Ph.D. school in Materials Science

Training objectives

The Ph.D. School in Science and Technology of Materials (STM) aims to provide MS graduates in Materials Science, Physics, Chemistry, and Engineering the skills needed to carry out highly qualified scientific and professional research in the field of Materials Science at Universities and public or private agencies. The highly interdisciplinary training program is devised to give doctoral students a broad knowledge of the entire pipeline of R&D activity related to advanced materials. Students perform intensive research activity and participate in research conducted abroad in collaborating groups. During the three-year Ph.D. cycle, students are supervised by a tutor who cares about their learning training, and by a supervisor who takes care of the scientific activity.

Training Activities

The training project of the Ph.D. students envisages:

1. original research activity

   2. learning activities
      3. internship periods (3 to 12 months) in other universities or research institutes or laboratories in the public or private sector, in Italy or abroad.

   1. The research activity of the student is superintended by a supervisor, who provides the student with the logistical support for her/his activities, constantly monitors her/his progress and stimulates her/his autonomy. The student presents the results of her/his research through seminars one per year.

   2. The learning activities are:
   • attendance of dedicated scientific courses for STM students.
   • participation in national or international schools.
   • dedicated soft skill courses for Ph.D. students (scientific communication, research management, grant writing, IP, ethics, societal outreach, entrepreneurship, management, research integrity).

Major Research Topics active in STM

Innovative Photovoltaic Devices; Magnetic and multiferroic Materials; Nanodiagnostic Techniques; Nanostructured Materials based on carbon; Semiconductors; Supramolecular Polymers; Sensors; Self-assembled molecular materials; Molecular Functional Materials.

The University

In the city centre you can find the Departments of Arts and Humanities, Economics, Law and Politics, Medicine and Surgery and Veterinary Science. The other scientific Departments (Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability; Engineering and Architecture; Food and Drug; Mathematical, Physical and Computer Sciences) are located in the University Campus, a 77-hectare area in the southern side of the city which also hosts a brand new Technopole and cutting-edge sports facilities for all students.

In addition, Parma is a very nice human-scale city, where life is pleasant and inhabitants are friendly and welcoming: it is not by chance that more than half of our students comes from other Italian provinces, and, consequently, our University is ranked among the top ones for the number of non-resident students. Welcome, research, attention and innovation: they are the key elements to fully accomplish our mission, that is to grant you a complete and authentic experience of personal, intellectual and professional growth. You are, indeed, the centre of all our activities, the heart of one of the most important European Universities, which still preserves its ancient prestige while projecting itself into the future.

Scientific research activities of world excellence

Today, more than ever, “innovation” is one of the keywords of the University of Parma. Within the structures of the University of Parma there are scientific research activities of world excellence. The research areas range from agri-food to biotechnology, from pharmaceutical innovation to experimental medicine, not to mention the importance of studies in the legal, economic, humanistic, engineering, architectural and veterinary medical fields. Among the excellences, we must not forget the discoveries on the “mirror neurons” in the area of Neuroscience, the studies in Information Engineering that led to the creation of autonomous vehicles (without driver), the studies in the field of mathematics and those in the food sector, in which the University of Parma - also thanks to its position in the center of the Food Valley - aims to consolidate its status as a reference point, not only at regional level.

Tecnopolo and applied research

Another basic element of the University of Parma is the activity carried out within the Tecnopolo, where both the applied research of the interdepartmental centers and the “labs” of University partner companies in the research activities can develop, within a Campus which is the heart of innovation for the whole area.

The food project

The Food Project is an initiative promoted by the University of Parma with the aim of harmonizing and strengthening the skills and the competencies already existing within the University, at the research and teaching level, in the food sector, and to promote scientific interaction among in universities, industries, research centres, and with national and international educational institutions. The goal is to make the University of Parma a recognized European hub in the field of food technology and nutrition.

Accessing the degree courses

EU nationals may find all relevant access information HERE

Non-EU nationals access to the University of Parma is guaranteed through the procedures detailed at the national "Studiare in Italia" Web portal.