Academic year 2025-2026
The recently established PhD program "Frontier Sciences in Sustainability, Diplomacy and International Cooperation" is aimed at those who wish to undertake a rigorous path of scientific research, exploring the interaction between the sciences.
The doctoral program, based in the Department of International Human and Social Sciences (SUSI), represents the ideal continuation of the educational pathway from previous first and second level cycles. It is divided into two curricula and is representative of the main research and teaching areas of the Department.
The integration of sustainability and diplomacy is the innovative feature of the program, reflecting the vision of the SUSI Department, which in its 2022-2024 strategic plan sets out the objective of "developing integrated and complex knowledge that combines aspects related to technical-scientific innovation and the fields of human and social sciences, with a view to connecting knowledge, with particular attention to the system of international relations, cooperation, sustainable development, and media ecosystems with communicative flows." In light of this perspective, the proposed program is highly representative of the diverse areas of research, teaching, and third mission that have animated the SUSI Department since its establishment in January 2021.
The PhD program "Frontier Sciences in Sustainability, Diplomacy and International Cooperation" offers a transdisciplinary educational and research pathway on strategic issues for today's society: lines of in-depth study cover research paths ranging among the three dimensions of sustainability (economic, social, environmental), in line with the objectives of the 2030 Agenda and with particular attention to diplomacy and international cooperation, as well as to conditions of vulnerability.
The program promotes a methodology aimed at addressing complexity through the interaction of multiple perspectives to create a transdisciplinary research environment. The main objective is to promote research and the development of in-depth knowledge, expertise, and skills capable of examining, tackling, and managing situations characterized by a multiplicity of factors, from an international and sustainable perspective, adhering to the principles of open science.
The program is consistent with many of the objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda, with particular emphasis on:
The general educational objectives of the course are:
- to promote and strengthen the main research streams of the Department of International Human and Social Sciences and the University
- to encourage the sharing of scientific experiences regarding theoretical models and methodologies from different disciplinary and professional backgrounds
- to train highly qualified researchers in each of the two curricula and enable them to use the most up-to-date tools for scientific research and to work effectively in both national and international contexts
At the end of the doctoral course, students should be able to:
- be familiar with the main genres of writing and communication related to research and understand the theoretical approaches and methodologies underpinning the disciplines of the two curricula
- use analytical and empirical research tools typical of the relevant disciplines to address innovative questions from the professional world and become integrated in international research networks
- apply knowledge and understanding, especially in relation to the tools needed to submit articles to scientific journals (especially open access and top-tier journals), propose research projects to scientific committees—including for securing funding and continuing postdoctoral research—and present research results in public
The specific objectives of the “Liberal arts and sciences in Sustainability” curriculum are to train scholars and professionals, both in the public and private sectors, capable of operating in contexts requiring a necessary complementarity of approaches and viewpoints, considering the increasing fluidity among traditional disciplinary boundaries.
The specific objectives of the “Diplomacy and International Cooperation” curriculum are to train professionals able to operate in complex international contexts, where the traditional political dimension meets new frontiers of technology and innovation. Another objective is to train scholars capable of addressing issues in international relations in innovative ways.
The PhD will facilitate access to academic careers in the specific fields of the two tracks, also thanks to participation in research projects with both national and international universities, including those active within the University.
This is a path particularly well suited for scholars interested in future non-academic career paths, including management and representative roles in national, European, and international institutions, positions related to the creation of environmental, economic, and social development policies, as well as roles in the implementation of environmental, cooperation, and sustainable development projects.
It also aims to provide specific skills that can be leveraged in various sectors of public administration, business, the non-profit sector, and in a range of professional activities, such as:
- work in public and private organizations in the fields of environmental protection, intercultural dialogue, human rights advocacy, and peacekeeping
- professional activities related to national and international public institutions, with reference to diplomatic careers and in development cooperation institutions, as well as ministries/institutions/agencies operating on the international stage
- companies with an international focus operating outside Europe
- professional activities connected to environmental consulting and reporting, drafting sustainability reports, designing and disseminating best practices related to ecological transition
Curricula
The curriculum is established within the framework of the “Fenice - Internationalization and promotion of the territory, educational programs on tourism, food and wine, sustainability, and digital cultures” Project, funded under the call from the Agency for Territorial Cohesion for the selection of projects to be financed in the regions of Lazio, Abruzzo, Umbria, and Marche affected by the seismic events of 2016.
The activities will take place at the University’s educational headquarters in Norcia.
The innovative approach, which seeks to establish synergy and dialogue between the humanities and social sciences and the hard sciences, is in line with the most advanced training programs of prestigious Italian and foreign universities.
Within the curriculum, two main training and research lines are envisaged, in constant dialogue with one another:
- the field of environmental sustainability, from a technical and engineering perspective
- the field of social and economic sustainability and its narration and communication, from the viewpoint of international social sciences
The curriculum’s preferred research areas are:
- the study of migration phenomena
- the study of environmental pollution and climate change
- the study of energy and digital transition and the green and circular economy
- the study of emergency management, reconstruction, regeneration, and revitalization of vulnerable territories
This range of topics will be addressed with a gender-based, data-driven, and trans-disciplinary perspective, explored from historical, sociological, economic, legal, environmental, and engineering viewpoints.
A research topic in common with the other curriculum is represented by the geopolitics of energy and water resources and international cooperation for the management of crises and climate change.
The curriculum is the result of over a decade of doctoral research experience and is connected to the Master’s program in International Relations and Development Cooperation (RICS) offered at the university.
The program combines research on international actors and policies, from a gender-based and data-driven perspective and with a transdisciplinary approach, focusing on emerging actors and on the role that science and technology play in redefining the international political landscape.
The curriculum’s main research areas are:
- the international role of states, both within Europe and in non-European countries
- issues in international politics and human security
- analysis of global interdependence phenomena, with particular attention to Africa and Latin America and, more generally, to South-South dynamics
- an in-depth study of relations between countries, with particular focus on interactions between political regimes with different social structures and on intercultural dialogue
- humanitarian crises; the technological dimension of international relations
A common research theme with the other curriculum is the geopolitics of energy and water resources, and international cooperation for crisis management and climate change.
The curriculum strongly encourages doctoral students to join international networks and benefits from an advisory board already active for the XVIII and XXXIX cohorts of the current curriculum in Diplomacy and Development Cooperation within the PhD in Linguistic, Philological-Literary and Political-Social Sciences. The curriculum will also be further enriched through interaction with the scientific committee and teaching team of the School in Science&Diplomacy, established as part of the Fenice project, as well as through the structured partnership between the University for Foreigners and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.