The PhD programme in Aerospace Engineering offers students the opportunity to improve their competences and to take part in training and research activities in the field of aeronautic and space engineering.

To achieve this goal, the course programme consists of two essential elements: training and research. Both of these aspects, joined together, aim to stimulate intellectual growth and to develop the ability to understand problems and to critically analyze solutions related to research, both basic and applied, in the aerospace field.

The training programme includes the typical aerospace disciplines and extends over transversal topics and technologies, in order to provide the student with a complete scientific preparation.

The specific research carried out during the PhD programme must be innovative and concern advanced problems in the aerospace field. During the activity, progress is constantly monitored by the advisor and periodically evaluated by the Academic Board. Furthermore, the development of part of the research activity at prestigious international universities is increasingly encouraged. Finally, the student must document the activity performed and the results achieved in the final thesis as well as in articles published in journals or presented at international conferences.

This PhD programme investigates the complexity of architectural cultures, focusing on the close interweaving of history and project, defined by Roberto Gabetti in 1983 as the main feature characterising Turin school and referenced by two important cultural traditions of doctoral academic and research activities, engaged in a mutual dialogue from over twenty years.

On the one hand, architectural composition and technology favour the interpretation of projects as a means to explore the interplay between different theories, technical innovations and changes in urban environment.

On the other hand, historical disciplines, focusing on architecture and city planning, provide a broader view on urban and architectural environments, far from a narrow perspective, thanks to the cooperation with other type of histories (related to economics, social sciences and arts), mapping out a career path devised not only for architects and planners, but also for scholars of humanities.

While maintaining the specific features characterising each curriculum, those two programmes share the interpretation that construction of urban and local territory is the result of a complex process of space and time stratifications. Another key point comprised in both curricula is the promotion of internationalization of III-level PhD programmes, to be based on the large network of scientific projects carried out by members of Academic Board, playing a fundamental role in the definition of new strategies in both architectural and urban fields and in undertaking professional endeavours they may pose.

The National PhD Programme in Artificial Intelligence is implemented through the establishment of five doctorates joined together, which gather a wide range of Universities and research institutions. Each course is specialized in a strategical and specific area of development and implementation of AI technologies, and is referred to a lead Athenaeum:

• Health and life sciences, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma
• Agricolture (agrifood) and environment, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II
• Security and cybersecurity, Sapienza Università di Roma
• Industry 4.0, Politecnico di Torino
• Society, Università di Pisa.

Politecnico di Torino is the leader in the area of expertise “Industry 4.0”, in partnership with the following institutions: CNR, Università di Bologna, Politecnico di Milano, Università degli Studi di Milano, Università di Padova, Università di Milano Bicocca, Università Ca’ Foscari, Università di Verona.

Phd programme jointly established by Politecnico di Torino and Università degli Studi di Torino administrative seat at PoliTo until XXXII cycle, UniTo from XXXIII cycle.

The establishment of a joint programme between Politecnico di Torino and Università degli Studi di Torino, providing a common high-level training for engineers, biologists, physicians, surgeons and dentists, has made it possible, in the last five years, to take significant steps towards alignment with the international situation, but also a novelty in the framework of national scientific and educational organisations.

The doctorate is representing an effective incubator from which to develop, through an interdisciplinary collaboration at the research and training level, cutting-edge methodologies and technologies which could provide an answer to most recent problems in biomedical research and to propose innovative solutions that could have a deep impact on reality of healthcare and production system.

As training objectives, the Course, continuing the training course conducted in the first five years since its establishment, aims to:

• offer capable and motivated students an even more qualified training on the topics of current international research in the fields of Bioengineering and Medical-Surgical Sciences and in the interdisciplinary areas connected to them;
• integrate a solid theoretical-conceptual preparation with full mastery of the most up-to-date quantitative and qualitative research methodologies and techniques;
• combining the specialization of the disciplinary field and the plurality of theoretical and methodological approaches, in order to provide doctoral students with an easily expendable training.

PhD programme in Chemical Engineering aims at training highly-qualified professionals with a focus on promoting innovation in the field of chemical engineering and process engineering.

