Call for application 42nd cycle

Bando ordinario


Applications for participation in the competition, together with the corresponding payment, must be duly completed no later than 14:00 CET on 17 June 2026.

Educational goals and objectives

CYBERSECURITY
Cybersecurity is an interdisciplinary field of study that has established itself in recent years as an evolution of the more traditional information security field. Classic problems in information security (such as software security, systems security, network security, cryptography, etc.) have been joined by other aspects that aim to grasp the complexity of modern threats and security concerns emerging in digital transformation processes: security of cyber-physical infrastructures, data governance, business resilience and human rights. For these reasons, cybersecurity today represents a research area with important multidisciplinary aspects, ranging from purely technological IT issues to aspects related to the control of data and information flows in complex socio-technical systems operating in a variety of settings such as healthcare, e-government, digital business, finance, logistics and energy. Cybersecurity also provides a promising field for advancing theories in many disciplines such as computer science, information systems, management, innovation, regulation and strategy. In fact, through critical reflections on emerging phenomena related to cybersecurity, scholars can challenge accepted views and underlying ideological and onto-epistemic assumptions to generate new theoretical insights from the empirical evidences.

The PhD in cybersecurity aims to train:
1) researchers capable of operating both in academia and in public and private research institutions for the development of new technologies and methodologies for cybersecurity;
2) specialists of the highest professional level with engineering and managerial skills capable of introducing technological and methodological innovation within the main application sectors of cybersecurity.

The research areas of main interest for the doctorate are:
- Systems security
- Software security
- Hardware security
- Network security
- Cryptography
- Cyber ​​risk management
- Data privacy and security
- Security governance
- Security in supply chains
- Security operations
- Information warfare

These issues are also addressed in their application to specific sectors such as the financial one, TLC, critical infrastructures, cloud services, e-government, health, manufacturing.

Number of positions available


Sapienza Scholarships Affliliated Institutions or Excellence Industrial PhD Without scholarship
3 0 (+1*) 2 1* Dopo la pubblicazione del bando è stata finanziata una borsa da Fincantieri Spa sulla tematica: Secure Identity for Maritime Systems: Non-Intrusive Authentication for Onboard OT Devices

Annotazioni

Themes, curriculum and specific competence



Scholarships funded by affiliated Institution and Departments of Excellence


1 scholarship funded by the affiliated Institution: FINCANTIERI SPA

Positions of Industrial PhD (reserved for employees)


Ente convenzionato: IT SYSTEMS SRL
Tematica: Drone Security

Ente convenzionato: BV TECH S.P.A.
Tematica: Applications of Agentic AI to Cybersecurity

Sapienza scholarships: 3


Admission Procedure

Qualifications assessment The admission committee assigns to each candidate a maximum score of 60 points. Scores are assigned according to the following evaluation criteria:
- up to 30 points for the evaluation of the curriculum (including the academic career and any other qualifications), the letters of recommendations supporting the candidate (max 2 letters) and the publications presented by the candidate;
- up to 30 points for the research proposal submitted by the candidate. In particular, the commission evaluates the description of the state of the art, the originality and the innovative nature of the proposal, the clarity and completeness of the objectives, the methodologies and the potential results, the relevance of the proposal with respect to the topics and objectives of the Ph.D. program. Candidates obtaining a minimum score of 36/60 in the evaluation of qualifications and of the research proposal are admitted to the oral interview.

Oral interview The admission committee assigns a maximum of 60 points to each candidate admitted to the interview. The interview is in English, and is aimed at assessing the candidates' knowledge, skills, and aptitude to carry out research in the scientific areas of Cybersecurity. The interview also includes a discussion of the research proposal prepared by the candidate and of personal motivations for applying for a Ph. D. position. The duration of the interview is at most 45 minutes (the presentation of the research proposal by the candidate must be no longer than 15 minutes; slides are allowed).
The oral exam is considered passed with a minimum score of 36/60.
The minimum overall score for admission to the Ph.D. in Cybersecurity is 72/120.
language INGLESE


contacts and info dottoratocyber@diag.uniroma1.it

Curriculum studiorum

Graduation date and grade of the Master's degree
detailed list of exams including completion dates and scores of Masters's degree
History of Scholarships, Research Grants (or similar)
Certificates of Foreign Languages
Certificates of participation in post-graduate university courses
certificates of Participation in research groups
Other University Awards/Degrees (e.g.: awards in competition, second degree)

Required documentation

§ research project
mandatory
The research proposal must be written in English in accordance with the following template: Applicant's first name ......... last name ...............
Proposal title: ............
Area (select at most two areas of interest from the following list)
[ ] System security
[ ] Software security
[ ] Hardware security
[ ] Network security
[ ] Cryptography
[ ] Cyber risk management
[ ] Data security and privacy
[ ] Security governance
[ ] Supply chain security
[ ] Security operations
[ ] Disinformation
[ ] Other (specify): .....

