International Ph.D Programme in Criminology 2017, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy

Informal application

It is possible to participate in an informal pre-application process at any moment of the year by sending an email to the Coordinator of the Ph.D. (Prof. Francesco Calderoni, francesco.calderoni@unicatt.it) or to Transcrime’s Secretariat (transcrime@unicatt.it) and attaching an English CV. Afterwards, the candidate may be invited to submit a research proposal in English and to participate in a phone or Skype interview to discuss the proposal.

The candidate will receive an evaluation from the Coordinator with two possible results:

a) positive assessment, exempting the candidate from sending a research proposal and participating in the interview after the publication of call for applications. The candidate will formalize his/her application, after the publication of the call, by sending the requested documentation by email to transcrime@unicatt.it.

b) negative assessment, allowing to submit a formal application after having substantially revised the research proposal during the formal application period. 

Application

The call for applications is published every year (in general at the end of July) and is available in English and Italian at the webpage of the Ph.D. Office Candidates must fill the application form available (after the publication of the call for applications).

The application and the documents requested in the call for applications must be sent in pdf format to transcrime@unicatt.it,  within the deadline indicated in the call for applications.

The research proposal

Each candidate must send a research proposal in English for his/her Ph.D. thesis. The proposal should be divided in the following sections: review of the state-of-the-art; research problem and questions; objectives and methodology; expected results and possible limitations.

The research proposal must not exceed 20 thousand characters (bibliography included).

Evaluation criteria

The evaluation for the admission to the Ph.D. is based on (also for those candidates receiving a positive assessment after the pre-application process):

a) curriculum vitae and other titles
b) research proposal
c) phone or video (e.g. via Skype) interview

The assessment is based on a 0 to 70-point scale according to the following criteria:

• Points a) and b) may receive between 0 and 20 points each. Only candidates totalling at least 30 points are admitted to the interview.
  The results of the assessment of points a) and b) are communicated to the candidate by email along with the possible interview invitation within 20 days from the expiry of the call for applications.
• Point c) may receive between 0 and 30 points. The interview must be in English and will aim at discussing the candidate’s motivation and research proposal, as well as providing an answer to any questions the candidate may have. Only candidates receiving at least 20 points may be admitted to the Ph.D.

The final ranking is given by the sum of the scores achieved in points a), b), and c). Candidates are admitted according to the ranking, up to the number of available positions.

Every year, the Ph.D. offers a number of scholarships amounting to € 14,640 (€ 1,100 net monthly) per candidate per year to the candidates ranking best in the admission procedure.

Since the beginning of the 2nd year, Transcrime will increase the monthly scholarship for Ph.D. candidates up to €17,300 per year (€ 1,300 net monthly) and Ph.D. candidates will have a budget for research expenses in the amount of 10% of the scholarship.

In order to favour the international scope of the Ph.D., the admitted candidates residing abroad and those who hold a Master Degree from a foreign university may be refunded up to € 5,000 for documented travel and lodging expenses incurred during the 1st year of Ph.D. due to their moving to Milan.

In case the candidate undertakes a study period abroad, the scholarship may be increased by a minimum of 50%.

Admission fees