1st Call

Application deadline: by 11/07/2024 (by noon local time)
Admission interviews:  from 23/07/2024 to 24/07/2024 (in presence at unibz. Exceptions for an online interview via MS Teams might be granted upon request)
Publication of ranking lists: by 05/08/2024

Confirmation of the PhD position - 1st Call

Applicants with scholarship: by 20/08/2024 (by noon local time)
Enrolment: from 21/08/2024 until 31/10/2024

Total Positions: 10

1st Call

Positions with university scholarship: 4
Positions with other types of scholarship: 4
Positions MD 630/2024 with PNRR scholarship: 1
Position ESF+: 1

In the academic year 2024/2025, the PhD programme Mountain Environment and agriculture offers 15 possible research topics.

1st Call

At the following link you can find a list of potential research projects and their corresponding proposed supervisors for curriculum 1 (Sustainable agricultural production systems).

At the following link you can find a list of potential research projects and their corresponding proposed supervisors for curriculum 2 (Ecology, environment and protection of mountain areas).

When submitting their application, you must indicate on the portal one research project that represents the preferred choice. If the wish, you can additionally indicate two other research projects. The choice is not binding but will be used by the commission to assess the congruence of the academic qualification with the research projects chosen by the candidate (see evaluation criteria below).

At the following link you can find the detailed project description of the position with ESF+ scholarship.

All citizen may apply to be admitted to a PhD programme:

• 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.

To apply for the position financed by European Social Fund Plus ESF+

• Participants must also be under the age of 35 years, to be understood as up to the day before the participant's thirty-fifth birthday. The requirements must be fulfilled at the time of the deadline of the relevant call for applications (11/07/2024).

As the program is offered in English, candidates must possess adequate English skills, which will be assessed during the interview.

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:

1. 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);
2. In the application portal, select the PhD programme and pay the registration fee of 30 € (see instructions in the portal);
3. 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.
Attention: text exceeding the maximum allowed length (if clearly indicated for a document) will not be taken into account! Please respect the format/length indicated.

Diploma supplement or the Master degree diploma together with the transcript of records of all passed exams (=certificate with exams list of Master degree):

• 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 (possibly following the EU format that can be downloaded here). The CV should include the list of publications, presentations at conferences, awards, and any experience or activity that prove her/his qualification. 

Other (optional) 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);
• any English language certificate at level B2 or higher.

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 to successfully carry out a PhD program in Mountain Environment and Agriculture, as it appears from the CV, from the master’s mark/grade, from the motivational letter and from the other documents;
• up to 7 points for the congruence of the academic qualification with the topic chosen by the candidate among those present in the list of available projects visible in the dedicated portal;
• up to 20 points for the interview. During the interview, the commission will evaluate the scientifical qualification of the candidate to carry out the research project in the area(s) of interest. As the program is offered in English, candidates must possess adequate English skills (corresponding at least to the upper intermediate level, B2), which will be assessed during the interview. 

Points awarded for the academic qualification (A) and for the congruence of the curriculum with the topics (B) will entitle the Commission to prepare a shortlist of candidates, who will be invited to the interview (C). The lowest score to be admitted to the final ranking list is 25/50. One raking per each curriculum will be issued. The final score will be used for ranking the applicants and to prepare A) the list of al admitted candidates and B) the list of candidates entitled to receive the fellowships. Separate rankings will be drawn up for the externally funded or co-founded projects. If two or more applicants have the same score, the younger candidate will be given priority.

Fees amount to € 189

In order to confirm your study place, you need to log on to the application portal and pay the tuition fees (€ 189) which includes the provincial tax for the right to study of € 173 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.