PhD in Education and Social Sciences
Brixen, Italy
DURATION
3 Years
LANGUAGES
English, Italian, German
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Oct 2025
TUITION FEES
EUR 180 / per year
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
Introduction
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.
Admissions
Curriculum
This is a full-time PhD program and you can choose between two research areas: Education (which includes Pedagogical and Didactics fields) and Social science. The research areas share modules on research epistemology and qualitative and quantitative research methods.
During the three years, you will have to take part in diversified teaching activities: a series of introductory lessons, workshops, and seminars that illustrate and explore in depth the issues and research fields available in the program and the most recent developments in education and the social sciences.
1st year
- Information Literacy
- Methodological courses 1st year:
- Philosophy of science
- Epistemology of Education and Social Sciences
- Qualitative methodology
- Quantitative methodology
- Ethnographic research methods
- English for Academic purposes
- Information Literacy
- Research Ethics
- Coaching I
- Seminars and Systematic Literature Review
- First evaluation
- Activity of choice
- Draft of the own research paper
- Language course
- Annual evaluation
2nd Year
- Coaching II
- First evaluation (2nd year)
- Research stay abroad
- International conference research paper
- Language Course
- Annual evaluation (2nd year)
3rd Year
- Coaching III
- First evaluation (3rd year)
- Contribution to a peer-reviewed journal or volume
- Final Exam
Gallery
Career Opportunities
Fieldwork abroad
During your Ph.D., you are required to spend at least three months abroad. You can choose to split your trip abroad into three stays of at least three consecutive weeks each.
Program Tuition Fee
English Language Requirements
Certify your English proficiency with PTE. The faster, fairer, simpler English test, accepted by thousands of universities around the world. PTE, Do it worry-free!