PhD in
Mountain Environment and Agriculture
This PhD programme aims at providing talented and motivated students with in-depth research skills that will allow them to tackle relevant agricultural and environmental problems in mountain areas. Students will have the chance to join a range of training opportunities, seminars and conferences and to work under the guidance of supervisors within international research teams.
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Programme description
The three-year programme is highly interdisciplinary; competences span from ecology to hydrology, from crop production to animal science, from forestry to agricultural engineering, from plant protection to marketing. The PhD projects tackle, among others, the efficient use of natural resources, the sustainable production methods in agriculture and forestry, the effect of climate change on natural and managed mountain ecosystems.
The Scientific Committee includes internationally renowned scientists from Italian and foreign Universities as well as from Research Centres, like Eurac Research and Laimburg Research Centre for Agriculture and Forestry.
The international research training and the skills developed during the doctoral programme will help you meeting your career aspirations, both inside and outside research institutions.
At a glance
Duration of the programme: 3 years
Courses will be taught in English (occasionally, some courses will be taught in Italian and German).
Places available: 10 with scholarship
Scholarships awarded per year 28,0000 €
Campus: Bozen-Bolzano
Programme structure
During the first year, you attend courses, prepare and submit your research plan under the guidance of the main supervisor, and you also present a seminar on the state-of-the-art in your area of interest. You are encouraged to develop an excellent command on methodological techniques and to start preliminary research activity.
In the second year, you are expected to carry out research activities according to the research plan and schedule, and to spend a training period in a foreign university or research centre. In the third year, you are mainly required to concentrate yourself on data elaboration and on writing your thesis.
Along the three-year period, you are also required to acquire credit points by attending seminars, summer/winter schools, by presenting contributions to international conferences and by writing scientific papers for high-ranked international journals. The dissertation is expected to be a collection of scientific papers with a comprehensive introduction, discussion and conclusion.
International profile
Your research training will be embedded within several research projects of international relevance and will foresee a cooperation with foreign partners.
The PhD Steering Committee benefits from the presence of internationally reputed professors from foreign universities. The presence of at least one co-supervisor of your PhD project from a foreign research institution is highly recommended. A high percentage of your PhD students’ peers come from abroad.
Your international training will be additionally strengthened by your stay (for a duration of 3 to12 months) in a foreign research institution, chosen to suit your area of interest. This opportunity will broaden your experience. By doing research in highly stimulating and competitive contexts, you will exchange ideas with other scholars and establish a network that will be useful in your future career
People
PhD Programme Coordinator: Prof. Massimo Tagliavini (photo)
Lecturer's Committee secretariat: Prof. Camilla Wellstein
Student Representative in the Lecturer's Committee: Cameron Brodrick Cullinan
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Application and Admission
You can find key information to apply and gain admission to this PhD Programme. Detailed information will be available from 7 May 2025 at this page in the general and specific calls.
In order to gain admission to the PhD programme, you will have to demonstrate competence in the English language and be successful in a public competition (see call of below).
2nd Call
Publication of the call: 07/05/2025
Application deadline: by 11/06/2025 (by noon local time)
Admission interviews (online): by 30/06/2025 (via MS Teams)
Publication of ranking lists: by 11/07/2025
Confirmation of the PhD position - 2nd Call
Applicants with scholarship: by 24/07/2025 (by noon local time)
Applicants without scholarship: by 07/08/2025 (by noon local time)
Enrolment: Starting from 25/07/2025 until 31/10/2025
In order to apply to this programme you need one of the following qualifications:
- a postgraduate degree as per Italian Ministerial Decree no. 509/1999
- a postgraduate degree as per Italian Ministerial Decree no. 270/2004
- a degree of the former Italian university system, or an equivalent degree obtained abroad (university level education of at least five years).
If you have not yet achieved one of the above mentioned titles within the enrolment deadline, you will be admitted conditionally to the selection procedure and you must produce the degree certificate within the enrolment’s deadline. If not, your application is considered null and void.
Prerequisites for admission to the doctoral programmes are an appropriate educational and/or cultural background and/or experience in the research. Qualifications in the field of interest of the PhD programme are preferred.
The Commission reserves the right to decide and to assess whether or not previous qualifications are suitable for admission purposes.
2nd Call
CALL GENERAL PART (PDF): EN – IT – DE
CALL SPECIFIC PART (PDF): EN – IT – DE
For further questions contact us by phone at +39 0471 012800 or send us an e-mail: phd@unibz.it