Suspension of PhD studies ~ UNIPI

PhD candidates may request a temporary suspension of their doctoral studies in specific situations provided by the regulations.

Suspension may be granted in the following cases:

maternity, paternity or parental leave
illness
civil service
attendance of university teacher-training programmes
serious personal or family reasons (with supporting documentation)
other cases provided for by current regulations

For serious personal or family reasons, the suspension is not granted automatically and must be evaluated by the PhD Programme Board (Collegio dei docenti) upon submission of appropriate documentation.

Please, note that suspension cannot be requested retroactively.

How to request suspension

Requests must be submitted to the PhD Admissions and Careers Unit through the Alice portal.

Access Alice portal
Select Secretariat→ Career→ Domanda sospensione carriera
Upload the suspension request using the “SOSP” form available at the bottom of the page
Pay the PagoPA payment notice of €16 automatically generated at the end of the procedure

What happens during the suspension

During the suspension period:

the PhD scholarship or equivalent funding is suspended
no academic or training activities can be carried out
no administrative career actions can be performed
PhD students must pay the annual enrolment fee, according to the same deadlines as other candidates of the same cycle

At the end of the suspension period, the PhD career is automatically reactivated.
The candidate should contact their supervisor or programme coordinator to resume their research activities.

Impact on the duration of the PhD programme

The training period cannot be shortened.

If the suspension lasts more than two months, the suspended period must be fully recovered with an equivalent extension of the programme.
As a result, the final examination date and the deadlines for submitting the PhD degree application will be postponed according to the duration of the suspension period.

When evaluating the candidate’s progress at the annual assessment, the PhD Programme Board will take the suspension period into account.

Important information

According to national regulations, the combined duration of extensions and suspensions cannot exceed 18 months, except for maternity/paternity leave and other cases specifically provided by law.

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Suspension of PhD studies

How to request suspension

What happens during the suspension

Impact on the duration of the PhD programme