University Magister Graduation Day in Italy

Talking about my daughter’s Graduation Day with some friends ,we noticed that Graduation Day in Italy is so different from the ones in other countries: it’s not a moment of all the graduates together and we do not wear graduation black gown and cap .

What happens on graduation day in Italy?

A few days before, the student will be notified of the date and time of the meeting at the University. That day he/she goes in for discussion. The other graduates(there may be six of them) will be there, both those who have already argued and those who are still waiting their turn. The graduating student presents himself /herself before the Commission and begins a speech on the thesis he/she has written.

The so-called outfit is important, but always at personal discretion. Italian graduates simply dress smartly

Usually 10 minutes are given to each candidate to be able to present the speech, in master’s degrees even 15 minutes, but no more. Rather than a formality followed by a celebration,the graduation ceremony in Italy is the final student examination

Usually, the discussion of the thesis is open to everyone. Anyone interested can assist without problems. This means that relatives, friends, the President and at least 4 other professors are often present.

Only when all the graduates of the graduation session have presented their thesis, then will it be time for the graduation announcement. At this moment, the grade with which you obtained your degree will be told, the graduates shake hands with all the members of the Commission

LAUREL WREATH

At this point a brother, sister or friend will place the laurel wreath on the head of the recent graduate, being now laureata or laureato, which is to say a degree-holder

The laurel wreath, symbol of the neo-doctor, is one of the oldest traditions in Italian academic history. In Italian the word Laurea (degree) comes from the Latin laurus which means laurel, but also indicates victory. In ancient Rome generals and emperors, in the Middle Ages great poets were crowned with laurel. It is therefore easy to understand the symbolic value of the laurel wreath for the graduate, a symbol of virtue and wisdom, of great honor and knowledge, must remind him/her of the commitment and the fortune of having acquired knowledge and wisdom to use in everyday life.

CONFETTI

To celebrate graduation, it is also customary to make bags of confetti (sugared almonds). For graduation, the color of the confetti is red, not the white confetti of weddings. We talked about confetti in another blog because they are an important part of many celebrations in Italy: birth, Communion, wedding anniversaries and the color changes every time.