Second year enrollment is required to begin thesis work.

Formalising the attribution of the thesis topic isMANDATORY before starting the thesis work.

The process consists of the following steps:

• contact the supervisor of choice based on the research area of interest (see DFA Research Groups for useful information) and make arrangements for the attribution of a thesis proposal;
• access the thesis portal (https://tesi.dfa.unipd.it/), select your study program and choose the thesis topic proposed by the supervisor (if it is not on the list yet, the supervisor must enter the proposal into the database and it will become available within one week);
• after the supervisor has confirmed the attribution of the thesis topic, the process is complete.

Female students choosing a thesis that involves the use of a laboratory must notify the administration by sending an email to didattica.dfa(at)unipd.it along with a scanned copy of the form acknowledging compliance with the regulations for the use of laboratories by students who are pregnant (the form is on the last page of the document).

The supervisor must:

• follow the student
• monitor student activities and the achievement of the objectives
• approve the content of the final paper
• provide an assessment of the activity carried out by attending the graduation sessions 

The supervisor can be:

• a professor belonging to the Physics Degree Programme Board or to the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Padua
• a tenured researcher of the Research Institutions working inside the Department of Physics and Astronomy
• a professor or researchers belonging to other departments of the University of Padua (in this case, the Thesis Committee will provide him/her with the assistance of a professor belonging to the Physics Degree Programme Board or to the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Padua or a tenured researcher of the Research Institutions working inside the Department of Physics and Astronomy, who will have the function of co-supervisor)

If the thesis activity is carried out in other national or international universities, in Research Institutions or in a company, the thesis proposal must be submitted by a teacher related to the Physics Degree Programme Board or the Department of Physics and Astronomy; the teacher assumes the role of supervisor while the teacher or researcher who follows the activity locally can be appointed as co-supervisor of the thesis.

After the formal attribution of the thesis topic, the Thesis Committee appoints a co-examiner who:

• verifies, normally with an initial meeting, a mid-programme meeting and a final meeting, that the times and workloads are in accordance with the Teaching Regulations of the Master’s Degree programme in Physics
• expresses a final opinion on the thesis to the graduation committee, by email or attending the graduation session