The training process is developed on two fronts. On the one hand, it comprises a teaching part, in which courses are taught traditionally and course load can be personalized on the basis of each student’s needs, such as to fill any scientific and cultural gaps.
Acquiring the mentality and methodologies required to foster innovation is a goal achievable by means of focused studies on process and products innovation. PhD students are not only supervised by their tutor, but they have also the opportunity to engage in an exchange of ideas with other members of Academic Board.

Concerning the modalities of courses attendance, usually students shall acquire basic knowledge and competences during first year, while also deciding what will be their research topic, under their tutor’s supervision. In second year they shall focus on research activity and taking part to specialized seminars. Between second and third year, a term is often spent abroad, studying and researching at other universities or research centres, in order to further develop their research.

This PhD programme deals with research topics from such fields as Environmental Engineering and Civil Engineering. Its quantitative approach uses mathematical modelling and experimental methods which are conducted both on field and in high quality laboratories.

Therefore, this is one of the best PhD programmes in the Italian academic system, and it is characterised by:

• participation of several professors identified as potential commissioners for the latest national scientific research qualification;
• professors who are the winners of national research projects;
• a great number of professors holding a bibliometric index which is higher than the median in their scientific field;
• transdisciplinary PhD projects on the subject of Environmental and Civil Engineering, while avoiding both overspecialization and generality;
• many leading laboratories which are of high scientific value in the Italian academic system;
• a long line of numerous and constant partnerships with prestigious foreign universities.

This PhD program deals with research topics from such fields as Environmental Engineering and Civil Engineering. Its quantitative approach uses mathematical modelling and experimental methods which are conducted both on field and in high quality laboratories.

The PhD programme in Computer and Control Engineering aims at training researchers who are able to work in both university and industry sector, operating in the field of Computer and Control Engineering and focusing on the following areas of research:

• Automation
• Computer Sciences
• Operational Research

The PhD programme promotes research and project development activities in the fields of Design, Architectural Technology and Environmental Quality, intending to contribute to the innovation of cultural, social, environmental and productive systems.

The main research areas concern social inclusion and accessibility to products and services, digital communication and interaction, technological, energy and material culture, the built environment and cultural heritage enhancement, and sustainable production systems in industry and crafts. Advanced methodologies and a collaborative approach between different fields of knowledge support these research activities.

There are many collaborations with the strategic industrial and housing, cultural and social sectors present in the area, as well as connections with universities and research centres at national and international levels. From the point of view of transdisciplinary training, doctoral students are followed in the research path by two tutors from different disciplines, just as the teaching of the courses offered by the PhD is interdisciplinary.

The EECE doctorate program aims at training highly qualified researchers and experts in the general field of electrical, electronics, and communications engineering. Our Ph.D. candidates acquire those fundamental skills that are necessary to carry out theoretical and experimental research, both in highly specialized technical disciplines and in a broader multidisciplinary setting. Ph.D. laureates are expected to become active players in scientific and technical innovation in academia, industry, or research institutions.

This doctorate is the largest Ph.D. program at Politecnico di Torino, currently counting more than 190 Ph.D. candidates over the three active cycles. The research topics of interest include but are not limited to the broad set of IEEE disciplines.

The EECE Program formally includes two curricula:

• General: covers most disciplines in the general fields of Electronics, Electromagnetic Fields, Communications and Computer Networks, Electrical Engineering and Power Systems, Automation and Robotics, and Mechatronics. 
• Electron devices (INFN): specializes in research and developments of high-performance electronic devices and components supporting large experiments on fundamental matter physics; this curriculum is conducted in collaboration with the National Institute of Nuclear Physics.

This PhD programme promotes activities applicable in fundamental and cutting-edge sectors, such as: renewable energies, internal combustion engines, hybrid propulsion, hydraulics and pneumatics, nuclear fission and fusion, model assembly and energy planning, environmental impact of energy systems, thermoeconomics, safety and reliability assessment, interiors engineering.

The main research goals are the advancement of knowledge, technological innovation and improvement of performance of systems and equipment employed for energy conversion, distribution and use of energy, the development of methodologies, equipment and technologies for limiting environmental impact of energy systems and transports.

