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The University of Padova (UniPD) offers 39 PhD Courses amongst which the Physics course which is managed by the Department of Physics and Astronomy “Galileo Galilei” (DFA). Run by DFA faculty members together with national and international collaborators, the PhD course in Physics offers the students a world-class academic training in several fields of experimental and theoretical Physics and it exploits the opportunities emerging from interdisciplinary approaches. The PhD school of Physics trains new researchers who can either pursue an academic career in top level international institutions or can join private companies and contribute significantly to their growth.
The DPhil in Physics is a research-based course that lasts three years: the PhD students are supervised throughout the entire duration of the course and join the supervisor's research group. The research activity is complemented by academic training activities including the attendance to internal courses as well as national and international schools to increase the students’ basic and specialist Physics knowledge.
At the end of the course, PhD students are expected to submit a written Thesis that is reviewed by two experts and defend it in an interview with a panel of specialists, either from the host institution or from other (inter)national institutions.

The research program

Each PhD student may choose a research topic among the very wide set of fields of competences of the DFA members:
Applied Physics, Astrophysics, Biophysics, Cosmology, Gravitational Waves Physics, History of Physics, Multimessenger Astroparticle, Neutrino Physics, Nuclear Physics, Physics at Colliders, Physics Didactics, Physics of Data and of Complex Systems, Physics of Matter, Quantum Technologies, Theoretical Physics.
The PhD candidate will be assigned a supervisor according to the research topic who will supervise her/his research and training activities. PhD-students join research groups and normally work in teams including undergraduate students, post-docs, researchers and faculty members. The team-work experience is in fact an important opportunity for PhD students to get involved and committed in international collaborations.
As part of the research activity, PhD students are encouraged to spend a research period abroad (up to 18 months) also taking advantage of dedicated funds. The final destination can be chosen by the PhD student upon agreement with the supervisor. Periods of permanence abroad will be funded by the PhD-school and/or by the research group. Although not formally required, PhD students are encouraged to publish the results of their research in at least one publication in a peer-reviewed journal before the end of the PhD program.

Academic training

The Academic Year starts on October the 1st. The school provides a wide academic educational offer in all the disciplines related to the research fields listed above. Students have to select four or more courses each to be completed by a dedicated exam. It is compulsory to pass at least four exams during the first two years (three of which during the first year). The educational program is complemented by a compulsory soft-skill training course to be chosen among those proposed by the school. These three-credits courses (24 hours front lectures each) are meant to introduce students to topics like the preparation of research proposals, teaching techniques or third-mission activities.
In case of not compliance, the PhD student will be excluded from the PhD-school. Derogations can be considered only in case of submitted evidences of the major reason that has prevented to accomplish her/his obligation. In any case it is upon the PhD school management to accept or reject the derogation’s request.
All lectures are held in English. The complete list of the courses offered in each year can be found on the webpage of the PhD school.
Upon agreement with the supervisor, and approval by the PhD-school panel, PhD students may propose to substitute one of the courses offered by the school with a course chosen among those proposed by other doctoral-schools, either within the wider UniPd academic program, or at international institutions, as well as at topical international training events dedicated to PhD scholars.
Participation to national or international schools focused on the student’s research program is encouraged and supported by the PhD-school or the research group budget.

Facilities

Each PhD student has right to an equipped desk in the PhD-students room. A desk, PC and/or a laptop may also be provided by the research groups. Access to DFA and INFN computing resources is granted upon request. Students involved in experimental activities have access to the DFA laboratories, and/or to the facilities of many national (LNL, LNGS) and international labs (CERN, GANIL, KEK, etc.) collaborating with the research groups of the DFA. A list of UniPd and DFA Facilities can be found here:
http://bibliofisica-astronomia.cab.unipd.it
http://bibliotecadigitale.cab.unipd.it/biblioteche/dip.-astronomia-padova
http://www.dfa.unipd.it/servizi/settore-servizi-informatici/
http://www.oapd.inaf.it/index.php/it/
http://www.oapd.inaf.it/index.php/it/asiago-home.html
https://www.unipd.it/en/teaching-and-research/doctoral-degrees-phd-programmes
https://www.unipd.it/accoglienza-studenti-internazionali

  Other information

• PhD Programmes Calls and Admissions
• PhD Programmes
• The International PhD guide
• More informations