Research Methods in Science and Technology
Dottorato di Ricerca

The PhD program aims to provide the principles, knowledge, and skills necessary to engage in scientific and technological research with full awareness, responsibility, and methodological rigor. To this end, the program offers opportunities to explore ethical and methodological issues, develop critical thinking, carry out research projects using both qualitative and quantitative methods, gain experience in constructing, characterizing, validating, and using models of reality, refine scientific writing skills, and engage with the international research community.

The interdisciplinary nature of the PhD program supports this objective by offering candidates the chance to identify the methodological elements common to scientific research across different fields, to refine cross-cutting tools and techniques, and to apply them within their own areas of specialization—developing the ability to engage in interdisciplinary collaboration.

The first year is dedicated to classroom-based training activities, with in-person attendance of courses that include final assessments. The study setting offered by Urbino is unique, being a Renaissance city included in the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Courses are taught in English. Final assessments (tests, reports, papers, or oral exams) may be taken at the end of each module, with an additional exam session available in September. Admission to the second year depends on the outcome of these assessments.

Seminars (with no final assessment) will cover specific and advanced topics, offering students opportunities for both in-depth study and updates in their fields of interest, as well as interdisciplinary exposure.

Research projects will be defined during the first year and assigned to PhD candidates at the beginning of the second year, which is primarily devoted to research.

The PhD thesis will be completed during the third year and defended at the end of the program.

PhD candidates are expected to spend at least a semester abroad.

The educational activities include attendance of courses totaling 60 ECTS, supplemented by seminars offered throughout the three-year program and a mandatory 5 ECTS course in scientific English, to be taken during the second year.

First Year

Each student must:

• Attend 12 ECTS of mandatory core courses
• Choose 24 ECTS from a list of shared elective courses
• Complete 24 ECTS of courses specific to their thematic area

Second Year

Mainly dedicated to research

• Definition of the research project
• Supervised research activities
• Participation in seminars, summer schools, and any additional courses agreed upon with the supervisor
• A research stay abroad is encouraged

PhD candidates are expected to present their research findings at international conferences and to submit articles for peer review in international journals.

Third Year

Mainly dedicated to preparing the thesis and publishing research results

• Writing the PhD thesis
• Participation in selected courses recommended by the supervisor
• A research stay abroad is possible

PhD candidates are again expected to present their research at international conferences and to submit articles to peer-reviewed international journals.

TRAINING AND TEACHING ACTIVITIES OF THE PHD PROGRAMME IN RESEARCH METHODS IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

The PhD program naturally leads to employment opportunities in R&D positions across academic, public, and industrial sectors. The high level of methodological and applied expertise, awareness, maturity, and experience offered by the program in the specific thematic areas enables PhD graduates to pursue careers with access to top-level roles and positions of coordination and high responsibility.

In the CHEMISTRY thematic area, PhD graduates find employment in R&D, production, and quality control within analytical laboratories and companies in the chemical, pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, cosmetic, and analytical instrumentation industries, as well as in public and private entities operating in the environmental, forensic, and biomedical fields.

In the EARTH SCIENCES area, PhD graduates have career opportunities in R&D sectors of public administration and in private companies involved in land-use planning, mitigation of geological risks, research and use of raw materials, and seismic and climate risk prevention.

The INFORMATICS AND MATHEMATICS and PHYSICS AND ITS FOUNDATIONS areas offer broad employment opportunities in organizations and companies across various sectors, where graduates work as specialists in modeling real-world phenomena and managing complex natural or artificial systems, as big data analysts, or as software architects skilled in the use of formal methods for designing data-intensive applications and conducting basic research.