophysical Sciences

Template for the thesis front page

LaTeX class for the preparation of theses at the University of Florence

Instructions for the public attending the thesis defense

Regulation Archive (effective until 2014)

Mandatory Procedures Before Starting the Thesis Work

1. If the thesis work is carried out (even partially) in premises other than those of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Florence, the graduate student must fill out and have signed the Thesis Start Communication Document for Insurance Purposes and then deliver it to the Head of the Degree Program, at least one month before the scheduled start date of the thesis, in order to ensure insurance coverage (accident and liability insurance).
2. If the thesis supervisor is not a member of the Single Council of the CdS in Physics and Astrophysics or in Physical and Astrophysical Sciences, the supervisor must send the Head of the Degree Program (pres-cdl(AT).unifi.it) a communication requesting the appointment of an internal co-supervisor from the CdS. If the supervisor is not a faculty member of the University of Florence, this communication is made by sending the External Supervisor Thesis Start Communication Document so that the supervisor can access the online thesis management services.

To Access the Graduation Sessions

The graduation applications must be submitted only and exclusively online according to the official rules established by the SMFN School, which can be consulted on the dedicated webpage. Graduates are encouraged to carefully read these rules and note all relevant deadlines. The main steps of the procedure are summarized below:

Application for Graduation

1. If there is an external supervisor: at least 60 days before the chosen graduation session, the graduate student must again send the External Supervisor Thesis Start Communication Document to the Head of the Degree Program to ensure that the supervisor is added to the thesis supervisor registry.
2. From 60 days to 30 days before the chosen graduation session date, the student must submit the graduation application through the “Insert Graduation Thesis Application” system, accessible with their student ID and password, on the online student services page.
3. After the student saves the application, the supervisor will be notified via email and must approve the application by accessing the “Approval and Validation of Graduation Thesis” system, using their faculty ID and password, from the online faculty services page.
4. The student must then pay the graduation fee and finalize the application according to the procedures outlined in the online application and consultable in the rules already mentioned, provided by the SMFN School.
5. Thesis Submission
6. After the graduation application is approved by the supervisor and up to 14 days before the chosen graduation session (i.e., by 24:00 on the deadline for consolidating the application), the student must access the online student services page and upload the following documents in digital format (as indicated in the rules already mentioned, provided by the SMFN School):
   1. final version of the thesis (in pdf format);
   2. summary of the thesis (in pdf format, maximum 1 page);
   3. proof of completion of the course evaluation test.
7. After the thesis is uploaded by the student, and within the same deadline, the supervisor must validate the thesis, by accessing the online faculty services page. If, for technical reasons, the supervisor has not validated the full-text thesis by the deadline, they must immediately inform the educational secretary of the SMFN School (informa.studenti(AT)unifi.it).