Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II

PHD PROGRAMS – 34th CYCLE – ACADEMIC YEAR 2018/2019

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS OF NON-ITALIAN CITIZENS WHO ARE NOT RESIDENT IN ITALY

DEADLINE FOR PRESENTATION OF APPLICATIONS:

12:00 HOURS ON JULY 31st 2018 (ITALIAN TIME)
This document cannot be used for legal purposes and is only meant
to provide information in English on the call for applications

The Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II has opened the call for the PhD programs of the 34th
cycle (2018-2019). The Admission to the PhD Programs will be on a competitive basis. The selection of
the candidates will be based on the evaluation of their CVs, written tests and/or interviews, as published
in the attachment A-Engl. Therein, for each PhD Program the following items are listed:

a) The criteria of selection;

b) The number of the open positions;
c) The number of scholarships;
d) The number of positions (with or without scholarship) – if any – reserved to candidates not
resident in Italy and educated abroad;
e) The number of positions – if any – reserved to students with scholarship granted from a foreign
Country;
f) the duration, the possible associated Institutions/Companies, the department which
administrative functions are assigned to, and the Coordinator of the PhD program;
g) the address where applicants must deliver or send their documents and assessments, and
timetable of the exams;
h) the webpage address of the PhD course, which provides the candidates with information about
the organization, research topics and educational activities.

The timetables reported in the announcement (see attachment A-Engl) should be considered as an
official notification to applicants, who will not receive any further written notice about the
examinations.

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 REQUIREMENTS FOR THE ADMISSION
To apply to the above Research Doctorate Programs candidates (with no restriction about age and
citizenship) should have obtained one of the following degrees:

- master degree, according to the Italian Ministerial Decree nr. 509/1999 and its subsequent
modifications and integrations ("laurea specialistica" or "laurea magistrale");
- academic degree, according to the Italian previous academic system ("laurea"), where the legal
course lasted for at least four years;
- an equivalent degree obtained from a foreign university.

Candidates who will obtain their degree by October 31, 2018 may apply too. In such a case, applicants
will be admitted conditionally, and they have to deliver a provisional degree certificate to the Università
degli Studi di Napoli Federico II , by November 9, 2018.
The equivalence of the degree of the candidates graduated abroad will be ascertained on the basis of
the documents attached by the candidate to the application form.
This requirement is not needed if the degree has been already declared equivalent to an Italian
academic degree by virtue of agreements between Italy and the foreign Country where the degree was
obtained.

ADMISSION TO THE SELECTION FOR RESERVED POSITIONS

The selection for positions reserved to foreign candidates graduated abroad, or to students with
scholarships granted by a foreign Country, will be based on both the assessment of the qualifications
and an interview: specific merit rankings will be compiled for this selection.

Candidates for reserved positions must attach to their applications the following documents:

1. certificate of the master degree with the final marks and the academic curriculum, reporting the
examinations passed, their marks, and a short description of their contents. If these documents
are in a language other than Italian, English, French, Spanish or German, they must be translated
into one of the above mentioned languages and the translation must be certified and legalized as
a true copy;
2. any further qualification (grants/scholarships, certificates of attendance in post degree courses,
research activities, scientific publications, marks scored in standard - national or international -
tests to be admitted to academic courses, etc.);
3. recommendation letters;
4. curriculum vitae.

Moreover, applicants for positions reserved to students with scholarship granted from
a foreign Country must attach, under penalty of exclusion, to their applications the
documents concerning their scholarship.

Applicants for reserved positions will take the oral examination by video conference (e.g. Skype, or

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similar), producing a legally valid identity document.

APPLICATIONS

In order to access the procedure in its English version, foreign applicants

are kindly invited to set their browser in a language different from Italian:
in such a way all the information will appear in English.

Candidates, who are not resident in Italy, and not possessing Italian citizenship,
are exempted from the payment of the examination fee.

The application form must be filled in exclusively on-line, by and no later than 12.00 a.m. (Italian time)
of July 31st, 2018.

By this deadline the on-line form will be removed, and any filling and printing will be no longer possible.

Having not filled and/or sent the application form within the deadline and according to the correct
procedures will cause exclusion from the competitive examinations.

Candidates must fill distinct application forms for each Research Doctorate Program they wish to apply
for. Moreover candidates must attach all the necessary documents for each application.

