Doctorate

2. Educational objectives of the third cycle

The Doctorate of Research can be awarded to students who achieve the following high-level objectives

1. Acquire a systematic understanding of the field of study of Educational Sciences and mastery of the associated research method.
2. Qualify the ability to conceive, design, implement, and adapt a research process with the probity required of a scholar.
3. Consolidate the ability to critically analyze, evaluate and synthesize new and complex ideas.
4. Conduct original research that expands the frontier of knowledge, providing a contribution worthy of publication at the national or international level.
5. Learn to communicate with peers, the scholarly community, and society in general in their areas of expertise.
6. Enable the promotion, in academic and professional contexts, of technological, social or cultural advancement in a knowledge-based society.
7. Acquire the ability to teach at the university level on topics relevant to the doctoral study area.

Doctorate in Youth Studies. The Doctorate in Youth Studies has the general objective of creating a transdisciplinary educational space aimed at high-level researchers and professionals, focusing on the reflection and analysis of youth realities, both locally and globally, in relation to their respective human, psychosocial, educational, political, economic, sociocultural, and religious contexts.
Specific objectives include:

1. training researchers capable of building knowledge about the conditions and role of young people in contemporary societies, aware of the links between the state, economy, and socio-political participation processes;
2. train professionals capable of improving the quality of policies, programs, and intervention processes aimed at young people, based on a deep understanding of the links between them and social, educational, and religious institutions;
3. train specialists in human formation and educational-pastoral service to young people, aware of the many factors that constitute their identity, relationships, life projects, and growth laws, with the help of human sciences in a transdisciplinary perspective;
4. promote transdisciplinary dialogue on the complex conditions of contemporary youth protagonism, with a variety of methodologies and concepts from various sciences useful for deepening youth issues in this historical moment.

3. Doctorate Organizational Council

The Third Cycle Doctorate Organizational Council (COD) is an organism established by the FSE for the didactic conduction and organizational management of the doctoral students’ training curriculum. It has the function of proposing and coordinating the study and research paths of doctoral students. The COD consists of three professors appointed by the Faculty Council (CsF):

1. Prof. Antonio Dellagiulia (Coordinator),
2. Prof. Francesca R. Busnelli,
3. Prof. Michal Vojtáš

Regarding doctoral candidates, the COD has the following specific tasks:
(a) organizes admission interviews for the doctorate cycle;
(b) proposes to the CsF the moderator and members of the Doctoral Thesis Committee (CTD) that follows the individual doctoral student or a group of related doctoral students;
(c) validates the training activities of the individual doctoral student;
(d) organizes seminars for doctoral students, verifies compliance with deadlines by doctoral students, and decides on any interventions.

4. Admission Application

The deadline for submitting the application is June 30, 2024

Application Form

THE ADMISSION APPLICATION

When filling out the application, you will be asked to include your curriculum vitae and choose 2 research areas from those listed below.
For the research areas, you can only choose those consistent with your Master’s Degree or Licentiate (e.g., you can choose Psychology only if you have a degree in Psychology).
Those interested in the doctorate in Catechetics must first contact Prof. Giuseppe Ruta – ruta@unisal.it

1. Curriculum
2. Research Areas

5. Admission, Doctoral Thesis Committee

5.1. Admission Exam

The Admission Exam will be held:

Date	October 1, 2024 (exclusively in person)
Time	from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Location	Sala Egidio Viganò – Don Bosco Library (Piazza dell’Ateneo Salesiano, 1 - Rome)

The admission, organized by the COD, includes the following tests:

1. Verification of “functional” knowledge of two languages relevant to the research.
   – For Italian candidates, functional knowledge of two research-appropriate languages other than their own is mandatory.
   – For non-Italian candidates, adequate knowledge of Italian and functional knowledge of another language different from their native one is mandatory.
   – Candidates who certify a B2 Certificate (according to the CEFR, Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) in the two languages in question are exempt from the respective language tests.
2. Test on the methodology of scientific work.
3. Interview on the candidate’s aptitudes, motivations, and possibilities for study, research, and attendance according to the cycle’s requirements.

5.2. Procedure Following the Admission Interview

The COD, having verified the Candidate’s suitability through consideration of the interview and test results, prepares a presentation of the Candidate to the CsF, which gives the final approval for enrollment.

This approval will be communicated by the COD to the Candidate, who can then immediately enroll in the General Secretariat.

5.3. Requirements, Documentation, Enrollment

For enrollment in the third cycle, several requirements must be met, evidenced by the following documents to be submitted at the time of enrollment in the General Secretariat.

