Learning Programme 38th and 39th Cycles

The educational path consists of a common, course-based program, plus research-oriented training activities, aiming at capacity building of an independent attitude for scientific investigation.

To this end, the education and training programme is structured as follows:

1. The educational activities are quantified in (informal) doctoral credits.
2. In order to pass the third year of the Ph.D. course, the Ph.D. student must have acquired at least 18 credits during his three-year Doctorate.
3. The Ph.D. student defines his educational path in agreement with his Tutor. The training activities must be consistent with the research topics of the DAST doctoral course.
4. The DAST Academic Board verifies the student's educational path and the achievement of the requirements indicated in point 2 by the procedures reported in point 6.
5. Doctoral credits can be acquired by participating in the following activities: Preparatory courses; Specific courses pertaining to the PhD student's academic discipline;  Specific courses for the DAST Doctorate (see attached file for details).
6. The Ph.D. students are required to complete a study/training/research stay of at least 3 months in an institution different from the University of Bologna, preferably abroad, consistent with the selected research topic. A stay divided into separate periods, usually lasting no less than a month, is acceptable; the obligation can be extraordinarily waived for reasons of force majeure, such as illness, maternity/paternity, and, for the case of Industrial Doctorates, lack of authorization by the employer due to unexpected changes of the working conditions in force at the time of the competition.
7. Procedures of verification of the education and training program include submission of a report and a yearly presentation of the activities carried out (see details in the attached file).
8. The DAST Academic Board can indicate some educational activities as compulsory; these compulsory activities can be extended to all DAST Ph.D. students or only to a part of them (e.g., to a specific Cycle). Compulsory seminars are included in the calculation of the credits to be acquired within the three-year doctorate term.
9. Ph.D. students are required to publish, within their three-year doctoral course, 2 significant articles, preferably in international peer-reviewed journals and/or international conference proceedings.
10. Ph.D. students are required to hold, within their three-year doctoral course, at least one presentation at an international conference (in addition to those possibly contributing to point 9).