47 Best Natural Sciences Doctoral Degree Programs in Italy for 2024

EEH is a PhD course study activated since 2017 at G. d’Annunzio School of Advanced Studies, in the Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences (DiSPuTer) (Campus Universitario, Via dei Vestini, 31 - 66100 Chieti Scalo, Italy). EEH coordinator is Giusy Lavecchia, full professor of Structural Geology. EEH is dedicated to high-quality studies and original research on natural and anthropogenic hazards and their consequences. It is aimed to build a multi-task research community concerned, on one side, with monitoring, modelling and assessment of hazards and, on the other, with the investigation of the impact on individuals and society, finalized to the design and implementation of risk mitigation and adaptation strategies. The skills of the EEH teaching board, which span from Earth Sciences and Physics (ERC PE10) to Archaeology (ERC SH6) and Psychology (ERC SH4), make possible a multi-task approach to two high-impact categories of hazard, that concern earthquakes and environmental pollution. Characterizing EEH research and teaching topics are: 1. Seismotectonics and seismogenesis for seismic hazard assessment (responsible: prof. Giusy Lavecchia) 2. Geoarchaeology and archaeoseismology for cultural heritage risk and for seismic hazard (responsible: prof. Oliva Menozzi) 3. Endogenous and anthropogenic hazards for risk mitigation (responsible: prof. Francesco Stoppa) 4. Psycho-sociological analysis of hazard perception and risk communication (responsible: prof. Nicola Mammarella). EHH students will develop and implement their scientific background, but, at the same time, they will acquire basic tools and knowledge on hazard problems approached from different point of views. This strategy is crucial to educate and train a new generation of researchers and technicians able to combine their specific expertise into a common procedure for successful risk management. Such a framing process is urgent in order to increase resilience to earthquakes and environmental hazards and to reduce the impact from natural disasters. The course is open to candidates with a master degree in structural geology, geophysics, geomorphology, seismology, archaeology, geochemistry, petrography, physics, environmental science, psychology and sociology. Accordingly, candidates will widen their specific competence by working in a team of experts from many different fields.

The research and Ph.D. in physics at the GSSI are focused on astroparticle physics. Astroparticle physics is an interdisciplinary and young research field, grown at the intersection of particle physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics, and cosmology. It addresses some of the most pressing and fundamental questions in science today: the origin and the evolution of our universe, the nature of dark matter and dark energy, the study of neutrinos and of the ultimate constituents of matter, the search for gravitational waves, the investigation and explanation of the cosmic rays.

Statistical Physics, together with Quantum Mechanics, is the pillar of our understanding of many physical phenomena, from the simplest to the most sophisticated. The field has recently witnessed a significant and impressive outpouring of experimental and theoretical results,

Within the Ph.D. course in Mathematics in Natural, Social, and Life Sciences a priority has been established on mathematical modeling, both towards the traditional areas of application, such as Physics or Engineering, and towards emerging issues in Biology and Social Sciences.

The Ph.D. in Cognitive Neuroscience at SISSA aims at providing students with the fundamental knowledge and skills for conducting cutting-edge research in the field, covering topics as diverse as perception, language, memory, action, and social behavior.

The doctorate trains PhDs on broad themes of Architecture, Earth Sciences and the Planets and Civil Engineering. This interdisciplinary research platform includes topics that concern the natural and man-made environments, the risks associated with them (hydro-geological risk, risks and safety of the built environment at different scales, planning, design and conservation of buildings and urban settlements) and georesources. In this context interdisciplinary, it is possible to develop specific doctoral themes capable of generating repercussions scientific and applicative in line with an increasingly complex society. The research activity follows an initial period of basic training and develops collaborations with research institutions and universities which, where possible, will allow doctoral students to obtain an Italian and foreign qualification (in co-tutorship) and any additional certification of Doctor Europaeus or Network Doctorate International.

Area: Physics, Earth and Materials Sciences

The National PhD program in "Theoretical and Applied Neuroscience" aims to provide doctoral students with the scientific methodologies necessary for the integrated study of neuroscience in areas ranging from molecular and cellular neurobiology, to computational neuroscience, cognitive, preclinical, clinical, diagnostic, rehabilitative neurorobotics up to the investigation of the mind-body-brain relationship.

The activities of the doctoral program in "Neglected and Poverty-related Parasitic Diseases in a One Health perspective" (NePParD) address a current global health theme, involving human and animal health, shared across various scientific areas (Biological, Chemical, Medical, and Veterinary Sciences). They aim to contribute to the objectives of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), particularly in the environmental transition, as well as to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 3 (Health and Well-Being), and the World Health Organization's Roadmap "Ending NTDs 2021-2030" for the control and elimination of neglected and poverty-related parasitic diseases (NPRPD). These issues also place the doctoral program within the scope of development cooperation activities and science diplomacy.

In the modern world, people want to lead a healthy lifestyle. In the natural sciences, there are many therapies do not adequately address by traditional universities, these disciplines can be studied easily through degree programs at a distance of Selinus University. Normally, the requirements to pursue a profession in the field of natural medicine depend on the laws of a single country.

The Ph.D. Course aims to prepare well-qualified scientists able to critically manage the implementation of EU and national regulations concerning with environmental analysis and to autonomously develop research activities in the field of environment.

The new associated doctoral program "Natural Hazards and Disaster Risk Reduction" has been developed based on the experience gained by the proposing entities within the Research, Innovation, and Training Consortium "REducing risks of natural DIsasters - REDI"

The Ph.D. program in Molecular Biomedicine aims to provide higher education to young University graduates in biomedical – and scientific in general – disciplines, to prepare them for a career in basic, clinical or translational research in the field of molecular medicine, with specific reference to the areas of molecular oncology, pathophysiology, molecular genetics, biochemistry, cell biology, regenerative medicine, and pharmacology.

Area: Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Biotechnology

The primary goal of the Ph.D. course in chemistry is the training in order to obtain proper skills in the chemistry field, to carry on an independent and autonomous research activity. Such skills will be important to be spent in many different situations and institutions, in particular, public research institutions (like Universities and Research Institutes) or private companies.

Area: Life and Health Sciences

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.

The most important outcome of their Ph.D. will be the ability to perform independent and innovative research, developing a critical thinking, the capability of working in an advanced and international research environment.

The International Doctorate in Structural Biology is an international doctorate in collaboration with the Universities of Frankfurt and Utrecht. It was established with an agreement signed by the three Rectors in 2001. On the basis of this agreement, the PhD title that students obtain at the end of the program is considered equivalent to that obtained at the Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research and to the PhD in Chemistry and Biochemistry from the University of Frankfurt.

The main objective of the school is to prepare researchers capable of designing, building and characterizing nanomaterials and nanostructured materials (NMS), tools and devices that meet the growing applicative needs, to make the industrial production more effective, affordable and sustainable and to meet the growing needs of our society, promoting its progress. The school is meant for graduates in physics, chemistry, engineering, biology, biotechnology, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and pharmaceutical technology who aim at acquiring a high level of interdisciplinary preparation through specific courses and seminars covering also fields different from their own specific areas and carry out research projects in the framework of the collaborations with (inter)national research institutions and industries established by teachers and tutors of the school.