Candidates resident in Italy or possessing Italian citizenship are kindly requested to refer to the Italian
version of the announcement, published in the University Website http://www.unina.it/didattica/post-
laurea/dottorati-di-ricerca/bandi-di-ammissione (see also the Italian D.M. nr. 45/2013).

To fill in the application form on line, candidates who are not resident in Italy, and do not possess
Italian citizenship (exempted from the payment of the examination fee) must comply two different
phases:

A) First of all, the candidate must register herself/himself as a user (steps 1 - 6)

B) Second, the application form must be filled, printed, signed and sent (steps 7 - 14)

A) How to proceed, for the first phase:

1) login to the webpage www.unina.it

2) on the left side of the main webpage, under the section " IN PRIMO PIANO " …
3) … click on the link "Presentazione domanda dottorato di ricerca"
4) at the first access, select "Foreign user registration"

Once the form is open, applicants have to:

5) fill in all the required data

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6) take note on a separate sheet of the user key and the password automatically assigned by the
procedure, to be used later.

B) How to proceed, for the second phase:

7) repeat all the steps 1 – 3, as already done in the first phase

8) click on "System access"
9) insert user key and password
10) click on “Insert a new application” (on the top of the menu, left side)
11) select the PhD program you are interested in applying for
12) fill therein all the requested data
13) check the inserted data; to confirm the inserted data and to send the form, click on “Enter
application”;
14) click on “Print application” to print the filled form;
15) sign the application form and send it together with all qualifications and related documents

Applicants are required to deliver their undersigned form, together with the CV, qualifications and
related documents

Candidates, which are not resident in Italy, and do not possess Italian citizenship, are allowed to send all
their documents by e-mail to the following address: phdnafedericoii@unina.it (of course, both the
undersigned application form, the CV and the other documents must be previously scanned and
converted in .pdf files). In addition, the mail object must mention the name of the Ph.D. course that
you wish to apply for.

Applicants with a master degree conferred from a foreign University (and which was not yet declared
equivalent - by virtue of agreements between the foreign Country and Italy - to the Italian
master/specialist degree), requiring - for the sole purpose of the admission to the doctorate – that this
equivalency be declared, must deliver the certificate of the master degree issued from their University,
with the corresponding final grade, the list of the passed examinations and their marks and syllabi, and
any other related useful documents. Should the certificate be written in a language other than Italian,
English, French, Spanish or German, the applicant must also submit its translation into one of the
aforesaid languages: this translation must be certified for conformity to the original by the cognizant
Italian representative bodies. Also these documents must be delivered, by the deadline of the call, by e-
mail (pdf version of the documents) to phdnafedericoii@unina.it

Lack of presentation of these documents will cause exclusion from the application.
In case of mailing, the University Administration declines any responsibility for applications that arrive at
beyond the term stated in the announcement.

EXAMINATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO RESEARCH DOCTORATE PROGRAMS

The examinations are aimed to attain a comparative evaluation of the candidates, and to assess their
knowledge and aptitudes for the scientific research.

Selections for not reserved positions will be based on:

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 a) assessment of the qualifications, and written and oral examinations
or
b) assessment of the qualifications, and oral examination.

Moreover, all the candidates must prove a good knowledge of Italian and/or a foreign language (English,
French, Spanish and German). (Only for the Doctorate program in “Physics” and “Cardiovascular
Pathophysiology and Therapeutics “, English language will be mandatory for this test).

All the exams can be taken in one of the above mentioned languages.

Required qualifications and subjects of the exams must pertain the frame of scientific interest of each
Doctorate program: they could differ depending on the fields of interest of the Doctorate program itself.

The Board of Examiners can assign a total amount of 100 marks.

item a) In case the selection is based on the assessment of the qualifications, followed by written
and oral examination, the marks will be assigned as here stated: a maximum of 10, for the assessment
of the qualifications; a maximum of 30, for the written examination; a maximum of 60, for the oral
examination.
Qualifications will be assessed in agreement with the rating reported, as follows:

• academic career: final degree grade (provided they are pertaining to the required
qualifications) or grade point average (based on the formative credits) of the marks of the
passed examinations: a maximum of 6;
• scientific publications (M.A. dissertation or final essay for the obtainment of your degree and
other qualifications): a maximum of 4 (there, no more than 1 can be awarded on the basis of
recommendation letters by teachers/experts, or for other pertaining qualifications such as
prizes, patents, fellowships).

