POLITECNICO DI TORINO LEVEL III TEACHING UNIT RESEARCH DOCTORAL PROGRAM REGULATIONS Issued with Rector s Decree no. 253 of 20 July 2006 in effect since 1 August 2006
Art. 1 (Scope) These regulations govern the activation and workings of the Research Doctoral Programs of the Politecnico di Torino in accordance with the provisions set forth in art. 4 of Law no. 210 of July 1998 and the relative Ministerial Regulations. Art. 2 (Goal and length of the of the Doctoral Program) The goal of Doctoral Programs is to train high qualification researchers by providing them with the skills they need to engage in research activities, in both private and public organisations. The Research Doctoral Program lasts three years. Art. 3 (Reference areas of the Research Doctoral Programs) The Research Doctorate Programs are grouped in a limited number of Areas encompassing a broad cultural spectrum. The definition of the Areas and the Doctoral Programs, and the number thereof, are resolved upon by the Council of the Doctoral School. Art. 4 (Activation and renewal of the Doctoral Programs) 1. The Research Doctorate Programs are proposed by a large enough number of Academic Members, with a resolution approved by all the boards of the departments concerned, that ensure the availability of their structures. The proposals must document compliance with the requirements specified in art. 5 below. The courses are activated through a procedure that envisages: the compilation of the information form; an evaluation by the School Council, which also relies on the opinion of external referees; an assessment by the Internal Evaluation Committee of the University (art. 3 clause 2 of Ministerial Degree 224/99) The Doctoral Programs are renewed annually subject to the favourable outcome of the University s internal evaluation procedures. In the event of substantial changes being made to a doctoral program, a renewal process is required. 2. Doctoral courses may be organised within the framework of consortia with Italian or foreign Universities, possibly in connection with internationalisation projects, provided that this does not undermine the high cultural and scientific qualifications associated with the proposed doctoral program, or the guarantee of reciprocity in the exchange of resources, and the willingness on the part of the other consortium member universities to follow the evaluation procedures requested by the School. 3. In the case of national consortial doctoral programs, establishment and renewal agreements must specify the criteria for the allocation of positions and scholarships to the various sites and the allocation of the relative financial charges. For consortial doctoral programs having their administrative office at the Politecnico di Torino it is also necessary to ensure that, in addition to the 2
availability of human, structural and financial resources, the universities concerned conform to the provisions set forth by this University regarding the doctoral programs. Similarly, for consortial doctoral programs having their administrative office at an external organisation, it is necessary to ensure, for the sake of reciprocity, that this University conforms to the provisions on the doctoral program established by the external administrative office and to agree on the modalities for the appointment of the Commissions in charge of the admission process and the final examination, as well as the possibility of a joint Research Doctor degree being awarded. 4. The resolution regarding the establishment or the renewal of a doctoral program is passed by the Council of the Doctoral School, having heard the opinion of the Academic Senate (see art. 6 below), which also defines the area of reference for newly established doctoral programs. 5. The number of students enrolled in each doctoral program cannot be lower than 3. Art. 5 (Eligibility requirements) The doctoral programs are proposed on the basis of the following eligibility requirements: 1. The doctoral programs must be sufficiently broad from the standpoint of the scientific themes identified, so as to prevent an excessive degree of fragmentation and specialisation of the issues addressed; 2. Each doctoral program must provide access to a large number of faculty members and researchers belonging to the scientific area of reference in order to ensure the availability of appropriate cultural resources for the identification of the lines of development of the program and its conformity to the highest quality standards. It must also have an Academic Board, staffed by tenures teachers and researchers working in the scientific areas of reference, ten of whom as a minimum are not serving on Boards of other doctoral programs. The Board has the task of organising, managing, coordinating and structuring the doctoral program. In the case of a consortial doctoral program, at least five members of the Academic Board must be from the Politecnico di Torino; 3. The Doctoral Program shall appoint a Coordinator, who chairs the Academic Board, and shall have a sufficient number of tutors in proportion to the number of doctoral students, with a documented production of scientific results obtained during the last five years in the reference area of the course. 4. The Doctoral Programs must have sufficient financial resources and specific operational and scientific structures for the course and the study and research activities of the students; 5. The Doctoral Programs must have a documented capacity to collaborate with public and private, Italian or foreign organisations, so as to enable the doctoral students to profit from experiences in a professional context; 6. The curricula of the Doctoral programs must focus on the exercise of high qualification research activities at universities, public bodies or private organisations. 7. The eligibility requirements specified above constitute an integral part of the information form. This form is published on the website of the doctoral program and, if any variations are made, it is updated on a timely basis by the Coordinator in charge. Art. 6 (Evaluation) For renewed and newly established doctoral programs, the Internal Evaluation Committee of the University evaluates the documentation submitted by the Doctoral School and the relative 3
