Ph.D. Students Activities
PhD students are required to complete at least 180 doctoral credits (CD) over three years through research activities and structured training and educational activities (lectures, seminars, workshops). The student, in agreement with their tutor, selects the most suitable educational path for their research project.
At the end of each academic year, PhD students must submit an essay on a topic related to their research. This essay is discussed with the PhD Academic Board and presented to fellow PhD students. A positive evaluation from the board is required for progression to the next year.
Passing the annual examinations grants PhD students 140 CDs, while the remaining 40 CDs must be earned through participation in specific educational activities.
Teaching and training activities
Throughout the three-year PhD program, students must earn 40 CDs by attending and completing various courses and activities. There is no mandatory number of CDs to obtain per year, however the following distribution is strongly recommended:
- 20 CDs in the first year
- 15 CDs in the second year
- 5 CDs in the third year
The 40 CDs must be earned through different types of activities, distributed as follows:
- Minimum 24 CDs from attending seminars or lectures organized within the PhD program or within other PhD courses. The full list of courses and schedules is available at: PhD Program PSCS.
- Minimum 2 CDs from attending courses on transferable skills (e.g., courses organized by the department and university, such as academic English, ADLab, scientific writing, or project planning). More information is available at: Transferable Skills for PhD Students.
- Minimum 5 CDs from extracurricular training (e.g., participation in conferences, summer and winter schools). 12 hours (or a 1 day of conference) are equivalent to 1 CD.
- Minimum 1 CD from dissemination activities (e.g., presenting at a conference or giving a public lecture as part of third-mission activities).
- Teaching or tutoring activities also contribute to the total CD count. Every 2 hours of teaching or tutoring corresponds to 1 CD. There is no minimum requirement for such activities, and their inclusion is optional.
All activities must be approved by the supervisor and certified. Certificates of completion (for PhD courses) and attendance certifications (for conferences, lectures, etc.) must be requested and attached to the annual progress report.
Training and educational activities completed at other universities, including those undertaken during the research period abroad, can count toward the 40 CDs, provided that:
- They are approved by the PhD supervisor.
- Certificate of participation is provided.
Additionally, to obtain the PhD degree, students must complete mandatory courses on workplace safety and health regulations and privacy training before submitting their dissertation.
Internationalization features
All the faculty belonging to the Academic Board have a vast international experience in their field. Each year the call for applications for new doctoral fellowships is circulated through International networks such as H-Net, the Philos-L (Archives of Philosophy in Europe) newsletter, the Society for the Social Studies of Science, and the newsletters of the European Society for Analytic Philosophy and the History of Science Society (USA). Given the presence of several foreign students, most of the teaching and tutoring activities within the programme are carried out in English. Several final dissertations, both by Italian and by foreign students, are written in English. Several of the seminars organized each year are delivered by foreign scholars, conveying hints of the kind of knowledge and know-how pursued within the research institutions of other countries.
Expected research results and products
By the end of the second year, doctoral students with a fellowship are expected to write, as authors or co-authors, a paper of a quality such as to be considered for publication by an established journal in the field, or as a chapter in a book. Doctoral students not benefitting from a fellowship are expected to achieve the same by the end of their third year. By the end of the second year doctoral, students with a fellowship are expected to attend at least two national or international conferences, submitting posters or papers as authors or co-authors. Doctoral students not benefitting from a fellowship are expected to achieve the same by the end of their third year. The doctoral dissertation, preferably written in English, must possess originality and an overall quality such as to become, after some additional work, a publishable book.
Research Training Activities
For more detailed information oh PhD activities organized by the PhD Programma, please see Teaching section