PhD Course in Atomic and Molecular Photonics

The Doctoral School in Atomic and Molecular Photonics was born under the inspiration of the advanced multidisciplinary research carried on, since 1991, at the European Laboratory for Non Linear Spectroscopy (LENS) of the University of Florence.

Thanks to the wide range of internal competences, to the frequent exchange of researchers of different countries, to the advanced instrumentation available, LENS is a center of excellence for interdisciplinary research in different areas, linked by the common use of laser light as the key tool of investigation. Since many years, LENS parallels his research with a highly qualified educational activity (in several occasions LENS has been “Marie Curie training centre”).

The Atomic and Molecular Photonics PhD program is the result of fruitful collaboration between LENS, University of Florence, Universidad Complutense in Madrid and Imperial College in London. The presence, within the teaching staff of the school, of different skills and competences (chemistry, physics, material sciences, biophysics and biology) presents to the students an educational offer that goes beyond the traditional schemes and curricular activities. The body of knowledge and skills that students can acquire is made even richer by the possibility of visiting laboratories at the partner universities and at other research institution worldwide.

The University of Florence dates back to the Studium Generale set up by the Florentine Republic in 1321. It has had very famous scholars (Galileo Galilei) and professors as well as the two most recent Italian Prime Ministers (Giuseppe Conte and Mario Draghi). Only in 1923 however, the University acquired its actual name and was transformed into a modern comprehensive university, with its 21 Departments and 10 Schools.

The Unifi offers 127 Bachelor's Degrees 57 Masters's Degrees, 9 Long-cycle degrees, 24 PhD Programs and over 50 specialization schools. Amongst those programmes, over 40 are international: 10 taught in English and 31 with double or joint degrees. Within most degree programs, courses in English are offered.

Unifi is one of the most popular Universities for Erasmus students (over 900 incoming a year) and is part of EUniWell, a European Universities Alliance. The network has identified four key areas for research and teaching, closely linked to UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The University of Florence is one of the most important Italian public universities and has a strong international vocation. It fosters cooperation with academic and research institutions all over the world and welcomes foreign teaching staff, researchers and students to promote cultural and scientific internationalization. To this end, through its Departments and Schools, the University promotes the hospitality of highly qualified guests from all over the world.

Moreover, it traditionally devotes particular attention to the development of collaborative relationships with foreign universities and to the process of internationalization, which has become a strategic and dominant aspect of the life of the university in research, teaching, the organization of study programmes, mobility of teachers, researchers and students.

For these reasons, the University of Florence qualifies itself as one of the privileged destinations for international guests.

Welcome Service

The Welcome Service helps international students, PhD students, fellows, researchers and professors hosted by the University of Florence within specific European or International projects to find suitable accommodation in town.

The Welcome Service can book the guests in the university residences and other local accommodation facilities and provides information on online platforms for finding accommodation.

Studying in Florence

One hundred and forty-six degree courses (first and second level and single-cycle) of which 15 are in English, organised into 10 Schools, a total population of around fifty-one thousand enrolled, a quarter of whom come from outside the region. The University of Florence is a large university, with a very wide range of courses spanning all subject areas. There are over nine thousand graduates every year in Florence. Moreover, the percentage of Florentine graduates in work one year after graduating is above the national average, according to Almalaurea data.