During the three years, PhD candidates are required to obtain at least 180 doctoral credits (DCs) through research activities and the training activities offered by the programme (lectures, seminars, workshops), by agreeing with their supervisors on a training plan tailored to their research interests and to the individual research project they are pursuing.
Each annual progression contributes 140 DCs for research activity, while the remaining 40 DCs must be obtained through attendance at specific training activities.
Training activities include: attendance at individual tutorials, specialist seminars, lectures, participation in seminars and lecture series at the University of Bologna and at other Italian and international universities (for example, activities carried out during the period abroad), placements at research institutions and selected companies, agreed with the supervisor and the Academic Board. For PhD candidates in the Cognitive Science curriculum, specific laboratory activities are also provided.
Through attendance and completion of these activities, PhD candidates must obtain 40 DCs over the course of their three-year doctoral programme. There is no compulsory number of doctoral credits to be obtained each year, but the following distribution across the three years is strongly recommended: 20 DCs in the first year, 15 DCs in the second year, and 5 DCs in the third year.
The 40 DCs must be obtained through different types of activities, distributed as follows (see also the DC Table):
All activities undertaken must be approved by the supervisor and must always be certified. Certificates of completion (for doctoral teaching activities) and/or certificates of attendance (for conferences, etc.) must always be requested, uploaded to the relevant platform, and attached to the end-of-year report.
In order to obtain the PhD degree, students must also complete, before submitting their dissertation, the mandatory training courses on health and safety at work and privacy , as well as the questionnaire on PhD candidates’ opinions at the end of each academic year (OPID).
All members of the Academic Board have extensive international experience in their respective research fields. Each year, the call for applications for new PhD positions is circulated through international thematic networks such as H-Net, the Philos-L newsletter (Archives of Philosophy in Europe), the Society for the Social Studies of Science, the newsletter of the European Society for Analytic Philosophy, and the newsletters of societies such as the History of Science Society (USA).
Given the presence of many international PhD candidates, most programme activities are conducted in English. A substantial number of doctoral dissertations, written by both Italian and international candidates, are also written in English. Some of the seminars organised each year are specifically devoted to meetings with international scholars and directors of research centres, who provide knowledge and opportunities for comparison with research systems in other countries.
International scientific relations are further strengthened by co-tutelle agreements involving the Universities of Paris, Freiburg, Göttingen, Lille, Paraíba, Wuppertal, and Zurich.
In addition, the compulsory six-month research period abroad ensures that every PhD candidate has the opportunity to engage with different schools of thought, research experiences, and methodological approaches.
Within the first two years of the programme, PhD candidates are expected to prepare, as author or co-author, an article suitable for publication in an accredited journal or as a contribution to a volume of comparable relevance. Within the same period, they are also expected to participate in at least two national or international conferences, presenting posters or papers as author or co-author.
The doctoral dissertation, preferably written in English, must meet standards of originality and be of a quality that would justify publication after further revision.
The Department of Philosophy provides all PhD candidates with the 10% research budget, as well as access to the Marco Polo call, which funds periods abroad. Additional funding may come from staff research funds and from agreements with companies and funding bodies supporting individual scholarships.
In addition, PhD candidates may benefit from an additional budget equal to 50% of the scholarship amount for periods of study abroad authorised by the Academic Board (provided in the form of a scholarship increase for funded PhD candidates).