Short videos highlighting recent research activities carried out by Energetics PhD students are available at the following link.

Its main goals are providing PhD candidates with a common background by means of several mandatory courses (Sustainable transport, The future of nuclear energy, Energy and smart buildings, Energy for future factories, to which students will be introduced taking the class on Global energy trends and outlook, Experimental heat and mass transfer e Computational heat and mass transfer) offering an overview of the main research areas to students.

These core courses shall provide the necessary basis for carrying out research activities in energy field, which is multidisciplinary by definition. PhD candidates are also trained by means of programme-related, interdisciplinary or transversal courses.

The Ph.D. in Management and Production Engineering is an highly multidisciplinary doctoral course that focuses on several areas of research, related to as many specific areas of manufacturing activities.

These areas range from the conception, development and industrialization of products and related manufacturing methods, to the transformation processes of materials, to capital goods and industrial plants required, to the organization and management of processes (whether production, logistics or development of market relations), with a view to energy, economic, social and environmental sustainability, to the applied metrological aspects necessary for quality assurance, to the creation of entrepreneurial enterprises starting from product innovation and the study of the economic and regulatory context in which organizations are located.

The Ph.D. in Management and Production Engineering trains researchers capable of conducting, with scientific method and rigor, research and development activities in the technological, organizational, economic, managerial and legal fields, aimed at introducing innovation in products and production systems of goods and services, with a view to ensuring three fundamental principles:

• flexibility of the production system with respect to the competitive and institutional context in which the organization operates,
• integration of people and technology in the production system,
• social, environmental, economic and competitive sustainability of products, services and related production processes.

The Course aims at training, both scientifically and professionally, experts in processes and technologies for materials engineering and materials research, production and development, in several areas related to both structural and functional materials and, in particular, semiconductors, polymers, metals, ceramics and glasses, composites, nanostructured materials, materials for heterogeneous catalysis and for sensors, materials for additive manufacturing. 

During the three years of the Course, the PhD students are involved in the study of the cultural aspects related to the Science and Technology of Materials, also with the help of ad hoc courses that are customized so to allow PhDs to master, at the end of the course, the knowledge of materials in terms of structure and properties, design, production and transformation processes, use, characterization techniques, corrosion and degradation, conservation, restoration and recycling, assembly for engineering purposes, industrial applications, biomedical applications, materials for the conversion, accumulation and conservation of energy, materials for environmental protection, materials for adsorption, heterogeneous catalysis, photocatalysis, photoelectrocatalysis, additive manufacturing. Emphasis is also given to the properties of materials surface (in relation to and in comparison with those of the bulk) and of the chemical and electrochemical reactions that take place there, of electrochemical processes and technologies, as well as of corrosion protection measures. In order to reach such objectives, experimental methods (advanced synthesis and characterization techniques) are mainly used along with the simulation and development of theoretical models.

Employment opportunities

The transversal nature of the competences of the PhDs in Materials Science and Technology offers professional opportunities in the fields of research (both public and private) and development in any area of industrial production, either in Italy or abroad.

Some of the foreseen employment opportunities are:

• research and teaching in Italian/foreign Universities;
• research in Italian/foreign research centres (for instance, CNR);
• industrial sectors implying high-level expertizes in the research and development of innovative materials, as well as industrial production.

The National PhD Programme in Materials, Sustainable Processes and Systems for the Energy Transition has been activated for the XXXVIII cycle with administrative headquarters at the Politecnico di Torino.

The following bodies / universities participate in the doctorate : Politecnico di Torino (administrative office), Università di Roma La Sapienza, Università degli studi di Bologna, Università degli Studi di Torino, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Università del Salento, Università degli studi del Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo Avogadro” Vercelli, Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca Metrologica (INRiM), Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR), Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT).

The mission of our PhD programme is to combine specialised expertise in Mathematics and its applications with a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches stemming from Algebra, Analysis, Geometry, Mathematical Physics, Numerical Analysis, Probability and Statistics.