To be admitted to the written exam, the candidate must obtain no less than 4/10 in the assessment of
his/her qualifications.

The written examination will consist in providing a written text on a subject chosen among that ones (at
least three) proposed by the Board of Examiners.

To be admitted to the oral exam, the candidate must pass the written examination with no less than
18/30.

To pass the oral exam, the candidate must get at least 36/60.

item b) In case the admission to the Doctorate Program will be assessed by means of assessment of
qualifications and oral examination, the marks will be assigned as here stated: a maximum of 20 for the
assessment of the qualifications, and a maximum of 80 for the oral examination. Qualifications will be
assessed by following the rating here below reported:

• academic career: final degree grade (provided they are pertaining to the required
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 qualifications) or grade point average (based on the formative credits) of the marks of the
passed examinations: a maximum of 12;
• scientific publications, (M.A. dissertation or final essay for the obtainment of your degree
and other qualifications): a maximum of 8 (there, no more than 1 can be awarded on the
base of recommendation letters by teachers/experts, or for other pertaining qualifications
such as prizes, patents, fellowships)

To be admitted to the oral exam, the candidate must get no less than 8/20 in the assessment of his/her
qualifications.

To pass the oral exam, the candidate must get at least 48/80 marks.

All the selections of candidates for reserved positions will follow the criteria above specified under the
item b), i.e. assessment of the qualifications and oral exam.

To evaluate the candidates for reserved position the Board of Examiners is provided with a maximum of
40 marks to assess the qualifications, and with a maximum of 60 marks for the oral exam.

In order to assess the qualifications, the Board of Examiners will evaluate:

• academic degrees and qualifications of the candidate

• scientific publications (for example M.A. dissertation or final essay for the obtainment of your
degree and other qualifications)
• scholarships/fellowships, and certificates confirming the attendance of postgraduate courses
• all the qualifications related to research activities
• recommendation letters by teachers/experts

To be admitted to the oral exam, the candidate must obtain no less than 24/40 marks.

To pass the oral exam, the candidate must obtain at least 36/60 marks.

The final score will correspond to the sum of the marks assigned in the assessment of the qualifications,
written examination (if required), and oral examination.

Candidates not resident in Italy and educated abroad, applying for reserved positions, may be
interviewed by video conference (e.g., Skype).

The final score will be the sum of the marks the candidate has obtained in the assessment of the
qualifications, in the written exam, in the oral exam.

To take the examinations, candidates will produce one the following legally valid identity document:
identity card, passport, driving license.

The candidate will be considered as a renouncer, if she/he, for any reason, will be absent on the day,
place and time scheduled for the examinations.

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 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
MERIT RANKING LISTS

Doctorate Research Programs offering positions will have two distinct merit ranking lists: one for not-
reserved positions, a second one for reserved positions.

Candidates will be ordered in the final lists by following the decreasing order of the sum of their marks.
In the case of parity in marks between two or more candidates, precedence is given to the youngest
candidate.

Selected candidates will be admitted to the chosen Doctorate Program on the basis of their standings in
the ranking list until all the positions available, with and without grants, have been filled.

Should any reserved position, with and without grants, remain vacant, it could be used to increase the
number of the not-reserved ones (and vice versa).

If a candidate - eligible for the enrolment in a Doctorate Program – does not submit her/his acceptance
within 10 days from the date of the publication of the final results of the competition or, in case of
renouncement within 60 days from the beginning of the doctorate courses, the position will be assigned
to the candidate who follows her/him in the ranking list.

ENROLMENT PROCEDURE

Competition deeds are approved by the Rector who decrees the results of the selection within 30 days
from the date of the oral examinations. These lists will be published in the Official Register of the
Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II – University Website
http://www.unina.it/didattica/post-laurea/dottorati-di-ricerca/bandi-di-ammissione.

Such a publication represents an official notification of the results to the admitted candidates.