information forms, and draws up a technical report which is then submitted to the scrutiny of the Academic Senate for approval. Art. 7 (Governing bodies of the Doctoral Areas) 1. The Area Coordinator and the Area Council are the governing bodies of each Doctoral Area. 2. The Area Coordinator is elected by the Area Council from among the Doctoral Program Coordinators working in the Area. The Coordinator remains in office for four years and may be confirmed for subsequent terms. The Area Coordinator coordinates and organises the activities of the Area Council. 3. The Area Council is manned by all the Coordinators who belong to the Area concerned, Also serving on the Area Council is the Director of the School, who is responsible for harmonising the policies and guide lines expressed by the various Areas. The tasks of the Council include: - appointing the Area Coordinator; - coordinating and programming jointly the courses, and the educational cultural activities of common interest for the Doctoral Programs in the Area; - redistributing the doctoral program scholarships not assigned within the Areas; Art. 8 (Governing bodies of the Research Doctoral Programs) 1. Pursuant to the applicable regulations, the Coordinator and the Academic Board are the governing bodies of each Doctoral Program. 2. The Coordinator is a full time tenured professor of the University, who, on account of his/her skills and experience, is elected within the Academic Board to manage the activities of the Research Doctoral Program. He/she remains in office for four years and may be confirmed for subsequent terms. The Coordinator must: - coordinate and organise the academic and administrative activities of the doctoral program; - summon and chair the Academic Board; - inform the Director of the Doctoral School of the resolutions passed by the Academic Board; - authorise the doctoral students to move to an external site as a function of their program of activities; - authorise the doctoral students to go abroad for training periods of up to six months in connection with their program of activities - appoint a Deputy Coordinator who can replace him/her in the event of an impediment or disease; - perform the functions entrusted to him/her by the Academic Board; - ensure the constant update of the information form published on the website. 3. The Academic Board is staffed by no fewer than ten members between tenured university teachers and researchers, from the Politecnico di Torino or from other universities, not serving on other Academic Boards of the Politecnico and working in the scientific-disciplinary areas to which the Doctoral Program refers. The individual teachers remain in office for four years and can be confirmed for subsequent terms. Also serving on the Board is a representative of the doctoral 4
students, who remains in office until the end of his/her third year in the School. At the discretion of the Academic Board, in the case of proven scientific interest, representatives from public bodies where research activities are carried out and organisations subsidising the doctoral scholarships may be co-opted into the Board, without voting rights and limited to the meetings of interest to them. The Academic Board is entrusted with the following tasks for proposal and control of the Doctoral Program s programmed activities: - appoint one or more tutors to follow the research activities of the individual doctoral students; - approve the academic and research curriculum of the individual doctoral students; - define and organise level III courses for each specific doctoral program; - define the credit value of the activities carried out by the doctoral students; - draw up reports on the progress of the research activities of the doctoral students; - authorise the doctoral students to go abroad for training periods of over six consecutive months; - determine whether or not degrees obtained abroad are valid for the sole purpose of admission to the Doctoral Program selected by a candidate; - at the end of every year, evaluate the report on the activities performed by the doctoral students for purposes of their admission to the following year; - propose the granting of a one-year extension for doctoral students who have to complete their dissertation; - in special cases, upon a request by the tutor, evaluate the work being carried out by a doctoral student and, if deemed appropriate, propose that he/she be excluded from the program even before the end of the year; - promote links with other Italian and foreign universities, or public and private organisations, geared to the improvement of research activities; - propose agreements and conventions with foreign universities and organisations engaging in specific and qualified research activities, for the enhancement of student mobility; - approve joint tutorship conventions with other Italian and foreign