Laurea
Encyclopedia
In Italy
, the laurea is the main post-secondary academic degree
.
, a major reform was instituted in 1999 to introduce easier university degrees comparable to the bachelors. The ordinary laurea was split into undergraduate and postgraduate studies.
credits), a first cycle degree that is equivalent to a bachelor's degree
, includes bachelor-level courses, simpler than those of the old laurea, and its normative time to completion is three years (note that Italians normally graduate from scuola secondaria superiore or Lyceum in italian Liceo, high school, at nineteen or eighteen). To earn a laurea, the student must complete a thesis, but a less demanding one than required for the old laurea.
credits in addition to the Laurea), a second cycle degree equivalent to a master's degree
, can be earned in a two-year programme after the laurea, and requires an experimental thesis.
The work required to attain the Dottorato di ricerca
(equivalent to a Doctor of Philosophy
) lasts three years and can be undertaken only after achieving a Laurea Magistrale.
, which in most cases required experimental work. Laureati are customarily addressed as dottore (for a man) or dottoressa (for a woman), i.e. "doctor".
Until the introduction of the Dottorato di ricerca
in the mid-1980s, the laurea constituted the highest academic degree obtainable in Italy and allowed the holder to access the highest academic careers. Famous scientists Nobel prize winners such as for example Enrico Fermi
, Giulio Natta
and Carlo Rubbia
held a laurea as their highest degree. The reason is that the Italian laurea included high-level courses and thesis work which normally were sufficient to prepare for a career in research and academia.
, a third cycle degree which was introduced in the mid-1980s and consisted in three years of Ph.D.-level courses and experimental work with thesis, all paid for by the state, gained popularity very slowly because only very few positions were made available by the state because of reasons of funding. Indeed, the Italian Republic has never made the dottorato di ricerca a requirement to become professors in the Italian academy. Beginning in 2000, unfunded positions for dottorato di ricerca have been made available, thus allowing a wider access to the degree.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, the laurea is the main post-secondary academic degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
.
Reforms due to the Bologna process
Spurred by the Bologna processBologna process
The purpose of the Bologna Process is the creation of the European Higher Education Area by making academic degree standards and quality assurance standards more comparable and compatible throughout Europe, in particular under the Lisbon Recognition Convention...
, a major reform was instituted in 1999 to introduce easier university degrees comparable to the bachelors. The ordinary laurea was split into undergraduate and postgraduate studies.
First cycle Laurea
The new Laurea, also known as the Laurea di Primo Livello, (180 ECTSEuropean Credit Transfer and Accumulation System
This page describes ECTS-credits. For information about the ECTS grading system go to ECTS grading scale.European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System is a standard for comparing the study attainment and performance of students of higher education across the European Union and other...
credits), a first cycle degree that is equivalent to a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
, includes bachelor-level courses, simpler than those of the old laurea, and its normative time to completion is three years (note that Italians normally graduate from scuola secondaria superiore or Lyceum in italian Liceo, high school, at nineteen or eighteen). To earn a laurea, the student must complete a thesis, but a less demanding one than required for the old laurea.
Second cycle: Laurea specialistica or laurea magistrale
The laurea specialistica or laurea magistrale (120 ECTSEuropean Credit Transfer and Accumulation System
This page describes ECTS-credits. For information about the ECTS grading system go to ECTS grading scale.European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System is a standard for comparing the study attainment and performance of students of higher education across the European Union and other...
credits in addition to the Laurea), a second cycle degree equivalent to a master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
, can be earned in a two-year programme after the laurea, and requires an experimental thesis.
The work required to attain the Dottorato di ricerca
Dottorato di ricerca
The dottorato di ricerca is the highest Italian academic degree, the equivalent of a Ph.D.The dottorato is a relatively recent addition to the Italian academic landscape, having been instituted in 1980....
(equivalent to a Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
) lasts three years and can be undertaken only after achieving a Laurea Magistrale.
Former status of the Laurea degree
Until very recently, lauree (plural for laurea) took much longer to earn than undergraduate degrees elsewhere in Europe and North America. To earn a laurea, the student had to complete 4 to 6 years of university courses (though it was customary to describe progress in terms of number of exams passed, rather than years), and also complete a thesisThesis
A dissertation or thesis is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings...
, which in most cases required experimental work. Laureati are customarily addressed as dottore (for a man) or dottoressa (for a woman), i.e. "doctor".
Until the introduction of the Dottorato di ricerca
Dottorato di ricerca
The dottorato di ricerca is the highest Italian academic degree, the equivalent of a Ph.D.The dottorato is a relatively recent addition to the Italian academic landscape, having been instituted in 1980....
in the mid-1980s, the laurea constituted the highest academic degree obtainable in Italy and allowed the holder to access the highest academic careers. Famous scientists Nobel prize winners such as for example Enrico Fermi
Enrico Fermi
Enrico Fermi was an Italian-born, naturalized American physicist particularly known for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor, Chicago Pile-1, and for his contributions to the development of quantum theory, nuclear and particle physics, and statistical mechanics...
, Giulio Natta
Giulio Natta
Giulio Natta was an Italian chemist and Nobel laureate. He won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963 with Karl Ziegler for work on high polymers.-Early years:...
and Carlo Rubbia
Carlo Rubbia
Carlo Rubbia Knight Grand Cross is an Italian particle physicist and inventor who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1984 with Simon van der Meer for work leading to the discovery of the W and Z particles at CERN.-Biography:...
held a laurea as their highest degree. The reason is that the Italian laurea included high-level courses and thesis work which normally were sufficient to prepare for a career in research and academia.
Third cycle Dottorato di ricerca
The Dottorato di ricercaDottorato di ricerca
The dottorato di ricerca is the highest Italian academic degree, the equivalent of a Ph.D.The dottorato is a relatively recent addition to the Italian academic landscape, having been instituted in 1980....
, a third cycle degree which was introduced in the mid-1980s and consisted in three years of Ph.D.-level courses and experimental work with thesis, all paid for by the state, gained popularity very slowly because only very few positions were made available by the state because of reasons of funding. Indeed, the Italian Republic has never made the dottorato di ricerca a requirement to become professors in the Italian academy. Beginning in 2000, unfunded positions for dottorato di ricerca have been made available, thus allowing a wider access to the degree.