Within and not later than 10 days following the date of publication of the Rector Decree of approval, the
admitted candidates must deliver to the

“Ufficio Dottorati, Assegni e Borse di Studio”

Università degli Studi di Napoli “Federico II”
Palazzo degli Uffici
Via Giulio Cesare Cortese, 29 – 1st floor (Napoli)
on Monday – Wednesday – Friday, hrs 9.00 – 12.00 a.m.
on Tuesday – Thursday, hrs. 9 – 12.00 a.m; and 14.30 – 16.30 p.m.

the enrolment form, duly filled in: the form is available on the University Website:
http://www.unina.it/didattica/post-laurea/dottorati-di-ricerca/bandi-di-ammissione;

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That form will include the following documents:

a) a substitute self-certificate confirming the awarding of a master degree, and its final grade;
b) a substitute self-certificate where the admitted candidate declares she/he is not (and that even
in the past she/he has not been) a recipient of other PhD scholarships; the enrolling PhD
students must also declare they are not attending any other academic course: should this not
correspond to their position, candidates must undersign a declaration confirming the suspension
of this attendance
c) a declaration where the candidate confirms she/he is informed on the prohibition to attend – all
over the duration of the PhD course – any other academic course.

If their academic degree has not been already declared equivalent to the Italian one, admitted
candidates which are non-italian citizens and did graduate abroad, must also deliver to the PhD offices a
certificate of the master degree, which must be previously translated and legalized (with an attached
“dichiarazione di valore” / statement of value) by the Italian Embassy/Consulate with competencies on
the Country where the University which conferred that degree is located.

Further information are available at the MIUR (Italian Ministry for University and Research) website:
http://www.studiare-in-italia.it/studentistranieri/5.html

All the self declarations above mentioned could be reported, in a unique form, which can be
downloaded from the University of Naples website:
http://www.unina.it/didattica/post-laurea/dottorati-di-ricerca/bandi-di-ammissione.

Together with the enrolling form, a photocopy of an identity document (duly undersigned) and one
passport-size photography must be attached.

Enrolling PhD students not supported by grant must also enclose the receipt confirming the payment of
registration fees and contributions: amounts and modalities will be published on the same University
website. The deadline for the payment of these fees is set at the 15th day following the last useful day
for enrolment. Students not fulfilling such requirements will be no longer enrolled in the Doctorate
Program.

STUDENT GRANTS

The scholarships will be conferred by following the order in the final ranking, until full coverage of the
available positions.

For the sole purpose of the assignment of scholarships, in case of parity in marks between two or more
candidates, precedence will be given to the candidate with a lower income (the economical status of the
candidates will be evaluated with the same procedures adopted for the enrolment fees of the students.)

Scholarships have a yearly duration: they will be renewed on the condition that the PhD student has
completed the program scheduled for the previous year, and that he has been admitted to the following
one.

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The annual scholarship amounts to 15.343,28 Euros, including social welfare charges. The grant covers
the entire time duration of the doctorate program.

The instalments will be credited monthly, by postponed payments. PhD students with a personal income
exceeding 15.343,28 Euros (counted out the scholarship itself) can not be the recipients of the grant.

The amount of the scholarship is increased, to a maximum extent of 50%, for periods the PhD student
spends abroad, for no more than 18 months. This increase will be not supplied for periods the PhD
student will spend in her/his own Country, or in the Country in which she/he has the residence.

Scholarships already credited to PhD students exceeding the aforesaid yearly income must be given back
to the University. The same if the PhD student does not fulfil the requirement stated below (see section
on “Rights and Obligations of Doctorate Students”).

Whoever has already received a student grant for a Research Doctorate Program, even for one half of
the total duration of the PhD course, can not apply for a new grant a second time.

The grants can not be added up to other scholarships, except those ones from national or foreign
institutions, to integrate training or research activities abroad.

Scholarships will be credited according to the actual periods of attendance to study and research
activities.

Starting from the second year of the PhD course, in addition to the scholarship (and limited to the
availability of resources in the financial budget of the university) an extra- budget will be assigned to the
PhD student, to support her/his research activities in Italy and abroad: this budget will be dependent on
the typology of the PhD program, and anyhow it will be no less than the 10% of the PhD scholarship
amount.

