Doctorate in Sciences and Technologies of Chemistry and Materials

The Doctoral School in Sciences and Technologies of Chemistry and Materials was established in 2005 to activate research doctorates in chemistry or the like. Since 2013 it has been transformed into one doctorate course, activated by the Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, which has kept the same name and includes 5 curricula, 2 of which are run in collaboration with the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT) (Italian Institute of Technology). It is now one of the largest doctorate of Genova University with nearly 100 students.

The Doctorate aims to train high quality researchers in all research fields of fundamental chemistry (analytical chemistry, physical chemistry, inorganic chemistry, industrial chemistry, organic chemistry) and applied chemistry (pharmaceutical chemistry, food and cosmetic chemistry, pharmaceutical technologies, innovative chemical processes, environmental chemistry) as well as materials science, including nanochemistry.

For this purpose, the doctorate programme is structured into five independent curricula:

• Chemical Sciences and Technologies
• Pharmaceutical, Food and Cosmetic Sciences
• Materials Science and Technology
• Nanochemistry
• Drug Discovery and Nanobiotechnologies

The research doctorates will gain additional knowledge and skills to those acquired during their previous university studies. In particular, they will be trained to handle and recognize the issues related to specific research sectors, to gain and assimilate the necessary knowledge autonomously and ultimately use it productively to solve them. Furthermore, they will develop their ability to work in groups, to exchange their interdisciplinary skills and give a clear presentation of their research results in both written and verbal form. The research doctorate will therefore be an extremely flexible and versatile figure who will be able to adapt to the new scientific and technological challenges. The balance between gaining and managing skills will enable research doctorates to conduct their important research autonomously with national and multinational companies, research bodies or universities. The doctorate provides an ideal follow-up to university studies, especially for MSc graduates in the following classes LM-13 (Pharmacy and Industrial Pharmacy), LM-17 (Physics), LM-22 (Chemical Engineering), LM-53 (Materials Science and Engineering), LM-54 (Chemical Sciences), LM-71 (Sciences and Technologies of Industrial Chemistry).

Research structure and teaching staff

The Doctoral Course can rely on the collaboration of 4 Departments within the University of Genoa: the Department of Chemistry and Industrial Chemistry, the Pharmacy Department, the Physics Department, the Department of Civil, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, as well as several research units of the Italian Institute of Technology. All these departments are characterized by excellent research standards and numerous collaborations with Italian and foreign industries, universities, and research bodies. Besides the structures (laboratories, instrumentation, seminar rooms) provided by these departments, the Doctoral School can rely upon a large number of teaching staff who supervise the Ph.D. students and program lessons or seminars. All the advisors assigned every year to the new students can count on substantial research funding and therefore can assure the Ph. D. students a sufficient budget to carry out the research. Moreover, all the students have an additional budget of about 1650 euro/year, which can be used mainly for sending the Ph.D., students to national or international schools or congresses. Other doctoral places can be added:

• positions financed by European projects, i.e. H2020-MSCA-ITN-EID (International Training Network-European Industrial Doctorate);
• doctoral scholarships financed by private industries;
• positions financed by research institutions (e.g. C.N.R.);
• Ph.D. Scholarships funded by the Liguria Region;
• Ph.D. scholarships funded by the MUR, within specific initiatives (PON, PNRR, etc.);
• positions reserved for public employees with permanent contracts or employees of companies (only in the case of course accreditation as an industrial doctorate).

Internationalization

The doctorate course is strongly committed to internationalization and favors the attendance of foreign students. Towards this goal, the admission interviews may be carried out remotely using Skype or Teams. This commitment is proved by the statistics over the last years, in which there was a growth in foreign applications, mainly from non-European countries.

Moreover, all students are routinely expected to carry out research and training activities at highly qualified institutions abroad. During these periods, the students (if they have a regular scholarship) received a 50% increase in their scholarships. They are also further sponsored by the Erasmus + program or, for secondments outside Europe, by other kinds of grants.

Access

The grant amount for the XXXIX cycle is about 1215 euro/month (net). Should a certain period be spent abroad, this amount is increased by 50% for the whole period of stay. The annual enrolment tax amounts to up to 200 euros (it depends on the overall income). The research and courses initiate on November 1 of every year or at a later date in case of a second call. The duration of the Ph.D. course is usually 3 years and concludes with a written thesis which is reviewed by two external referees and then presented to an appointed examination board. For further details on deadlines and how to apply, please go to the section on ‘calls’ (competition announcements).
To be considered for selection, applicants should have an Italian MSc degree or a five-year Italian degree (old curriculum), as long as the degree is obtained by the date indicated in the call for applications. Graduates from foreign universities may also be considered, on the condition that their degree is recognized as being equivalent to the above-mentioned qualification. Recognition of equivalence carried out by the Commission appointed for the comparative evaluation of candidates is sufficient. To have such equivalence though, it is necessary to present: a) a legal translation of the qualification; b) a valid certificate issued by the Italian embassy. Even if these documents are not yet available, the students can apply and be admitted (they must of course present these documents before starting of the doctorate). In this case, however, the candidates should include in the application all the information needed for the equivalence decision (e.g. the duration of pre-academic studies, the programs of units and so on). Admitted students have to enroll in the doctorate according to the deadlines set out in the call for applications. Their research will be focused on one of the themes listed in the call and the Faculty will appoint one or more tutors, of which at least one must be a lecturer. 

Every year about 25-30 students are admitted to the course. You can see their list at this link.