Resources
A compilation of key information on the resources made available to doctoral students.
Supervision of doctoral students
The Doctoral Course in Legal Studies provides doctoral students with supervisors and co-supervisors of high and proven scientific qualification in research areas consistent with the training objectives of the course, which extend to all legal research areas. Starting from the 38th cycle, each doctoral student is supervised by both a supervisor and a co-supervisos: discounting co-supervisors there are currently 45 members of the Department performing the role of doctoral supervisor, with an average of 1.6 doctoral students per supervisor.
Financial resources available for doctoral students
During the three-year period, a budget equal to the value of 10% of the scholarship is accrued each year, to be used for doctoral-related travel and activities.
PhD students spend at least three months studying abroad, in which case the scholarship amount is increased by 50%. The additional budget is provided in the form of a scholarship increment for doctoral students who are scholarship holders, and in the form of reimbursement of travel expenses for doctoral students who are not scholarship holders. The additional budget for research periods abroad can be used for a maximum of twelve months (extendable to eighteen months for doctorates in co-operation with foreign subjects).
It is also possible to participate in the calls for: 1) the Erasmus+ 'Study' and 'Internship' programme, promoted by the EU; 2) the Marco Polo programme, promoted by UNIBO (whose monthly grant is € 1,150 for Europe and Africa, € 1,350 for America, Asia, Oceania).
The 50% increase for stays abroad can be combined with the grants for international mobility awarded under the Erasmus+ calls for applications only for the first 180 days abroad; it can be combined with the Marco Polo incentive up to the maximum amount allocated under this incentive.
The Department's dedicated funds as a Department of Excellence are also made available to doctoral students, specifically for the organisation of highly qualified teaching activities and doctoral workshops, and for the funding of doctoral students' participation in the CLA academics language course.
Equipment
Doctoral students can make use of the computer rooms located in the Department of Legal Studies and in other Department buildings, including in particular the laboratories in the Cirsfid of Palazzo Gaudenzi at the School of Specialisation in Administrative Law (SPISA).
At the Department of Legal Studies of the University of Bologna, in addition to the offices located on the first floor of the Department, a special room is reserved for doctoral students with access to numerous computer workstations, with printers and related operating material, and photocopiers with cards for each doctoral student. In addition to this, there are now at least four workstations (with PC, wi-fi, printer and scanner) at the premises in Via Guerrazzi 20.
Libraries, databases, e-books and electronic periodicals
Through the "Antonio Cicu" Library, which is divided into 4 specialised sections, doctoral students have access to more than 273,800 volumes, 6,000 ancient books, approximately 3,000 Italian and foreign journals on paper, of which more than 900 are active, and to more than 1,000 electronic periodicals and 95 online databases, thus covering all the disciplinary scientific sectors of the doctorate.
Each doctoral student is provided with an individual account for access to the University computer network and its resources, including numerous online databases covering all disciplinary fields. Of particular note are: De Jure, il Mulino-RivisteWeb, Lexis-Nexis, Elgar ebooks (International law, Human rights, European law), EU Law Live, IBFD Tax Platform, KluwerArbitration, MPECCOL, Oxford Bibliographies (International law), OPIL, Philpapers.