universities; - submit its assessment on the activities carried out by each doctoral student to the commission in charge of the final examination for the granting of the Research Doctor degree; - define the tests of the examination for admission to the doctoral program; - propose the members of the admission and final examination commissions; - approve the information form and any changes thereto. Art. 9 (Co-tutorship agreements) A doctoral student of the Politecnico di Torino who carries out some of his/her academic and research activities at another University on the basis of co-tutorship agreements, must ensure his/her presence at the Politecnico for at least 18 months. The recipients of doctoral program scholarships from the Politecnico who engage in training activities abroad may be granted a 50% increase in the amount of the scholarship. A doctoral student from another university who, on the basis of a co-tutorship agreement, enrols in the Politecnico di Torino to obtain a research doctor degree from the Politecnico must ensure his/her presence at the Politecnico for at least 12 months in the course of the three-year period. Art. 10 (Collaboration with companies) Upon a proposal by the Academic Board of the Doctoral Program concerned, the Doctoral School may propose conventions-agreements or collaboration projects for the funding of one or more 5
doctoral scholarships with companies, small and medium businesses, handicraft firms and other organisations external to the University. Art. 11 (Eligibility requirements) Access to the Research Doctoral Program is open, without any age or nationality restrictions, to persons in possession of a second level university degree, or an equivalent academic title obtained abroad recognised on a prior basis by the Academic Board of the doctoral program concerned, also within the framework of inter-university cooperation and mobility agreements. Persons who have previously enrolled in a Research Doctoral Program may take the examinations for admission to the same Doctoral Program but, upon being admitted, cannot be awarded a scholarship; persons who leave the program within a month of registration are not rated as enrolled. Persons enrolled in a Doctoral Program without scholarship may be admitted to a different Doctoral Program, if they qualify in the relative competition procedure, provided that they renounce their enrolment in the earlier program and start the new program from the first year. Persons already enrolled in a Doctoral program with a scholarship may be admitted to a different Doctoral Program, if they qualify in the relative competition procedure, provided that they renounce their enrolment in the earlier program and start the new program from the first year, and they cannot be awarded a scholarship. Persons already in possession of a Research Doctor Degree, upon passing the relative selection process, may be admitted to a new doctoral program without scholarship. Art. 12 (Number of positions in the doctoral programs) 1. Based on the proposals received from the individual programs, the availability of scholarships, and the requirements set forth in art. 7, clause 1 of Ministerial Decree DM 224/99, the Doctoral School determines the number of students that may be admitted. 2. The Doctoral School assigns the scholarships according to the criteria defined by the School Council. 3. The School Council may consider the opportunity of reserving a number of positions for foreign nationals in the call for applications. Art. 13 (Call for applications) 1. The call for applications for admission to the Research Doctor degree programs is issued by the Rector of the Politecnico di Torino and is communicated to the public by posting it in the Notice Board of the University. The call for applications is published in the Official Gazette of the Italian Republic and on the website of the Doctoral School. 2. The call for applications specifies: 6
a) The research doctoral programs activated in each area, and, for programs within the framework of a consortium agreement, the universities concerned; b) The overall number of positions available in each program; c) The scholarship amount; d) The number of scholarships available for each program; e) The fees to be paid by the doctoral students and exemption rules; f) The terms and modalities for submitting the applications; g) The general and specific eligibility requirements; h) The subjects addressed in the examinations to be taken for admission to each doctoral program; i) Admission test execution modalities; j) The criteria for the appointment of the members of the evaluation commissions; k) The modalities of communication to the applicants of the schedule and location of the admission exams; l) The criteria for the formulation and approval of the ranking list; m) The modalities of enrolment in the doctoral program; n) Scholarship awarding modalities; o) Research doctor degree obtainment modalities. 3. In the case of doctoral programs established on the basis of international inter-university cooperation agreements, admission modalities and the composition of the admission exam commission are defined as set forth in the relative agreements. Art. 14 (Admission modalities) 1. Admission to doctoral programs generally takes place on the basis of qualifications and examinations, save for the cases envisaged in clause 5 of this document. The admission exam consists of an evaluation of the academic and scientific curriculum of the applicant and two exams, one written and one oral, aimed to ensure an appropriate assessment of applicants. 