Coordinator
Prof. Elena Bargelli
email: elena.bargelli@unipi.it
Administrative seat
Department of Law
Project description
The PhD in Legal Sciences aims to develop doctoral students’ research potential through three core components: structured training activities, active participation in PhD programme projects, and a mandatory three-month research period abroad.
To effectively achieve these goals, the programme is structured into four Curricula, which combine an interdisciplinary approach with specialised training tailored to each pathway of the PhD programme. The four Curricula are:
- Administration, Market, and Criminal Justice
- Private Law and Comparative Private Law, Labour Law, European Legal Tradition
- Business, International Law, European Union Law, Civil Procedure
- Theory of Fundamental Rights, Constitutional Justice, Comparative Law, Law and Religion
Each year, the Curricula offer training activities including lectures focused on one or more general subjects (for the 41st cycle, see below), as well as seminars and conferences. Doctoral students are actively engaged through Q&A sessions for each lecture or seminar, and through opportunities to present or speak at seminars and conferences, with the aim of enhancing public speaking skills.
Curricula also support and monitor individual research through regular meetings and discussions between PhD candidates and lecturers associated with the curriculum concerning the progress of their thesis work.
In addition to curriculum-specific activities, the programme includes cross-disciplinary training activities: inaugural lectures marking the start of the academic year (held between November and December each year), courses on legal research methodology, and academic conferences. The activities proposed by the Curricula and the Academic Board are complemented by centrally coordinated initiatives offered by the University to all PhD students that include language skills (Academic English Speaking and Writing), public presentation skills, Responsible Research and Innovation, and the use of Open-Source technologies. International experience is a key component of the programme. Supervisors and co-supervisors are encouraged to promote extended research stays abroad where relevant to the doctoral research, including the establishment of joint supervision agreements (cotutelle) with foreign universities. These allow for collaboration with an international supervisor and may lead to a double PhD degree (Italian and foreign degree). The involvement of international lecturers is also encouraged during thesis defences and in the awarding of the Doctor Europaeus qualification.
From the 41st cycle onward, internationalisation efforts will be further strengthened through participation in competitive European funding calls designed to create PhD networks spanning multiple European universities.
The programme also promotes the enrolment of international candidates. Over the past two years, this has been achieved by adopting a single admission procedure based solely on an oral examination. Additional access for foreign candidates is possible under Article 11 of the University’s PhD Regulations, which allows for over-quota admissions.
Course objectives
The objectives of the PhD in Legal Sciences are structured around four key areas:
- Developing individual research skills in the field of law
- Enhancing public speaking abilities
- Refining written communication of legal arguments
- Fostering the ability to engage with foreign legal systems through international research periods (potentially leading to a double degree via cotutelle agreements)
The ultimate goal, which brings together the four aims outlined above, is to train individuals capable of critically analysing sources and making effective use of legal research tools, identifying and solving legal problems, presenting legal issues and research findings in academic discussions, and producing written work that demonstrates terminological precision, clarity of reasoning, solid bibliography, and originality of thought and results.
Internationalisation — as outlined in the project description — further enhances these objectives through engagement with foreign academic contexts, sources and lecturers.
The development of methodological rigour and critical thinking is aimed at strengthening skills that are transferable to a range of professional contexts, including academic careers, the judiciary, legal professions, senior roles in public administration, businesses, and other productive sectors (see below).
The PhD also contributes to the objectives of Italy’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR).
Curricula
- Private and Comparative Private Law, Labour Law, European Legal Tradition
- Theory of Fundamental Rights, Constitutional Justice, Comparative Law
- Business, International and EU Law, Civil Procedure
- Administration, Market and Criminal Justice
Scientific-disciplinary areas
Agricultural Law
Administrative Law
Canon and Ecclesiastical Law
Commercial Law
Constitutional Law
Labour Law
Economic Law
European Union Law
International Law
Criminal Law
Private Law
Comparative Private Law
Civil Procedural Law
Criminal Procedural Law
Comparative Public Law
Roman Law and Law of Antiquity
Tax Law
Philosophy of Law
Public Law Institutions
History of Medieval and Modern Law
Internal Regulations of the PhD Programme in Legal Sciences
Website
http://web.jus.unipi.it/formazione-post-lauream/attivita-del-dottorato-di-ricerca/