Candidates from other universities

1. Birth certificate on plain paper (or a photocopy of the passport or other document that verifies the Candidate’s exact surname and name).
2. Residence permit in Italy for study purposes (for foreign students).
3. Basic educational qualification, for all faculties, Diploma of studies suitable for university entrance in their own country.
4. Specific original educational qualification: Diploma required for the Academic Degree of Doctorate to which one intends to enroll, therefore, the second cycle degree (with a grade of 27/30 or equivalent).
   N.B. * The document must be the official one issued by the institution where the studies were completed.
   ** Foreign students must present the educational qualification translated into Italian, authenticated, and legalized by the Italian diplomatic or consular authority residing in the country of origin, with a declaration of the validity of the qualification for university admission.
5. A passport-sized photograph, on a light background (write the surname and name in block letters on the back).
6. Enrollment application, on a form provided by the General Secretariat.
7. Personal data sheet, on a form provided by the General Secretariat.
8. Receipt proving payment of the fee, including enrollment and exams.
9. Certificate issued by the Ordinary or his Delegate for ecclesiastics, religious, and seminarians, stating that the student is suitable, for moral conduct, to be enrolled. For lay people, this certificate must be issued by an ecclesiastical person.
10. Annual certificate of extracollegiality, issued by the Vicariate of Rome, for diocesan priests residing in Rome, outside the hostels and colleges intended for them.
    11) Written authorization from the Dean of the Faculty (Ord 55, § 3,1).

Candidates from UPS

1. Updated residence permit in Italy (for foreign students).
2. Payment receipt.
3. For diocesan ecclesiastics: Annual certificate of extracollegiality.
4. Self-declaration of non-concurrent enrollment in different Faculties with the intent to obtain Academic Degrees.
5. Written authorization from the Dean for enrollment.

6. Doctoral Thesis Committee

The COD identifies the Moderator and the other two Advisors of the Doctoral Thesis Committee and proposes them to the Faculty Council (CsF).

Once the Committee is approved by the CsF, the COD will facilitate contact between the Candidate and the Moderator, who, upon the Candidate’s enrollment, will proceed with the proposal of the training activities for the Doctoral student.

7. Doctoral Student Training Activities

The Moderator proposes the Doctoral Student’s training activities to the COD for approval.

DOCTORAL STUDENT TRAINING ACTIVITIES

These training activities typically consist of:

• By the third semester::
  1. recovery of any failed admission tests;
  2. Research training Seminar for FSE Doctoral Students;
  3. any additional courses or seminars related to the research;
  4. determination of the fundamental bibliography for the thesis.
• By the fourth semester:
  1. development of the doctoral thesis project (any extensions of this deadline must be justified by the CTD to the COD);
  2. some bibliographic reviews published in the journal Orientamenti Pedagogici;
• By the sixth semester:
  1. Teaching internship and/or student tutoring;
  2. participation in research activities under the guidance of the same moderator or another appointed professor, expressly indicated by the moderator;
  3. one or more articles or papers papers published in specialized journals in the field.

Doctoral students are required to participate in the activities proposed by the COD.

8. Research Project for the Doctoral Thesis and Final Thesis Submission

The Doctoral Student develops the Research Project for the Doctoral Thesis no later than the fourth semester of the cycle. The doctoral scheme must be developed considering the following guidelines: DOCTORAL SCHEME

The CTD moderator sends the project to the other members, each of whom will formulate a written judgment. The moderator will then prepare the final opinion, which will be sent, along with the individual judgments of the CTD members, to the Faculty Secretariat for approval by the CsF.

The committee members have a maximum of 6 weeks to deliver the correction of the chapter or part of the chapter received.

The Doctoral Student, in agreement with the Moderator, preliminarily submits the thesis to the CTD members (see Doctorate Regulations, art. 5). Each CTD member will give their “no objection,” i.e., a brief written statement of approval with any comments, and the CTD will propose a joint opinion, allowing the Doctoral Student the final revision and submission of the thesis for the final dissertation. The joint opinion must also indicate the completion of the doctoral student’s training activities. The individual “no objections” and the joint opinion are submitted to the General Secretariat along with the thesis text and the anti-plagiarism declaration.

9. Evaluation of the Doctoral Student and University Quality

At the end of each year of the third cycle, the Doctoral Student is evaluated by the CTD, taking into account the specific indications of the COD:

• completion of the training activities plan,
• development of the project,
• written work,
• doctoral dissertation.

The Doctoral Student is evaluated by the CTD according to specific indications of the COD, starting from the completion of the training activities plan, the work for the development of the thesis project (see points 6 and 7 above).
At the same time, the Doctoral Student evaluates the Doctorate training path for the Promotion of University Quality, through the tools proposed by the COD and the questionnaires provided by the Evaluation and Quality Promotion Office (UPS-Q).

10. Typical doctoral process scheme

11. Academic fees for the FSE doctorate

Enrollment in the Doctorate (annual in the three-year period)	€	1.400,00
Enrollment in the Doctorate (each year beyond the three-year period)	€	1.000,00
Submission of Doctoral Thesis, defense	€	1.800,00