The PhD programme in Statistics has an expected length of 3 years. About 8 students enter the programme every year. Admission is by competition which is open to people of all ages and citizienship who already have a Diploma di Laurea (vecchio ordinamento) or Laurea Specialistica/Magistrale (nuovo ordinamento), issued in Italy, or an academic qualification of equivalent level issued by a foreign university and recognized by the academic authorities, or by interuniversity agreement of cooperation and mobility. Competitions are held anually, with details being published by September of each year. Courses start the following January.

Applications are to be made within 30 days of the publication of the competition announcement. The competition is based on qualifications, written and oral examinations (see the section on the admission exam in this page).

Most available positions are supported by scholarships from the University of Padua or from other institutions. The annual scholarship amounts to around 10,000 euros. For periods of study abroad (up to 18 months) the scholarship value is increased by 50%. Special additional grants for non-Italian students (awarded on the basis of qualifications only and requiring no entry examination) will be awarded by the CARIPARO Foundation. The grants include all University and Department fees, full board at the University accommodation and provide an additional personal scholarship of 10.561,54 € per year for a total of 3 years. Here is a preliminary call for courses starting on January 2008. If you are interested, please submit your cv to the contacts indicated. Follow instructions here for application (deadline <font color=”red”>September 7, 2007</font>).

The first year is devoted to courses, both core courses on Functional Analysis, Probability Theory, Statistical Theory and Statistical Modelling as well as short, more specialised, courses on topics such as: Time Series, Survival Analysis, Nonparametric Statistics, Survey Methodology, etcetera. Lectures are given in English when there are students who do not speak Italian. Students can also follow some upper division courses (Laurea Specialistica) at the Faculty of Statistical Sciences or other Faculties at the University of Padova.

At the end of the first year, PhD candidates propose to the School Collegiate their own research programme to be carried over during the second and third year. They can either join local research groups or start an independent research. The School Collegiate assigns a supervisor to each PhD student. Original research results should be presented in the PhD thesis, to be discussed both in front of the School Collegiate and (subject to positive evaluation by the Collegiate) in front of a Committee composed by Italian and foreign experts on the thesis topic. Intermediate results at the end of the first year are to be presented as a department seminar. During the second and third year up to 18 months can be spent at an University or other highly qualified institution abroad. In this case the grant is 50% more, for the whole period spent abroad. The thesis can be written either in Italian or in English.

The School aims at selecting the best candidates applying from all over the country as well as from abroad. The admission exam for foreign students can be in English. For an idea of possible research subjects, see the section Past PhD students. Broad areas of research include:

Statistical methodology and its applications. Methodological aspects range from statistical models to inference and computational issues. Applications may concern a variety of fields such as technology, finance, biology, medicine, environmental studies, etcetera. Statistical methods and applications in Economics. In particular: time series analysis, forecasting, statistical methods for labour economics and evaluation of public policies. Social Statistics. In particular, survey methodology, models for individual ad aggregated data, segmentation techniques, multilevel models. Demography. In particular, population structure and dynamics, statistical analysis of demographic behaviours and policies.

As a general objective, the School aims at training specialists at an international level in the fields of data management and analysis. The programme leads to a wide range of career opportunities, both at the academic level and in other highly qualified research institutions. See the section Past PhD students for details on the current occupation of PhDs from The Department of Statistical Sciences starting from 1987.

Visit the official website and Research doctorates