FOR CANDIDATES WHO HAVE NOT APPLIED FOR AN EXTENSION, the final examination of the XXXVIII cycle, including the thesis defense, will take place on 25 February 2026 at 2:00 p.m., in Room 14 of the Biological Institutes of San Miniato (Siena, Via Aldo Moro 2)
As per the new guidelines applicable starting from the 38th cycle, the PhD thesis must be submitted by the end of the training activities. FOR ALL PHD STUDENTS IN MOLECULAR MEDICINE OF THE 38TH CYCLE, THE TRAINING ACTIVITIES END ON OCTOBER 31, 2025. In justified cases where it is not possible to submit the PhD thesis within the duration of the course, the PhD student may request an extension of up to twelve months, without any additional financial charges (Annex_1).
The application for admission to the final examination (Annex_2), co-signed by the supervisor, must be sent via email to the course coordinator, Prof. Vincenzo Sorrentino (vincenzo.sorrentino@unisi.it), at least one month before the end of the training activities (by September 30, 2025). The application must be co-signed by the supervisor.
All PhD students of the 38th cycle who have completed the three-year program and have applied for admission to the final exam must send the following documents by email to the Coordinator, Prof. Vincenzo Sorrentino (vincenzo.sorrentino@unisi.it), and cc Mr. Pierpaolo Sartini (pierpaolo.sartini@unisi.it), by October 31, 2025 (unless an extension is requested):
- A PDF copy of the thesis, signed by both the candidate and the supervisor (Annex_4)
- A PDF abstract of the thesis
- A PDF presentation report (or short profile) of the candidate with a brief description of the work carried out during the PhD course, signed by both the candidate and the supervisor (Annex_3)
- Certificate of completion of the Almalaurea graduate survey
At the same time, in the body of the email, the names of two external evaluators, who must be university professors and selected with the advice of the supervisor, must be provided for the Board’s approval. The above-mentioned material must be sent to the indicated addresses no later than October 31, 2025 (unless an extension is requested), to be reviewed by the Board and then officially sent to the external evaluators for potential admission to the final defense.
It is the responsibility of the PhD students to send the thesis and the evaluation form (Annex_5) to the evaluators (cc'ing their supervisor).
The evaluators are required to submit their comments (in Italian or English), suggestions and/or requests for changes within 1 month, along with a reasoned opinion in favor or against admission to the final defense.
PhD students will then have 2 weeks to finalize the thesis and/or adequately respond to the evaluators’ feedback.
After verifying the implementation and adequacy of any requested changes or additions, the external evaluators must issue their final opinion on admission to the final defense within 1 week.
The final defense of the thesis will take place on a date to be defined, with at least two weeks' notice given to the PhD students, and to allow the committee members time to read the theses.
The final defense will be held at the San Miniato Science Campus of the University of Siena on a date to be defined.
If the evaluators provide a reasoned negative opinion regarding admission to the final defense, the PhD student, after appropriately revising the thesis, may defend it within six months from the originally scheduled date of the final discussion.
Once the final version of the thesis has received a positive evaluation from the external reviewers, and at least 10 days before the thesis defense date, the PhD candidate must deposit an electronic copy—mandatorily in PDF/A format and digitally signed—by accessing the USiena AIR Institutional Research Repository (https://usiena-air.unisi.it) using their University credentials. If the PhD candidate does not have a digital signature, they must obtain one in advance
