General information Evaluation of doctorate students activities

Evaluation of doctorate students activities

With the aim of ensuring maximum assistance for the training of PhD students, in addition to the tutor, two internal revisers, selected among the members of the College of Teachers and/or among external experts, follow each PhD student to critically support his/her activities.

The PhD student will consult the internal reviewers whenever he/she deems it appropriate and shall send them the results of the research activity, written in English, every six months (April and September).

The obligation to send reports is in force for the first two years of the Doctorate program. The annual report of activities (composed by the two semi-annual reports), after the internal reviewers’ approval, must be sent by the PhD student to the coordinator by the month of September in order for it to be forwarded to all members of the College of Teachers.

Subsequently, the Doctorate student must illustrate the main results of his/her research activity to the College of Teachers for admission to the following year. The Ph.D. students’ evaluation day is held in October and organized in two days by grouping the PhD students from both the first and second year based on subject matter affinity.

At the end of the third year the student must deliver his/her PhD thesis signed by the course coordinator and the tutor, accompanied by a summary in English or in other languages, with the permission of the College of Teachers, to the department’s doctorate office. In addition to the thesis, the student must also deliver a report on his/her activities during the doctorate program, including a list of articles, in case, submitted and/or published.

The title of Doctor of Research is conferred after a double evaluation procedure carried out firstly by at least two external reviewers and subsequently, by a final commission. The external reviewers and the final commission members are selected among professors of Italian and/or foreign European universities who have no involvement in the PhD student activity; furthermore, the external reviewers cannot be members of the final commission as well.

The external reviewers evaluate the thesis based on its scientific relevance by a relation and propose the doctorate student admission to the public defense of the thesis or his/her referral for a period not exceeding six months if they deem significant additions or corrections to the thesis to be necessary.

After this period, the student is in any case admitted to the public defense of the thesis accompanied by a new relation by the same reviewers pursuant to the corrections or additions that may have been made to the thesis.

The final evaluation procedure of PhD students is completed by a commission which evaluates his/her research activity through an oral presentation followed by an in-depth discussion. At the end of the thesis defense the Commission will decide whether to petition the Magnifico Rector of the University of Florence for the bestowal of the title of Doctor of Philosophy to the student.

The Commission, by unanimous vote, has the right to award accolades (Laude) in light of results of particular scientific relevance. Based on the academic course pursued by the PhD student it is possible to obtain the title of Italian Doctor of Research or, in the case of joint-supervision doctorate program, achieve the title from both universities involved in said program. In addition, it is also possible to obtain the title of European Doctor of Research (Doctor Europaeus).

For further information, please consult the University of Florence PhD website