2. In compliance with what provided for by each Academic Board, the oral exam shall be intended to verify the knowledge of one or more foreign languages, according to the guidelines laid down in the call for admission. 3. Each Academic Board defines the contents of the written examination, that must focus on the academic fields of study and the research themes of the doctoral program in question and is aimed to assess the applicant s aptitude for research work. 4. The Selection Committee can allocate a maximum of 60 points for each exam. Only those who scored not less than 42/60 in the written exam are admitted to oral exam. The minimum score required to pass oral exam is 42/60. 5. Concerning selection procedures for those positions regardless of scholarship allocation - reserved to foreign citizens, the School Board may decide that Selection Committees can make a selection also on the sole basis of the titles presented to the purpose of evaluation. Those titles shall comprise academic curriculum of the applicant and any other document which may be useful to verify his/her eligibility to enroll in a doctoral program. 6. Applicants who were awarded an academic title from a foreign institution, which has not yet been declared equivalent to an Italian second-level academic title, have to request to recognize the 7
equivalence of the concerned foreign title. The declaration of equivalence will be considered valid to the sole purpose of the selection procedure and enrolment in the doctoral program indicated in the application. To the request for declaration of equivalence the applicant shall attach any document which may be useful to Academic Board in the process of equivalence assessment and issuance of the said declaration. If those documents were written in a language other than Italian, French, Portuguese, Spanish, or German, they shall be submitted accompanied with a certified translation in one of the accepted languages, made by the University which issued the documents or the competent Italian diplomatic office, in compliance with the existing regulations. Art. 15 (Applicant Evaluating Commissions) Upon a proposal by the Doctoral School, the Rector appoints by decree the members of the Selection Committe, one per doctoral program, in charge of the assessment of applicants. Selection Committee comprises three members chosen among tenured professors and researchers, competent in the scientific areas of interest. Committee members are selected by the Doctoral School by lot from a range of names proposed by the various Academic Boards. To fix members of Selection Committee it is possible to add no more than two professionals, well known for their expertise and not necessarily Italian, working in public or private, academic or research external institutions. For the doctoral programs providing for activities to be carried out within the framework of international projects, the commission may be flanked by a foreign member, at the expenses of the Politecnico (see art. 18 below). In the case of consortial doctoral programs, at least one member of the Selection Committee must be from the Politecnico di Torino. Commission members are selected by the Council by lot from a range of names proposed by the various Academic Boards. Art. 16 (Ranking list) Each Selection Committee draws up the ranking list on the basis of the assessment of applicants, who will be admitted in the doctoral program of interest in compliance with their position in the said ranking, until all available positions are covered. In the event of any waiver of the right to enroll, other applicants may take over, in compliance with the order established in the ranking list. In the event an applicant was awarded a position in more than one ranking list, the concerned candidate is entitled to exercise the right to enroll only in one doctoral program. Art. 17 (Obtainment of the Research Doctor Degree) 1. The Title of Research Doctor is obtained after the successful passing of final examination, which can be taken only once. The final thesis can be written in English or other languages, if authorized by the Academic Board. 2. To obtain the doctoral degree, the knowledge of English language is required. The knowledge of English language, which awards 5 credits to doctoral students, shall be proven by means of P.E.T. Cambridge certificate with score pass with merit, or presenting a title certifying an equal or higher level of English language knowledge. For native English speakers, credit acquisition depends on a prior verification made by the University Language Centre (CLA). 8
3. To be admitted to the final examination the doctoral students must be in possession of all the prerequisites specified in the Regulations and set forth in the call for applications. These prerequisites include: a) having acquired 180 credits, distributed as envisaged in the plan of study, including, as a binding requirement, 5 specific credits attesting a knowledge of the English language as per clause 2 ; b) a favourable evaluation of the dissertation by the Academic Board. If a candidate is not in possession of one or both the requirements set forth in clauses a) and b), the Academic Board decrees his/her exclusion from the doctoral program. On the basis of wellgrounded motivations, the Academic Board may grant, only once, a one-year extension without scholarship for the completion of the doctoral dissertation. In any event, the examination must be taken upon the conclusion of the activities of study and research, including, if applicable, the oneyear extension. If the program is not reactivated, the examination may be taken at a culturally similar doctoral program. c) The degree is granted by the Rector of the Politecnico di Torino, based on the prior delivery of 3 paper copies and 1 copy on a CD-ROM of the doctoral dissertation to the secretariat of the Department where the student has carried out his/her research work. The latter shall forward the aforementioned paper copies of the dissertation to the National Libraries of Rome and Florence and the library of the Department, and the copy on CD-ROM to the Library System of the University. 