Program Overview

Doctoral School In Social Sciences And Economics

The Doctoral School trains expert analysts able to understand social, cultural, economic, political, and technological problems of contemporary societies, in contexts characterized by differentiated development levels. To address these problems, there is a widespread demand for applied knowledge. Knowledge and skills related to the objects of investigation of the social, economic, and statistical sciences are acquired by learning both theories, methods, and scientific models, and applied tools and techniques for empirical analysis. The final goal is to acquire both scientific and practical skills and abilities to independently design and carry out research activities in an academic and non-academic environment, as well as in corporate or institutional organizations, at the local, national, and international levels.

Program Details

• ID: 31357
• Course type: Dottorato
• Academic year: 2025/2026
• Positions: 11
• Grant numbers: 2
• Number of scholarships financed by institutions: 0
• Number of scholarships financed by consortiums: 4

Admission Criteria

To be admitted to the doctoral program, candidates must present a research project that can evaluate their propensity and ability to organize the different phases of research activities autonomously. The project must be written in English and have a minimum of 6,000 and a maximum of 8,000 characters (including spaces, excluding bibliography). The project, presented for competitive purposes, does not constitute an obligation for admitted candidates in terms of carrying out research activities during the doctoral program. The evaluation criteria for the project include:

• Conoscenza dello stato dell’arte (Knowledge of the state of the art)
• Originalità e contenuto innovativo (Originality and innovative content)
• Chiarezza e completezza dell’esposizione degli obiettivi, delle metodologie e dei potenziali risultati (Clarity and completeness of the presentation of objectives, methodologies, and potential results)
• Fattibilità del progetto (Feasibility of the project)
• Pertinenza del progetto con gli obiettivi formativi del dottorato (Relevance of the project to the training objectives of the doctorate)

Curriculum

The doctoral program offers the following curricula:

• 1. FINANCE AND INSTITUTIONS
• 2. ECONOMICS AND DEVELOPMENT
• 3. SOCIOLOGY AND APPLIED SOCIAL RESEARCH
• 4. STATISTICS AND SOCIAL DATA SCIENCE
• 5. PUBLIC POLICY ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION

Double Degree Program

The doctoral program offers deserving students access to a path of study and research in financial disciplines, which includes periods of stay both in Italy and China. At the end of the study and research path, if the doctoral thesis is presented and positively evaluated, the students will be awarded two research doctorate degrees issued separately by Sapienza, University of Rome, and by Southwestern University of Finance and Economics.

Educational Goals

The Doctoral School aims to train expert analysts able to understand social, cultural, economic, political, and technological problems of contemporary societies. The program focuses on acquiring knowledge and skills related to the objects of investigation of the social, economic, and statistical sciences, as well as applied tools and techniques for empirical analysis. The final goal is to acquire both scientific and practical skills and abilities to independently design and carry out research activities in various environments.

Oral Exam

The oral exam will be held on July 10, 2025, at 09:00, in the PhD students' room, CU002, Statistics building, third floor. The exam will evaluate the candidate's knowledge of the research project, as well as their language skills in English. The evaluation criteria for the oral exam include:

• Discussione delle tematiche relative al progetto di ricerca (Discussion of the topics related to the research project)
• Discussione dei titoli del candidato: chiarezza espositiva, capacità di sintesi e interesse scientifico del curriculum (Discussion of the candidate's titles: clarity of exposition, ability to synthesize, and scientific interest of the curriculum)
• Lingua straniera (Foreign language)

Evaluation of Qualifications

The evaluation of qualifications will be held on July 3, 2025. The evaluation criteria include the candidate's research project, curriculum, and language skills in English. The candidate's overall score must be at least 40/60 to be admitted to the oral exam.