Program Overview

Program Overview

The PhD program in Political Studies aims to provide a deep understanding of modern and contemporary politics, analyzed using a variety of primary and secondary sources, with an interdisciplinary method. The program has a strong multidisciplinary vocation, encouraging high-level research in several main research fields, including:

• History of political thought and political philosophy
• Modern and contemporary history
• History of political institutions
• History, theory, and law of international relations and European integration
• International cooperation
• Political and social theory
• Sociology of political, legal, and cultural processes
• Economics
• Language and Politics
• Political Economic Geography

Program Structure

The PhD program is divided into two main courses:

• History of doctrines and political institutions
• Theory of socio-cultural-political processes and international cooperation These courses intend to offer in-depth knowledge of the constitutive and evolutionary dynamics of modern and contemporary politics, investigated through a comprehensive interdisciplinary approach.

Training Objectives

The specific training objectives of the courses are:

• The deepening of the study of historical processes and scientific theories in the political, philosophical, sociological, and legal disciplines
• The acquisition of a sure command of the methodologies of empirical research
• The development of a solid theoretical awareness in the thematic areas pertaining to the doctorate
• The attainment of competences and professional skills necessary to interpret and "govern" the evolutionary dynamics of contemporary social, political, economic, and institutional phenomena, also with regard to equal opportunities and international cooperation processes

Program Activities

The objectives of the PhD program will be pursued through the creation of a community of students and professors who, sharing knowledge and expertise from different areas of the human, historical, political, and social sciences, will develop methodological and conceptual tools to enhance and overcome "disciplinary boundaries." The activities planned for this purpose will be structured in a mandatory training course, as follows:

1. A first level common to all doctoral students for the first year, which will provide theoretical and methodological skills for the analysis of political, cultural, and social processes as well as knowledge on some areas of general interest
2. A second level consisting of cycles of seminars characterizing the specific areas of study of the doctoral students (first, second, and third year)

Research Opportunities

In line with the international vocation of the PhD program, doctoral students are also encouraged to carry out research stays abroad, for which they are supported through funding opportunities.

Curriculum

The curriculum includes two main areas:

• STORIA DELLE DOTTRINE E DELLE ISTITUZIONI POLITICHE (History of doctrines and political institutions)
• TEORIA DEI PROCESSI SOCIO-CULTURALI, POLITICI E DELLA COOPERAZIONE INTERNAZIONALE (Theory of socio-cultural-political processes and international cooperation)

Department and School

The PhD program is part of the Department of Political Science (Scienze Politiche) and the School of Doctoral Studies Mediatrends. Storia, politica, società.

Program Details

• ID: 16172
• Course type: Dottorato (PhD)
• Academic year: 2025/2026
• Positions: 6
• Grant numbers: 1
• Number of scholarships financed by institutions: 0
• Number of scholarships financed by consortiums: 2

Evaluation and Exam

• Exam: Oral
• Date: 15/7/2025
• Time: 09:30
• Location: Salone 8 terzo piano, Dipartimento di Scienze Politiche, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5
• Tests: Evaluation of qualifications
• Date: 26/6/2025