4. International inter-university cooperation agreements may envisage specific procedures for the obtainment of the degree. Art. 18 (Final examination Evaluating Commissions) 1. Upon a proposal by the School, the Rector appoints by decree the Evaluating Commissions in charge of the final assessment for the award of the degree. These Commission, which can be as many as the scientific sectors associated with each doctoral program, shall comprise three members, chosen among tenured professors and I-level researchers, competent in the concerned scientific sectors. At least two members shall belong to Italian or foreign academic institutions, not involved in the doctoral program. The Commission shall not comprise among its members tutors of candidates who are going to be assessed. It is furthermore provided that at least one member of the Evaluating Commission shall be internal to the University which established the doctoral program. To the fix members of Evaluating Commissions, it may be added no more than two professionals, belonging to national or international, public or private, academic or research institutions. The costs incurred for these additional members shall not be borne by the Administration of the Politecnico. The Commissions are appointed by the Academic Board. In the case of special cotutorship agreements or doctoral programs established within the framework of international agreements, the Commission is set up according to the modalities specified in the relative agreements. In the case of candidates whom the Academic Board deems eligible for the qualification of European Doctor, the Commission may include a foreign expert, at the expenses of the Politecnico. 9
2. The works of the aforementioned Commissions must be concluded within 90 days of issuing of the Rector s appointment decree. When said time period has expired, any Commission that has not completed its works is terminated and the Rector appoints a new Commission with the exclusion of the members who have been terminated. Art. 19 (Obligations and rights of the doctoral students) 1. The doctoral student is a University student enrolled in a III-level training program. He or she is entitled to enroll in a doctoral program lasting three years, by the end of which all the credits required for the completion of the program have to be acquired. The student s enrolment in a doctoral program shall not enroll in any other doctoral program, master or bachelor degree, nor in Italy neither abroad; if this was the case, he or she shall terminate the enrolment in any other program. 2. At the end of each year, the doctoral student is required to submit a detailed report on carried out training and research activities to the attention of Academic Board, which shall decide on the admission of the student to subsequent years or final exam, based on the evaluation of the credits acquired, depending on whether he or she was enrolled in first, second or third year. A negative assessment of the candidate by Academic Board shall lead to the termination of his/her doctoral career and, if applicable, the refund of the installments of the scholarship received for that year. A doctoral student holding a scholarship that is terminated before the end of the year upon a proposal by the Academic Board shall return to the University the instalments received in the course of the year. Doctoral students in third year are admitted to take the final examination, only if all the credits required by their program have been acquired. If this condition was not fulfilled, the Academic Board may allow them to extend their doctorate to fourth year, though said extension would not be applicable to doctoral scholarship. 3. The doctoral student is allowed to carry out training and research activities in other Italian or foreign Universities, Research Institutes, centers and laboratories, for a limited period of time. For periods of international mobility, it is allowed to spend abroad a maximum of 18 months in three years and the mobility shall be authorized with written consent of the Coordinator of the doctoral program. The said limit is not applicable when apply agreements with foreign Universities or with public institutes carrying out important research activities, also by means of bodies reporting to it. 4. The doctoral student who are entitled to receive a scholarship are exempted from payment of tuition fees. Scholarship bursaries may renounce to receive the said scholarship in any moment, without losing the right to enroll or continue the doctorate, though they will be required to pay tuition fees for subsequent years; while, in case the renouncement took place in first year, they shall refund all the installments of the scholarship received. 5. Long-term suspension of doctoral activities is allowed, depending on the documentation provided by the student, only in case of serious illness and maternity leave. If the suspension lasted more than 4 months, the doctoral student is entitled to suspend his/her doctoral activity and the related scholarship, if allocated, but he or she shall be granted a one-year extension. 6. The doctoral student who receives a scholarship and who decides to drop out of the doctorate, for any personal or job-related reason, during first year, shall terminate his/her doctoral career and refund all the installments of the scholarship received until that moment. The scholarship beneficiary who drops out of the doctorate, for any personal or job-related reasons, after first year, 10
