The Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies

A RESEARCH UNIVERSITY, A SCHOOL OF TALENT, FOR A MORE SUSTAINABLE AND INCLUSIVE WORLD

The Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies is one of the six special-statute public universities, known as Scuole Universitarie Superiori (Schools of Advanced Studies) operating in Italy. It engages in the field of applied sciences such as Economic and Managerial Sciences, Legal Sciences, Political Science, Agricultural Sciences and Plant Biotechnology, Medical Sciences and Industrial and Information Engineering.

Established in 1987, Sant’Anna School rapidly affirmed as a dynamic and strongly innovative institution amongst Italian and international universities. The main buildings of Sant’Anna School are located in Pisa, one of main cities in Tuscany.

Scientific research represents a key lever for the School, that is reflected on training programmes. The scientific community of the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies counts over 400 people including teaching staff, research staff, research fellows, collaborators and PhD students. Half of them are research fellows and PhD students.

Sant’Anna School is top ranked within the best universities in Italy for the Science & Technology patents/research staff ratio. The School is also committed in the generation of spinoff companies operating in ICT, robotics, photonics, micro engineering, biomedical and environmental sectors, finance and legal consulting.

View our PhD Programs

Sant’Anna’s PhD programmes last three or four years:

Admission Requirements

Master Degree (M.Sc. or M.A.) or equivalent title. Not yet graduate students may also apply if they will graduate within the 30th of September.

The Selection

Selection consists in the assessment of the qualifications submitted and an interview. Qualifications consist of:

• CV and academic transcript of exams and career records
• abstract of the M.Sc./M.A.Thesis
• a research project where the candidate is asked to briefly outline a research proposal for their PhD studies

After the assessment of the qualification, shortlisted candidates undergo an interview with a discussion about qualifications and the proposed research plan, as well as the candidate’s attitude to the programme.For more detailed information on required documents and tests consult the dedicated page of each Ph.D. Course.

Scholarships

All PhD positions are totally funded with scholarships.

The number of positions is set each year in the call for admission. Positions may be increased if further funding becomes available, within special agreements, research projects or industrial partnerships. There are no tuition fees for the enrolment to the PhD and all PhD students have free access to the School’s canteen for a meal a day.