In the act of enrolling, who is eligible for a grant must present a declaration about presumed gross
personal income and absence of the above mentioned incompatibilities. Such a declaration must be
reaffirmed at the beginning of each subsequent academic year of attendance of the Research Doctorate
Program. Moreover, students supported with grants must provide themselves with a “Gestione
separata” position, to be registered at INPS (the Italian National Social Security Institute).
To comply with the enrolment at INPS, refer to the website http://www.inps.it

FEES AND CONTRIBUTIONS

Students enrolled at Research Doctorate Programs are required to pay, for each year of course, the
contribution (study duty) to be assigned to the Regione Campania.

RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF DOCTORATE STUDENTS

Attending a PhD course implies an exclusive and full time engagement. Doctorate students are obliged to
attend and undertake all the scheduled activities, to present all the oral and written reports required,
and carry out whatsoever it is established by the Academic Board of the Research Doctorate Program.

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At the end of each academic year the Academic Board, on the basis of a detailed report of the activities
and research carried out by each doctorate student, will deliberate upon admission to the next year, or
will propose to the Rector her/his exclusion from the Research Doctorate Program.

At the end of the Doctorate program, the PhD students must submit to the Academic Board a report
concerning all the activities they attended to, and their publications, if any.

Contemporary attendance at the Research Doctorate Program and at any other university course is
forbidden.

Students enrolled in a Research Doctorate Program may request suspension from attending the courses
for maternity, serious illness, civil service (for this last occurrence, no more than 1 year). The Academic
Board will take note of these suspensions.

Suspension with a duration more than 30 days obliges the PhD students to recover all the time
corresponding to the interruption of their academic activities; additionally, for PhD students granted
with scholarship, this suspension entails the cessation of the grant payment for the period involved.

The entire duration of the PhD course cannot be reduced due to these suspensions: thus, the
completion of the course will be deferred for a corresponding time.

PhD students are allowed to carry out her/his activities abroad, for a period no longer – as a whole -
than 18 months. In such a case, the authorization by the Academic Board will be needed, and the
previous consent by their supervisors. For periods no longer – as a whole – of 6 months, it will be
sufficient the authorization by the PhD coordinator, and the previous consent by the supervisor.

DEGREE OF RESEARCH DOCTOR AND PHD THESIS

The degree of “Research Doctor” (in its shorted Italian form “Dott. Ric.”, corresponding to “Ph.D.”) is
obtained by passing the final examination, i.e. defending a PhD thesis at the end of the Research
Doctorate Program. The Rector confers it in conformity with the university regulations.

The final dissertation can be written in English, or in a different language, with the previous approval of
the Academic Board.

By 30 days after the discussion of the PhD theses, the University will record them – as electronic files –
in the MIUR (Italian Ministry for University and Research) data-base.
The University of Naples Federico II uploads the full text of the PhD theses on its Open Archive, with a
free internet access. The University also provides to transfer the PhD theses to the National Libraries of
Rome and Florence.
On duly justified request by the PhD student, the Academic Board could allow to inhibit parts of the PhD
thesis to the open access, so that data covered by industrial secret can not be consulted – for a certain
period - by third parties.

ACCESS, TREATMENT OF PERSONAL DATA AND RESPONSIBLE OF THE PROCEDURE

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All the candidates are allowed to require an access to the procedures related to the competitive
examinations, within the frame of rules and criteria stated in the University Regulation about the right
to be informed on its administrative acts.

The University will take care to respect the privacy on the personal data of the candidates.

The Chief of the Office for Doctorate programs, Fellowships and Scholarships at the University of Naples
Federico II is the responsible about any fulfilment of the here announced competitive examinations,
apart those acts which are competence of the Boards of Examiners.

ADVERTISING OF THE CALL

This call is published in an electronic format on the website of the University of Naples Federico II, on
the European website “Euraxess”, on the MIUR (Italian Ministry for University and research) website.

All the documents related to this call will be exclusively published on the Official register of the
University of Naples (www.unina.it).

The electronic publication must be considered as an official notice to all the interested candidates: no
personal communication will be sent to them.

All the acts and documents here above cited will be also posted up in the Office for Doctorate
programs, Fellowships and Scholarships at the University of Naples “Federico II”, in Via G. Cesare, 29 –
Napoli.

REFERENCE
As for what not specified in the present summary, one must refer to the announcement published in the
University Website http://www.unina.it/didattica/post-laurea/dottorati-di-ricerca/bandi-di-ammissione
(see also the Italian D.M. nr. 45/2013).

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