Dottorato in Studi sul Futuro Urbano

The Doctorate course in "Urban Future Studies" intends to offer young graduates the opportunity to follow a third-level training course with a qualification of excellence and international scope through the acquisition of in-depth methodological, technological, and scientific skills that allow an evaluation, both qualitative and quantitative, of the use of predominantly vegetal solutions in urban and peri-urban systems. The aim of the course is to guarantee the development of the national production system in relation to Italy's ecological transition, according to sustainability and resilience criteria, such as to generate highly positive impacts on the environment, the economy, and society. The Doctorate is carried out in collaboration, and thanks to the support, of the Foundation for the Future of Cities, established with law no. 178 of 30 December 2020, art. 1, c. 566, and with its scientific director, prof. Stefano Mancuso.

Cooperation with national and international research bodies and university institutes will allow the acquisition of knowledge of a high cultural profile, aimed at enhancing the creative potential of doctoral students through study paths that will benefit and integrate the potential connected to the vast network of international relations of the Florentine University.

The Doctorate Course, making use of a Board made up of a vast range of prominent exponents of the scientific community, offers young graduates an innovative training offer that constitutes a certain additional value for entry into the world of work, both in the field of freelance profession and in industry and research. The aim is to introduce young people into the Italian system who have the ability and sensitivity to rethink and redesign cities and settlements intended as "generators of well-being", where human and non-human communities can coexist and coevolve together.

We are experiencing a moment of rapid transformation, induced not only by technological changes, which directly influence the socio-economic system but above all by climate changes, which require us to think and design a world very different from the one we have known. The main objective of the doctoral course is, therefore, to investigate the transformations underway, incorporating and integrating into the knowledge system all those fields and skills that today tend to be separate and specialized in a new vision of a radically interdisciplinary future. The key phrase of the Course, in fact, is: the future we want tomorrow is made possible by the actions we take today.

The topics covered in relation to urban ecosystems include aspects linked to climate change and its effects, the monitoring and protection of biodiversity and ecological networks, and the development of new technologies for monitoring and modeling ecosystem services.

The doctoral course aims to integrate new approaches in the fields of botanical research, social sciences, landscape and urban planning and design, and urban and territorial governance, to plan the future, which is not only sustainable but also innovative.

The approach is multi-scalar, integrating investigations at a territorial level up to solutions relating to specific spaces in urban and peri-urban areas and to individual buildings, also proposing innovative interventions for the regeneration of the built environment at all scales.

In this way, investigations on the issues of energy efficiency and sufficiency will be integrated, to give priority to the essential needs in the use of energy, with the principles of biophilic and restorative design inherent to the use of advanced materials (including biological origin in the perspective of the decarbonization objectives) and innovative processes inspired by the principles of the blue economy. To achieve new objectives of energy, environmental and social efficiency, and sustainability, a vast spectrum of analyses will be used that take into consideration multiple aspects: from construction processes (LCA/LCC), to biodiversity, to the health and comfort of users (indoor and outdoor ).

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.