Phd life and forms

Scholarships last for three years and are renewed annually subject to verification of completion of the scheduled activities for the previous year.
Scholarship payments are made monthly by the PhD office.

The PhD programme may include a period of training to be carried out in a public or private institution or company, in Italy or abroad. In this case, it is mandatory to draw up an agreement and specific letter of intent, as per the models approved by the university bodies.

Agreement with a private/public institution
Procedure: Doctoral students agree on the destination with their tutor and coordinator. They fill in the necessary forms for the agreement and send them to the department administration office, together with the letter of intent (if required) and the host institution’s contact details. The department administration office gets the forms signed, affixes the revenue stamps, registers the documents and forwards them to the PhD office. It then sends the finalized documentation to the host institution and the doctoral student.

Study abroad agreement
Procedure: Doctoral students agree on the destination with their tutor and coordinator. They fill in the necessary forms for the agreement and send them to the department administration office, together with the letter of intent (if required) and the host institution’s contact details. The department administration office gets the forms signed, affixes the revenue stamps, registers the documents and forwards them to the PhD office. It then sends the finalized documentation to the host institution and the doctoral student.

Scholarship holders who do periods of study or research abroad are entitled to an increase in their scholarship funding. The period abroad must be authorized:

• by the course coordinator for periods of up to six months
• by the doctoral board for periods of more than six months

The increased scholarship payments are made monthly by the PhD office.

Procedure: In agreement with their tutor and the coordinator, doctoral students fill in the specific forms and send them to the department administration office. The office gets the forms signed, registers them and forwards them to the PhD office. It then returns the finalized documentation to the doctoral student.

For research and study activities consistent with the PhD project at top institutions abroad, scholarships are increased as per article 18, paragraph 6 of the doctoral regulations.

Procedure: Doctoral students fill in the specific forms on a monthly basis and send them to the department administration office. The office gets the forms signed, registers them, forwards them to the PhD office. By the 3rd of each month it returns the documentation to the university PhD office, which then credits the amount due. The department administration office also returns the finalized documentation to the doctoral student.

The university may enter bilateral agreements for joint supervision programmes with foreign universities, either as administration coordinators or host institution. The university may also enter framework agreements with foreign universities within which individual joint supervision agreements may subsequently be signed. Joint PhD thesis supervision can be agreed for doctoral students regularly enrolled in a PhD programme at one of the two partner universities. Doctoral students from foreign universities must possess the necessary qualifications for admission to a PhD programme in Italy. Joint supervision allows doctoral students to carry out their studies and research at each of the two participating universities.

Procedure: Doctoral students can contact their tutor and coordinator for co-supervision agreements.

It  is fundamental for doctoral students to be taught soft skills, which the European Union defines as key skills for learning. Hence, they are an integral part of the PhD course disciplines.

For specific information:

https://www.unifi.it/en/study-us/after-graduation/phd-programmes/soft-skills

The doctoral board may authorize doctoral students to do work which allows them to acquire skills related to their field of study, subject to assessment of its compatibility with the successful completion of the PhD programme study, lecture and research activities. Please refer to the doctoral regulations for specific information, restrictions on outside employment and incompatible activities.

Procedure: Doctoral students send the specific filled-out forms to the department administration office and are notified of the outcome of their request as decided by the doctoral board.

Doctoral students may request an unpaid extension of up to twelve months if they are unable to submit their doctoral thesis by the course end date. During this time they will not receive scholarship payments. Please consult the doctoral regulations for further cases in which the PhD programme can be suspended.

Procedure: Doctoral students forward the specific forms to the department administration office and are notified of the outcome of their request as decided by the doctoral board.

Pregnant doctoral students are required to inform the PhD programme department director and department administration office of their condition, so that the risk assessment procedure can be put into place. Doctoral students may request to suspend the PhD programme for the period of compulsory absence.

As decided by the academic senate in its meeting of 16 June 2010, additional Doctor Europaeus certificates are issued when the academic board rules in favour and the requirements indicated in art. 36 of the university regulations on PhD programmes are met.

Procedure: Doctoral students consult their tutor and coordinator and then forward their motivated request with documents to the department administration office along with documentation of the period spent abroad (e.g., a statement on the host institution’s headed paper). Doctoral students are notified of the outcome of their application as decided by the doctoral board.

• UWEB portal https://unifi.u-web.cineca.it/
  
  • University regulations concerning PhD programmes - Annex 1
  • Mission regulations
  • Annex 2
  • Mission guidelines Annex 3
  
  Mission expenses cannot be justified without the originals.

In addition to the receipt or invoice, receipts of payment by debit/credit card or bank statements (deleting any expenses not related to the mission) must be submitted for all expenses related to food, accommodation and non-scheduled transportation.

Notes: Always bring the original documents for mission refund requests.

(The manual is available in the app, top right, under Help)

At the end of the course, or prior to the potential extended deadline, doctoral students submit their thesis in electronic format along with a report on the activities carried out during the PhD programme and on any publications. If interested and in possession of the necessary requirements, students inform the board of their interest in the additional Doctor Europaeus certificate. Doctoral students admitted to the public defence are required to complete the course evaluation questionnaire on AlmaLaurea. Only doctoral students who have made all due payments may be admitted to the final exam.

The PhD certificate is issued upon request of the holder following online payment of the stamp duty as per the PhD office’s instructions. The PhD office will send the holder an email when the parchment is available to arrange its collection.