The PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences aims to train highly qualified young researchers in the experimental study of pharmaceutical-related disciplines, adopting an integrated vision of pharmaceutical sciences. This approach encompasses chemical, physicochemical, biochemical, cellular, and pharmacological methodologies. The program offers a high-level educational path that includes academic instruction, research, and a network of collaborations with research institutions and universities at both national and international levels. Doctoral students participate in seminars, theoretical and practical courses, schools, and workshops to acquire comprehensive skills, enabling them to plan, develop, and manage research projects independently.

A distinctive feature of the PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences is its strong multidisciplinary nature, which integrates diverse and complementary expertise, coherently combining different disciplines and methodologies, aligned with CUN areas 03 and 05.

The training takes place primarily in the research laboratories of the Department of Pharmacy, the proposing institution, and through numerous external collaborations in Italy and abroad with research centers and companies in the field. All laboratories are equipped with state-of-the-art instrumentation, allowing doctoral students to gain in-depth knowledge of the research conducted and develop skills in using next-generation technologies, an essential aspect of their professional integration.

The organization of the PhD program is designed to make doctoral students autonomous in conceiving, designing, implementing, and disseminating research or innovation projects. This is achieved through a training pathway that provides appropriate guidance and support from tutors, the Academic Board, and, where applicable, external tutors of national or international standing for industrial PhD programs. This ensures that the research carried out by doctoral students yields results attributable to them, both individually and in collaboration, and that such results are appropriately disseminated. Each doctoral student is required to publish, as an author, at least one scientific article in a peer-reviewed international journal during the three years of training.

Furthermore, the program promotes mobility by encouraging doctoral students to participate in national and international conferences, workshops, and schools, also as speakers. Mobility periods aligned with the research project are strongly encouraged, whether in academic or industrial institutions or public and private research entities, both in Italy and abroad. During the three years, a research stay of at least three months at a foreign research institution is mandatory. However, most doctoral students spend 6–8 months abroad conducting research.

For many years, the use of English has been mandatory for the preparation of the final dissertation (PhD thesis). Additionally, doctoral students are encouraged to deliver their end-of-year project presentations in English to prepare them for presenting their research findings at international conferences.

The Course Coordinator is prof. Alessandra Tosco.