***Summary of proposal*** (maximum 1000 characters, including spaces)
Brief summary of the research project, highlighting problem statement, motivations, objectives, original content.

***State of the art of the research field*** (maximum 2.000 characters, including spaces)

***Research objectives, content, and methodology*** (maximum 8.000 characters, including spaces)
Detailed description of the research project, emphasising original and innovative aspects and scientific relevance.

***Results, impact, and benefits*** (maximum 8.000 characters, including spaces)
Detailed description of the expected results, advancements, impacts and benefits.
, the file must be uploaded within le ore 14:00 del 17/06/2026

§ first letter of introduction (by a teacher)
optional, the letter must be uploaded by the referee by il le ore 23:59 del 22/06/2026

§ second letter of introduction (by a teacher)
optional, the letter must be uploaded by the referee by il le ore 23:59 del 22/06/2026

§ List of publications
optional, the file must be uploaded within le ore 14:00 del 17/06/2026

§ degree thesis (complete)
optional, the file must be uploaded within le ore 14:00 del 17/06/2026

§ Curriculum Vitae et Studiorum
mandatory, the file must be uploaded within le ore 14:00 del 17/06/2026

Language Skills

the candidate must know the following languages
ENGLISH

Exam Schedule

Qualifications assessment
day24/06/2026
notesnone
publication on notice boardNO
publication on the web siteYes
web sitehttps://phd.uniroma1.it/web/CYBERSECURITY_nD3859.aspx
date of publication8/7/2026
contactsdottoratocyber@diag.uniroma1.it

Oral interview
day13/07/2026
notesnone
time09:00
classroomB203
addressVia Ariosto 25, Roma
publication on notice boardNO
publication on the web siteYes
web sitehttps://phd.uniroma1.it/web/CYBERSECURITY_nD3859.aspx
date of publication13/7/2026
contactsdottoratocyber@diag.uniroma1.it


Evaluation scale

Qualifications assessment

Valutazione titoli

Punteggio massimo complessivo per la prova/overall max score: 60

Titoli
Titles

Punteggio massimo/max score: 30
fino a 30 punti per la valutazione del curriculum (comprensivo della carriera accademica e di eventuali altri titoli), delle lettere di presentazione a sostegno del candidato e delle pubblicazioni presentate dal candidato.
up to 30 points for the evaluation of the curriculum (including academic career and any other qualifications), the letters of recommendation in support of the candidate and the publications presented by the candidate.


Proposta di ricerca
Research proposal

Punteggio massimo/max score: 30
fino a 30 punti per la proposta di ricerca presentata dal candidato, di cui verranno in particolare valutati la descrizione dello stato dell’arte, l’originalità ed il contenuto innovativo, le motivazioni, la chiarezza e la completezza dell’esposizione degli obiettivi, delle metodologie e dei potenziali risultati, la pertinenza del progetto con gli obiettivi formativi del dottorato.
up to 30 points for the candidate's research proposal. In particular, the commission evaluates the description of the state of the art, the originality and the innovative nature of the proposal, its motivations, the clarity and completeness of the objectives, the methodologies and the potential results, the relevance of the proposal with respect to the topics and objectives of the Ph.D. program.



Oral interview

Prova orale

Punteggio massimo complessivo per la prova/overall max score: 60

Colloquio
Oral interview

Punteggio massimo/max score: 60
Il colloquio viene svolto in inglese, e per esso la commissione di ingresso assegna a ciascun candidato ammesso all’orale un punteggio di massimo 60 punti. Nel colloquio vengono valutate, in particolare, le conoscenze, le abilità e l'attitudine dei candidati a svolgere attività di ricerca nelle aree scientifiche dell'Ingegneria Informatica. Il colloquio include anche una discussione sulla proposta di ricerca preparata dal candidato e sulle motivazioni personali del candidato. La durata del colloquio è di massimo 30 minuti, inclusa la presentazione della proposta di ricerca da parte del candidato, che non deve essere superiore a 15 minuti. Per la presentazione il candidato può fare uso di slides. Il colloquio si intende superato se il candidato ottiene la votazione minima di 36/60.
The interview is in English and the maximum score a candidate can obtain is 60 points The interview is aimed at assessing the candidates' knowledge, skills, and aptitude to carry out research in the scientific areas of Cybersecurity. The interview includes a discussion about the candidate's research proposal and their personal motivations. Its duration is at most 30 minutes and can include a candidate's proposal presentation, which has to be at most 15-minute long. During the presentation candidates can use slides. A minimum score of 36/60 is required to pass the interview.



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