Language: English is the official language of the Doctorate Programme in Agrifood and Environmental Sciences.
Courses, written and oral examinations, as well as the thesis, are in English. 

Duration: 3 years

Academic year: from November to October

Education and Credits

To complete the whole programme, the student must obtain 180 credits as follows:

• 30 credits for courses and other educational activities, according to a personal Study Plan set up by the PhD student in agreement with the supervisor and approved by the Teaching Board. This includes:
  • 15 credits TYPE A: attendance at institutional courses offered by the Manifesto of Studies of the Doctorate Programme (a final examination/test at the end of the course must be passed) or specialized courses of a similar level offered by Italian or foreign University institutions. In the latter case, the attendance of the courses must be approved by the Teaching Board. Students are advised to obtain these credits by the end of the first year; in any case they must be achieved by the end of the second year.
  •  15 credits TYPE B: other activities, like courses without final exam, short schools, workshops, attended at the home University and/or other institutions. The Teaching Board evaluates the suitability of such activities with respect to the training and research objectives of the student and establishes the number of credits to award. These credits must be obtained by the end of the third year.
• 150 credits for research and writing on the topic of the final thesis, including any research sessions spent at Italian, foreign universities or research institutions.

Supervisor/s

During the PhD programme, the doctoral student is guided by one or more supervisors, who support the students study and research activities and ensures that good research quality is reached and maintained. The supervisor/s assist the PhD students in drafting the individual study plan, identifying the specific areas of research, guiding and advising them about methodologies and approaches, and, later on, with thesis writing, at the same time ensuring the quality of the student’s work. Any activities related to the PhD Student programme such as travel, external activities, purchases, etc. is subject to the formal approval of the supervisor.
The Supervisor/s will meet regularly with each PhD Student, promoting their development and ability to conduct research autonomously, as well as to communicate the results effectively to an international audience, both orally and in writing.

Research funds

Each student is provided with a budget for research activity which can be used for educational and research purposes: reimbursement of travel expenses; support to research (translation, draft review, etc.); buying research tools such as data, use of equipment and equipment itself. The amount is assigned into 3 annual tranches. Students can use this budget upon approval of their supervisor.

NB: Students are responsible to keep track of all expenses related to their research, training and mobility, and to regularly update the Programme Administrators about it.