Phd in POLITICAL STUDIES

List of courses / activities for the first year

More information First year of doctoral programme    PhD students enrolled in the first year are required to attend the training programme provided by the Academic Board, which includes:  → one or more intensive cycles of lessons, specifically designed to offer an adequate methodological and thematic introduction to the main disciplinary areas of the PhD programme;  → a course specifically aimed at learning the processing of written scientific texts or oral presentations in English, carried out by a native speaker or by a teacher of equivalent linguistic level.   The courses take place from January to June of the first year, on a three-weekly basis, for at least 100 hours of lessons.  The Academic Board discusses and identifies at the beginning of each academic year one or more key themes of interdisciplinary relevance, around which the lessons of the teachers involved in the training course are articulated.  The Phd programmes aim to present the key themes under the different methodological and heuristic perspectives of the following thematic areas:     Political philosophy   Economics of development    History of doctrines and political institutions    Political science    Sociology of political phenomena    General sociology    Legal sociology    History of international relations    Modern and contemporary history     In addition to the teaching programme, the PhD students can agree with the Academic Board the attendance of specific courses among those proposed by the Department of Political Sciences or by Sapienza University or by other Italian or foreign universities.   Particular encouragement will be given from the first year to spend periods of training / research abroad, to be carried out in the second half of the academic year.      Examples of key themes of the didactic offer of the last PhD cycles:    - The keywords of politics, for doctoral students of the XXIV cycle;  - Spaces and times of politics, for doctoral students of the XXXV cycle;  - Emergency, exception, crisis; The passions of politics, for doctoral students of the XXXVI cycle.   For the year 2021, the program with the details for each lesson is available online on the news page. Method of choosing the subject of the thesis 1st Year The Academic Board evaluates the research proposals submitted by the PhD students and, also taking their opinion into account, assigns to a teacher-tutor the task of refining the topics and supervising the three-year research activity. The tutor is chosen from among the members of the Academic Board and is assisted, if necessary, by another teacher or expert in the subject belonging to other Italian or foreign universities or institutions, in the latter case through co-tutorship agreements. Admission to the second year The results of the research and training work carried out by the PhD students are verified quarterly by the teacher-tutors. At the end of the year, the PhD students submit to the Academic Board a written report on the training and research activities they have completed. The Board, heard the opinion of the teacher / tutors, admits or does not admit doctoral students to the following year of the program.

List of courses / activities for the second year

More information 2nd year training plan   The second year of the program promotes the research activities of the PhD students, but supports them with a non-intensive training course. PhD students are required to attend: - thematic in-depth seminars on specific topics held by Italian or foreign teachers and organized as part of the Doctorate of Political Studies;  - other initiatives organized by the Doctorate of Political Studies, by the Megatrends Doctoral School, by the Department of Political Sciences.   2nd year students are particularly encouraged to choose supplementary training activities, specific for each one of them, to be followed off-site, especially abroad, if necessary with the financial support of the Doctorate. Method of preparation of the thesis Research activity The 2nd year program encourages research activities and the start of the drafting of the PhD thesis. According to the methodology, the preparation of theses may require field surveys, the use of national or international archives, attendance at universities or scientific institutions abroad and / or in Italy. From the second year, the Doctorate program intends to promote an active insertion of PhD students into the world of research at an international and national level, even outside the academic sphere, in order to enhance their personal aptitudes and expand their future professional opportunities.   Publications Assisted by the teacher / tutor, PhD students enrolled in the second year are encouraged to start publishing the partial results of their research in national and international scientific journals. Admission to the third year The results of the research and training work carried out by the PhD students are verified quarterly by the teacher-tutors. At the end of the year, the PhD students submit to the Academic Board a written report on the training and research activities they have completed. The Board, heard the opinion of the teacher / tutors, admits or does not admit doctoral students to the following year of the program.

List of courses / activities for the third year

More information 3rd Year plan of activities The third year of the PhD program is mainly dedicated to the completion of the research and the conclusion of the final dissertation and the publication of the partial results of the research in national or international scientific journals. Participation in training or seminars is reduced in order to allow doctoral students the time necessary to deepen the specific research areas and to be able to reach those original and critically conceived results which are the true purpose of the PhD program. Third year students are however encouraged to participate in initiatives organized by the Doctorate or the Department of Political Science (conferences, seminars held by visiting professors, etc.). Method of admission to the final examination To be admitted to take the final exam, PhD students must submit their theses by the deadline set by the Academic Board. After the evaluation of their final dissertation by two external referees, the Academic Board, heard the opinion of the teacher (s) / tutor, will evaluate the admission to the final exam. Final examination The final exam consists in a public discussion of the dissertation in front of a Commission appointed by  Sapienza University on the proposal of the Academic Board. The Commission must ascertain the level of knowledge and critical competence achieved by the PhD students in the development of their research path and the originality of the overall results achieved.