76 PhD Fellowships at the Scuola Normale Superiore, Italy

Call for admission to the Postgraduate Course for the 2020-2021:76 places

The call for admission to the Postgraduate Course for the 2020-2021 academic year is online. The Postgraduate Course is equivalent to the PhD course of Italian universities and enables to obtain the international qualification of Philosophiae Doctor (Ph.D).

There are 76 places in total: in Pisa there are 5 for Philosophy, 6 for Italian Studies and modern philology, 5 for Classics, 5 for History, 5 for History of Art, 6 for Physics, 6 for Mathematics, 7 for Computational methods and mathematical models for science and finance, 4 for Methods and models for molecular sciences, 5 for Nanosciences, 5 for Neuroscience, 4 for Astrochemistry (joint course with the Federico II University of Naples); in Florence there are 9 places for Political Science and Sociology and 4 for Transnational Governance (joint course with the Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna).

The courses last four years, and will begin on November 1st.

The call is aimed at assessing, through evaluation of qualifications and of a research project and with an oral examination, the candidate’s preparation, talent, motivations and aptitude for scientific research. Applicants must be under the age of 32 and must have obtained  a master's degree or a suitable foreign qualification, by  the 31 October 2020.

Admission tests may be taken in Italian or English; the admission test to the courses in Methods and models for molecular sciences and in Political science and sociology, Transnational Governance can be taken only in English.

Applications must be registered online at the following address by February 27 (also if you intend to participate in the spring session) or by August 27 (also if you intend to participate in the autumn session).

All students admitted to our doctoral programmes receive scholarships, which include tuition fees and a grant for board and accommodation. The scholarship is guaranteed to students who maintain a high academic level and make significant progress in their thesis work.

All students will be entitled to additional funding for their research activity, even abroad.

For each postgraduate course, a place is reserved for candidates who have obtained a valid qualification, for access to the competition, in foreign universities.

The following candidates, regardless of their citizenship, can apply:

• those who have obtained a master's degree in Italy or an equivalent qualification in a non-Italian university by October 31, 2020;
• those who were born after October 31, 1988.

Admission to doctoral programmes will be based on academic assessment of candidates and on interviews.