Educational Program

Educational activities undertaken by PhD candidates in Chemical and Pharmaceuticals Sciences in the three-year period are summarized in the following table.

Activity	Year I (credits)	Year II (credits)	Year III (credits)	Total (credits)
Mandatory PhD courses	12	12	–	24
Seminars	3	3	2	8
Other educational activities (other courses, Conferences, Schools, etc.)	3	3	3	9
Experimental Research	42	42	43	127
Dissertation	–	–	12	12
TOTAL	60	60	60	180

The educational-training program  is characterized by three types of activities: (i) mandatory PhD courses, (ii) seminars, and (iii) other educational and training activities, such as other university courses, attendance of doctoral schools or national and international conferences.

The hour equivalence of university credits (“CFU” in Italian) for mandatory courses and seminars is 1 credit = 4 hours of lectures, according to the rules of the University of Pavia.

Students have the possibility to freely choose the courses to include in their study plan, even outside the courses offered by the Doctoral School, within third level teaching offered by the University. The study plan proposed by the doctoral student must be approved by the student’s tutor before passing to the Teaching Committee (Collegio Docenti). At the end of each year they are required to fulfill combined 24 credits.

Every academic year the Teaching Committee prepares a list of school-specific educational and training activities, which is published online on the PhD program website and constantly updated.
As far as seminars are concerned, seminar programs are usually announced through posters, emails and updates on the PhD program website.

The most significant part of the total number of credits required is represented by experimental research activity and preparation of the doctoral dissertation (1 credit = 15 hours of work).
In the course of three years, each PhD candidate carries out, full time, his/her research on an original and scientifically relevant subject, under the guidance of the Advisor. Part of the research may be carried out also at other Universities or Research Centers, in Italy or abroad.

At the beginning of the program the candidate proposes, in writing, his/her research topic (within the subject areas pursued in the two Departments) and the corresponding experimental plan, to be approved by the Teaching Committee. At the beginning of year II and III, the candidate presents also an educational plan, including both a summary of the previous year and a proposal for the incoming one, subject to approval by the Teaching Committee.