The goal is to train highly qualified scholars capable of conducting academic research in fundamental sciences, engineering, architecture, economics, finance, biomedicine, or industrial research in bio- and nanotechnologies, the pharmaceutical industry, healthcare and governance.

Our scientific project stems from a twofold belief: first, a high-level mathematical education is fundamental to tackle theoretical and applied problems with the proper methodological rigour. Second, Mathematics plays a prominent role in avant-garde technological contexts, which are a source of challenging interdisciplinary problems of relevant interest to Mathematical Sciences.

The PhD programme in Mechanical Engineering has the goal of forming researchers and professionals who are able to carry out advanced research & development activities in the field of system and structural mechanics, mechanics of controlled devices, machines and fluids.

PhD education focuses on functional and structural design, control of machines and machine elements, mechanical system analysis in a broad sense, and their application in the industrial sector.

During the programme, students attend courses on theoretical methodologies, numerical instruments and experimental techniques suitable to the understanding of the physical phenomena and their interpretation. The programme offers III-level courses to improve specialized knowledge in the field.

PhD programme promotes international experiences, organizing secondments at the foreign universities and research centres which collaborate with the concerned Department (DIMEAS: department of mechanical and aerospace engineering), promoting the attendance in international congresses, and offering seminars or excellence courses given by renowned international scholars.

The doctoral course places heritage at the centre of its research interests, mainly in the forms of historical buildings in urban, rural, and landscape contexts in relation to the socio-economic, cultural, productive, and administrative realities of the territory which is continuously transforming. Therefore, one of the fundamental approaches is the vision and critical reading of architectural heritage values on every scale.

The methodological objectives pertaining to the knowledge and recognition of universal values of architectural and landscape heritage, its conservation, enhancement, and management are developed holistically in an interdisciplinary context, using contributions from the history of architecture, restoration, geomatics, drawing, economic valorisation, architectural composition, landscape architecture, construction techniques, and technical and environmental physics, without neglecting individual disciplinary perspectives.

The specificities of scientific interests promote the awareness that research disciplinary methods constitute the foundation of any form of protection, according to the dual parameters of compatibility and sustainability, pursuing synergies with the innovative framework of digital technologies for the analysis of heritage and communication of research and interventions.

This programme aims at training PhD candidates contributing to fundamental researches in leading sectors and understanding and promoting those aspects which may improve know-how of high-tech activities. Compared to other PhD programmes awarding the same title, this programme is characterized by a focus on theoretical, experimental and computational aspects of physics of matters and complex systems. 

It shall be noted that members of Academic Board are also members of two European Union flagships: “Graphene” and “Human Brain”. The Board often invites external experts to collaborate as co-tutors or thesis referees. Board members also have a wide network of relationships with several international research centres. PhD students are thus able to have a direct experience of the activities carried out in advanced experimental and computational laboratories, which represents an integration to departmental laboratories.

The course catalogue is divided in four major areas:

• Experimental Physics of Matter
• Theoretical Physics of Matter
• Physics of Complex Systems
• High Energy Physics

This programme is part of few educational networks comprising institutions of recognized excellence and it has hosted several students, taking part to co-tutelle programmes; many students take also part in exchange programmes based on bilateral agreements. Almost 50% of PhD scholarships are financed from external institutions.

Phd programme jointly activated by Politecnico di Torino and Università degli Studi di Torino.

The interuniversity Ph.D. programme in Urban and Regional Development (URD) is designed to train highly-qualified doctors in socio-spatial dynamics of development. The doctoral programme, offered in English, has a clear multi-disciplinary approach that combines social and technical sciences (SSH and STEM).

This Ph.D. programme is meant to promote individual talents by providing training and research opportunities in a wide variety of scientific fields that are grouped in three main areas: Social, economic and political sciences; Planning, evaluation and management; Techniques for the territory and the environment.

In order to train specialists who are able work globally, the doctoral programme aims at attracting motivated and qualified PhD students from all over the world, offering a training which corresponds to the highest academic and professional standards with frequent contributions of foreign scholars and the promotion of research and training activities in highly qualified institutions across the globe.