PhD in Education and Social Sciences

This Ph.D. program addresses the study of education and social sciences in an interdisciplinary context, providing the necessary skills to face research in the theoretical and empirical-experimental field and promoting the development of innovative application practices.

The program responds to the growing need in international research to develop complex interpretations of socio-cultural and educational systems and to deepen conceptual, theoretical, and methodological models. The study plan foresees different activities to ensure that Ph.D. students acquire basic epistemological skills, methodological skills, both qualitative and quantitative, as well as transversal skills.

Students and professors from different countries, different disciplines, and scientific fields guarantee the international and interdisciplinary orientation of the program.

Over the three-year period, several teaching activities are offered: lectures, practical sessions, and seminars that aim to develop and illustrate the program’s subjects and research areas and to focus on the most recent findings in education and in the social sector.

The main teaching areas are philosophy of science, epistemology of related disciplines, research methodology, current questions, and methods drawn from the international context.

The cycles of compulsory and optional lectures, workshops, and seminars (study plan) are defined by the PhD Course Committee at the beginning of the cycle.

The Free University of Bozen-Bolzano was founded in 1997. Our university has a strong international outlook, as testified by its multilingual courses (German, Italian, English, and Ladin) and the high number of students and teaching staff from abroad.

The taught modules on offer and our research projects are linked to international and inter-regional networks. For example, within the Euregio project, we are partnered with the universities of Innsbruck and Trento, and we are committed to reaching top quality standards.