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: 11 with scholarship
Campus: Bozen-Bolzano
Tuition fees: € 180 per year
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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Studying at unibz
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Application procedure, Visa, Residence permit and more
Application and Admission
You can find key information to apply and gain admission to this PhD Programme. For detailed information browse the general and specific calls below.
In order to gain admission to the PhD programme, you will need to have obtained 300 ECTS credit points (master degree) and have some relevant academic experience in the field of the programme. You will also have to demonstrate competence in the English language with a recognized language certificate and be successful in a public competition (see call of below).
1st Call
Application deadline: by 15 June 2023, 12:00 midday (CEST)
Admission interviews: 3-5 July, 2023, at unibz for those living in Italy or online via Microsoft Teams
Communication of interview details: by 28 June 2023
Publication of ranking lists: by 14 July 2023
Confirmation of the PhD position - 1st Call
Applicants with grant: starting from 14 July 2023 until 27 July 2023;
Applicants without grant: starting from 27 July 2023 until 04 August 2023.
Enrolment: Starting from 27 July 2023 until 31 October 2023, 12:00 midday (CEST)
2nd Call
Application deadline: by 18 July 2023, 12:00 midday (CEST)
Admission interviews: 24-25 July, 2023, at unibz for those living in Italy or online via Microsoft Teams
Communication of interview details: by 24 July 2023
Publication of ranking lists: by 7 August 2023
Confirmation of the PhD position - 2nd Call
Applicants with grant: starting from 7 August 2023 until 23 August 2023;
Applicants without grant: starting from 24 August 2023 until 31 August 2023.
Enrolment: Starting from 24 August 2023 until 31 October 2023, 12:00 midday (CEST)
3rd Call
Application deadline: by 11 September 2023, 12:00 midday (CEST)
Admission interviews: 19 September 2023, online via Microsoft Teams/at unibz
Communication of interview details: by 15 September 2023
Publication of ranking lists: by 28 September 2023
Confirmation of the PhD position - 3rd Call
Applicants with grant: starting from 28 September 2023 until 16 October 2023;
Enrolment: Starting from 17 October 2023 until 31 October 2023, 12:00 midday (CEST)
Total positions: 11
1st Call
Positions with university grants: 3
Positions with other types of grants: 4
2nd Call
Positions MD 117/2023 under PNRR: 4
3rd call
Positions MD 118/2023 under PNRR: 2
Positions with other types of grants: 1
All citizen, regardless of sex, age and nationality may apply to be admitted to a PhD:
- Applicants holding 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;
- Applicants achieving one of the above mentioned titles within the enrolment deadline. In this case applicants will be admitted conditionally to the selection procedure and they must produce the degree certificate within the enrolment’s deadline. If not, their application is considered null and void.
Candidates are expected to have acquired an appropriate educational, and/or cultural and/or professional background in the field of agricultural, environmental, biological, animal or geosciences.
English Language certification at level B2 (or higher levels).
Linguistic competence can be proven by:
- If the main language of instruction in the final year of the diploma is English, it counts as C1.
- A bachelor's or master's degree in English certifies the C1 level. Unibz graduates must upload the language certificates they have obtained or declare that they have passed the language examinations at the unibz Language Centre (B2, B2+ or C1).
- A recognised language certificate (see the list of recognised certificates from the Language Centre. Please note: the certificate must not have been obtained more than 5 years before the application for recognition.
The proficiency in English will also be assessed during the interviews.
Applications to the selection procedure can be submitted from the date of the announcement of the public competition.
Each application is subject to a payment for administrative expenses (30 €). This registration fee cannot be reimbursed under any circumstances.
In order to apply, you need to follow these steps:
- Create an account at Application Portal and upload in electronic format a passport-size colour photo and a valid ID (passport or identity card, front/back);
- In the application portal, select the PhD programme and pay the registration fee of 30 € (see instructions in the portal);
- Fill in the online form in the same portal and upload the additional required documents (see the specific attachments to the call for each PhD programme).
Completing the application online is the only way to submit the application. Applications will not be considered if:
- incomplete or without compulsory entry qualifications/requirements;
- sent by e-mail.
It is necessary to upload the required documentation for each PhD programme chosen in the portal. A traffic light system indicates complete/incomplete documentation (missing documents will be marked in red).
