PhD OVERVIEW

RESEARCH TOPICS

The PhD Program’s distinctive topic is the relationship between well-being and lifestyles in its unitary complexity. Such relationship defines a research field with both a strongly cohesive content and an intrinsic openness to multi-disciplinary approaches (as it is increasingly required by our contemporaneity, where life quality’s various aspects are tightly and osmotically interrelated). Hence, the research projects will have to develop the general theme according to one of the following areas:
- Pharmacy, Nutritional Sciences, Sport Sciences and Physical Exercise area (focus on well-being promotion and health protection): Integrated strategies to preserve the well-being of various population groups; Research and development of drug for health protection and of cosmetic products; Biomarker analysis for monitoring the well-being status; Risk assessment of hazardous exposures and unhealthy lifestyles; Metabolism and nutrition; Physical activity, physical exercise and sports.
- Educational Sciences and Humanities area (focus on the analysis and the promotion of lifestyles in globalized society): Processes of culture’s teaching and learning in relation to childhood, human movement and embodiment; Education to both individual and social well-being factors in current reality (social justice, diversity, global citizenship, fragility management); Processes of constitution and diffusion of lifestyles in contemporaneity, following the determination of symbolic values (according to the exemplary logic of fashion analysed by Fashion studies) and the development of aestheticization factors (social aesthetics).

The various research topics will be developed by stressing those “soft-skills” components that allow to locate rigorous disciplinary investigations exactly into the horizon where, today, extremely useful answers for the promotion of well-being can emerge.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES AND POTENTIAL AREAS OF EMPLOYMENT

Job opportunities are primarily related to both the University's research and/or public and private institutions (national and international) related to pharmaceutical science, methods and systems for improving the well-being, prevention and reeducation in sport, education and cultural promotion in the context of the global society.

Such research framework refers to behaviors directed towards a healthier lifestyle, but also to the studies on trends that define cultural values today. This includes studies of risk factors, tools for health protection, physical activity, healthy diet, but also on social relationships, resilience, positive emotions, autonomy and self expression, interaction with the environment of social life (work, home, leisure). In other words, in this framework are included professions that have focused on the quality of life in every context with which man interacts on a daily basis.

Other potential areas of employment may be consultancy, planning and partnerships, related to research activities mentioned above, in the fields of: medicine, physical activity sciences (especially in the work and home environment), physical exercise (preventive, reeducational, maintenance), sport practice (prevention, reeducation, training), cultural world (environmental sustainability, aesthetics, fashion) and education (instruction, training).

INTERNATIONALIZATION FEATURES

Over the 3 years, each Ph.D. student should spend at least a 3 months' internship period at prominent research institutes or industries related to the Ph.D. subject. For PhD student holding a position with scholarship, the amount of the scholarship is increased by 30% for the periods spent abroad. This increase is not allowed for periods shorter than one continuous month as well as for stays in the Country of birth, citizenship, residence or abode of the PhD candidate.

Finally, starting from the first year, PhD students are entitled to an annual budget (updated in the light of Ministerial Decree 40/2018) for national and international research activities, the so-called 10% budget. There are also specific mobility programmes (i.e. Erasmus+).

A co-tutorship (or “cotutelle”, as this type of cooperation originated in France) is a bilateral agreement signed by two universities located in two different countries on behalf of a PhD candidate. The agreement is aimed at the awarding of a double PhD degree, should the single thesis defense be successful.  

The PhD programme in Science and Culture of Well-being and Lifestyles has already established co-tutorship agreements with the following universities:

- Framework Agreement with UNIVERSIDAD DE LLEIDA (Spain) for double doctoral degree program

- Framework Agreement with UNIVERSITY OF READING (UK) for double doctoral degree program

The main features of the co-tutorship agreement

A co-tutorship agreement must comply with the following conditions:

• The PhD candidate’s training and research activities are supervised by two professors, one from the Home University (namely, where the PhD candidate firstly enrolled), the other one from the Host University.
• The PhD candidate is required to spend more or less the same period of time at both universities (for UNIBO, minimum one year) according to a calendar set up by the two supervisors.
• The PhD candidate will take just one final exam (usually at the Home University) and the examination board will be composed by members from both universities.
• Both universities will award a PhD degree: the co-tutorship does not imply a joint academic degree.
• As a general rule, the PhD candidate is enrolled in both Universities, but he/she will pay the tuition fees only to the Home University, being exempted from that payment to the Host University.