The PhD

Coordinator (37^th/39^th Cycle): Rosanna Maniscalco
Coordinator (40^th/41^st Cycle): Gianpietro Giusso del Galdo

Programme Description and Objectives

The Ph.D. programme is a system of advanced education consisting of complex interdisciplinary research regarding the environment as well as the natural organisms residing therein. Education and research activities focus particularly on exploring the connections between natural processes, in addition to understanding the relationship between these processes and animals/plants, with the objective of developing the skills relevant to the management of environmental risk. The Ph.D. programme is divided into two curricula:

• Geosciences
• Environmental Biology and Biotechnology

The Geosciences curriculum is aimed at acquiring key skills in:

• Geological, petrographic and geophysical research;
• Analysis of sedimentary, volcanic and seismotectonic processes;
• Monitoring parameters in the prevention and mitigation of geological risks;
• Procurement of georesources;
• Analysis of lithic and lithoid materials.

The Environmental Biology and Biotechnology curriculum is aimed at acquiring key skills in:

• Genetic, molecular and cellular research;
• Biodiversity conservation and natural resource management;
• Monitoring and prevention of environmental risk;
• Use of biotechnology and molecular methods in the biomedical field;
• Development of proteomic and genomic investigations;
• Identification of food and environmental pollutants.

Professional and Career Opportunities

Possible career opportunities following Ph.D. completion are linked to the skills acquired in each of the individual curricula. They therefore cover a wide variety of fields ranging from the monitoring and prevention of geological/environmental risk and the dangers of land modification, as well as aspects of biotechnology, from biomedicine to genomic investigations - areas in which the Academic Board excels. The programme aims to create professionals with specific and theoretical knowledge concerning risk assessment and the development of systems designed to minimise social and economic losses, skills highly sought after in organisations responsible for land/natural resource management and conservation. This is especially relevant in light of the ever greater need to implement decisions supported by science. Professional prospects thus cover a wide variety of fields in land/environmental management and monitoring, from research organisations, agencies and industry to public administration, as well as within the private sector.