Only documents uploaded by the deadline will be evaluated. It is advisable to apply online well in advance and to check the portal regularly to take note of any notes concerning missing and/or incorrect documents.
After the deadline, it will no longer be possible to complete/correct incomplete applications.
The University is not liable if the portal is overcharged, due to the net or to the software itself.
To apply to the PhD programme, applicants must include the documentation listed below. Incomplete applications will be excluded from the competition.
- Diploma supplement or the Master degree diploma together with the transcript of records of all passed exams:
- if graduated in Italy: diploma supplement or self-declaration (following the Italian D.P.R. no. 445/2000) of the degree awarded with the exams passed (if graduated) or just with the exams passed (if not graduated yet);
- if graduated abroad: diploma supplement or final degree certificate with exams passed (if graduated) or transcript of records (if not graduated yet) in Italian, German or English related to a second level university qualification;
The above must contain the following information: final grade, exams passed with grade and date of passing, credit points, scientific fields (the latter only for Italian titles), university where the degree was or will be awarded and date of graduation.
For qualifications obtained abroad, also: scale of grades awarded by the home university (with a minimum final grade to obtain the qualification and a maximum final grade achievable). Unibz reserves the right to request a description of the contents of the single courses and/or teaching hours where necessary.
- A motivational letter written in English (max. 1 page).
- Curriculum vitae (CV) (in English and possibly following the EU format that can be downloaded here https://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/en/documents/curriculum-vitae). The CV should include the list of publications, presentations at conferences, awards, and any experience or activity that prove her/his qualification.
- English Language certification at level B2 (or higher levels).
If the language skills are demonstrated by a high school diploma/diploma or master's degree, the diplomamust also be uploaded a second time in the above section.
Other documents to be included in the application if available:
- reference letters, written in English from a university lecturer or a researcher from a research institute (drawn up in the year of the call or in the previous one);
- copy of the publications (including the master thesis, published or accepted).
When submitting their application, applicants must indicate on the portal a maximum of 3 research topics chosen from the list of titles indicated for the 1st call, from list of titles indicated for the 2nd call and from list of titles indicated for the 3rd call. The choice is not binding.
Admission to the programme is based on the evaluation of a) the academic qualification as it appears from the CV and other documents, b) of the motivational and reference letters, and c) on the outcome of the interview.
For those applicants who fulfil the admission requirements, the Evaluation Committee will first evaluate the application and draw up a short list of applicants admitted to the interview. The Committee will select the best applicants on the basis of a comparative assessment.
The following points will be awarded:
- up to 23 points for the academic qualification of the applicant as it appears in the CV and in the other documents, for the motivational and reference letters;
- up to 7 points for the congruence of the curriculum with the topics indicated in the list of available projects, which will be chosen by the candidate in the dedicated portal;
- up to 20 points for the interview.
The final score is the sum of the previous scores. The maximum score is 50. The lowest score to be admitted to the ranking list is 25/50. The final score is used for ranking the applicants and to establish A) the list of the admitted candidates and B) the list of candidates entitled to receive the fellowships. Separate rankings will be drawn up for the two externally funded projects. If two or more applicants have the same score, the younger candidate will be given priority.
Fees amount to € 180
In order to confirm your study place, you need to log on to the application portal and pay the tuition fees (€ 180) which includes the provincial tax for the right to study of € 164 and a revenue stamp of € 16. by one of the methods indicated on the portal by the deadline indicated above.
If you do not respect this deadline, you will automatically lose your study place. If, by paying the instalment you have confirmed the study place, there will be no refund of the tuition fees unless you are a non-EU applicant resident abroad and you do not receive the necessary documents from the Italian authorities in your country.
1st Call
Application deadline: by 15 June 2023, 12:00 midday (CEST)
CALL GENERAL PART (PDF): EN – IT – DE
CALL SPECIFIC PART (PDF): EN – IT – DE
2nd Call
Application deadline: by 18 July 2023, 12:00 midday (CEST)
CALL GENERAL PART (PDF): EN – IT – DE
CALL SPECIFIC PART (PDF): EN – IT – DE
3rd Call
Application deadline: by 11 September 2023, 12:00 midday (CEST)
CALL GENERAL PART (PDF): EN – IT – DE
CALL SPECIFIC PART (PDF): EN – IT – DE
Contact us by phone at +39 0471 012800 or send us an e-mail: phd@unibz.it