shall terminate his/her doctoral career and pay tuition fees required for enrolment in that year or refund the installments of the scholarship received for that year. 7. The doctoral student may have professional or work commitment, only if those allow them to ensure their attendance and participation to doctoral activities, to the extent required by the doctoral program and only if those commitments do not affect the quality of their activity. The Academic Board shall assess the fulfillments of these requirements and, if not fulfilled, it shall propose the termination of the student s doctoral career, with the consequent loss of the right to the scholarship for that year, if allocated. 8. Those who undertake professional or working activities as a full-time or part-time employee for no more than three months can be admitted to enroll in a doctoral program. The same conditions apply for those who undertake regular professional activities as self-employed. 9. Foreign citizens are required to attend an Italian language course or to provide a certificate of Italian language knowledge, issued by University Language Centre (CLA). Art. 20 (Classroom and research work collaboration activities) 1. Conditionally to the authorization by the Academic Board, the doctoral student can carry out integrative teaching and research activities, in respect of the limits established by Politecnico di Torino s Administrative Board. 2. Said integrative activities shall not affect in any way the students training and research activities. Art. 21 (Scholarships for doctoral students) 1. Scholarships are allocated on the basis of the order established by the official ranking lists, drawn up by Selection Committee, in compliance with what provided for in articles 14 and 16. In case of equal merit, it shall prevail the evaluation of economic situation, determined as established in Decree of President of Ministers Board of 30 April 1997, published on Official Journal n 166 of 9 June 1997. 2. The amount of the scholarships cannot be lower than the amount determined pursuant to art. 1, clause 1, letter a) of Law no. 315 of 3 August 1998 and subsequent amendments and additions thereto. 3. The length of the scholarship is equal to the entire length of the doctorate. The payment of the scholarship is made in several deferred monthly installments during the year. In case one or more installments were not paid, due to administrative delays, those will be cumulated with subsequent installments. 4. The amount of the scholarship increases of not less than 50% of its overall amount, in case of period spend abroad for research and training activities. 11
5. The scholarships granted by the Doctoral School can be cumulated with other scholarships as long as the latter entail a work load that is compatible with the requirements of the doctoral program. Art. 22 (Transfers from other Universities) 1. Doctoral students who have attended a doctoral program at another university, in Italy or abroad, for at least one year, or have engaged in high level educational and research activities recognised by the School as equivalent, may request a preventive permission to enrol in the second year of a doctoral program at the Politecnico di Torino provided that the following requirements are met: a) among the doctoral programs established at the Doctoral school of the Politecnico di Torino there is a corresponding program belonging to the same scientific sector and having similar educational and research goals; b) the doctoral student submits documents specifying the courses successfully completed at the university of origin and such courses are rated by the Academic Board concerned as equivalent to those requested by the doctoral program of the Politecnico for admission to the second year; c) the doctoral student passes an evaluation session with Academic Board concerned. 2. If the aforementioned prior permission has been granted, once he/she has submitted a document attesting the cessation of his/her relationship with the university of origin, the student can transfer to the Politecnico and enrol in the second year of the program, without however being able to profit from a scholarship. The relative position must be one of the positions programmed for the doctoral program he/she will be attending. 3. If the transfer takes place, the Academic Board concerned shall define the number of credits to be assigned to the student for the courses taken at his/her university of origin and shall assign him/her a tutor. 4. For each doctoral program of the School, the number of people enrolling by transfer per cycle cannot exceed 10% (rounded to the next higher whole number) of the total number of programmed positions. Art. 23 (Admission and tuition fees) The Managing Board of the Politecnico di Torino defines the regulations governing doctoral program admission and fees. Art. 24 (Academic year) The academic year of the research doctoral program begins on 1 January. Art. 25 (Coming into effect) These regulations come into effect on 1 August 2006. 12