How to apply

  General rules

Annual Calls

LERH only issues one annual call for applications covering both EU and foreign applicants in order to obtain one pool of applications among which to select the best. 
LERH has a policy of equal opportunities for men and women and people with special needs.

Application Form

When the call is opened you can access the Application Form on line.
Only complete applications will be assessed.

Requirements

Applicants must have the Italian Laurea Specialistica/Magistrale or an academic qualification issued by a foreign university and recognized as equivalent to the aforementioned qualifications by the academic authorities or by interuniversity agreements of cooperation and mobility. If the foreign qualification has not yet been recognized as equivalent by the academic bodies of an Italian University, the competent body of each Program will decide on its equivalence.

Application reserved for foreigner students (PhD international students)

The University of Padova, through the funding of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Padova e Rovigo (CARIPARO), offers research grants to foreign students to attend Doctoral Courses. In addition to the grant successful candidates will also be offered full board and lodging during the 3-year doctoral programme.
More information about calls and enrolment procedures are available here. 
Be aware that the CARIPARO grant selection procedure is extremely selective.

Evaluation criteria

Eligible applications are evaluated by a PhD Assessment Committee according to the following criteria: academic potential as indicated by a very good university degree and documented research achievements (CV - Europass format);  publications, preferably in journals with peer review; a research synopsis that closely relates to one of the LERH research topics; academic references; letter of motivation; any other document the candidate consider relevant. See the annual call for the details.

Interview

Shortlisted applicants can be invited to an interview that will take place at the campus or via Skype in the case of foreign students. See the annual call for the details.

Start date

Selected doctoral candidates will start their doctoral studies by November.

FAQ

FAQ related to LERH PhD application procedure.

Important information for non-EU candidates

In order to regularly study in Italy, non-EU students should have a valid stay permit. Before coming to Italy they need to apply to the competent Italian diplomatic authority and ask for a study visa. The addresses of Italian Embassies and Consulates abroad, listed by alphabetical order of the countries where they are based, are available online at:
http://www.esteri.it/MAE/IT/Ministero/LaReteDiplomatica/Ambasciate/default.htm

Within 8 days from their arrival in Italy, all non-EU students who hold a study visa must apply for a stay permit. The stay permit is issued by the local police station (Questura - Ufficio Stranieri) of the applicant's place of residence in Italy. In order to help University students to obtain the stay permit, you can go to the SAOS (Assistance Service for Foreign Guests):
University of Padua, Palazzo del Bo’
(c/o Ufficio Relazioni Internazionali)
via VIII Febbraio no. 2, Padova.
Phone: +39 049 827 3077
Fax: +39 049 827 3060
e-mail: saos@unipd.it

  Schedule of the PhD program selection

  Grant and other sources of funding

Sources of funding

Each Doctoral Course can confer a certain number of grants, which are assigned on the basis of the ranking of the competition results and correspond to a gross sum of € 16.243 per year. Most grants are paid by the University of Padova, but public institutions as well as industries and bank foundations can pay for PhD grants in support to particular research projects following special agreements with each Doctoral Course.
A number of PhD students without grant can also be admitted to Doctoral Courses. Those students may either receive a grant by a third-party institution or being working students. In the latter situation, their working activities must be compatible with the Doctoral Course teaching activities and do not limit/compromise the achievement of the PhD title.

All PhD students are granted with 1.624,30 € annual payment for covering their participation costs to congress, seminars, stages, … Research costs for their activities are normally agreed with and paid by their supervior(s). 

If you are looking for sources of funding to support your study, you are advised to first of all look for national sources of funding in your home country. Contact your relevant ministries for information as well as the embassies/representations of the countries that you would like to study in.

Italy

Contact Italian Embassies or Italian Cultural Centres in your home country

Other possible sources

  Special program with the China Scholarship Council (CSC)

The University of Padova and the China Scholarship Council (CSC) have agreed a grant scheme to enable talented Chinese students to undertake a PhD at Padova University. The Chinese students who demonstrate academic excellence and leadership potential will have the opportunity to attend a PhD program at the University of Padova. They will be supported jointly by the China Scholarship Councii (on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of Education) and the University of Padova.

For the research topics under the LERH PhD program see http://www.tesaf.unipd.it/en/research/doctoral-degrees-phd-lerh-program/priority-research-topics

For more information visit: http://www.unipd.it/en/scholarships-chinese-phd-students 

If you have any questions about the scheme, please contact china.phd@unipd.it

  Do you want to become a visiting PhD student at LERH?

The first step is to get in touch with a component of the Faculty Board who can serve as the supervisor of the visit. Here you can find the list of the L.E.R.H. PhD Course Board teachers.

Once the contact is established and the supervision has been informally agreed upon in terms of purpose and period, the prospective student can issue a formal request by using the dedicated platform accessible here,  then register (if not already done) and fill the request.

The platform will then invite the prospective supervisor to upload an invitation letter.

Here you can find some instructions for browsing the online platform.

For visa, residence permit and health assistance, we suggest you to contact well in advance the SAOS - Foreign Guests Welcome Service. Contacts and information are available at this link.