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School of Social Sciences

School of Social Sciences - University of Trento

Doctoral programme in

Sociology and Social Research29°cycle - 2013/2014 entry

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An overview of the Programme

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Why the doctoral programme in Sociology and Social ResearchThe doctoral programme in Sociology and Social Research (SRS), sponsored by the Department of Sociology and Social Research was established in 1981 with the aim of providing state-of-the-art research training and advanced professional skills in sociology and social research. Besides providing solid foundations in the relevant disciplines, including a broad range of quantitative and qualitative methods, ever since its foundation the Programme has placed special emphasis on theoretically driven empirical sociology.In 2011 SRS joined the School of Social Sciences, a multi-programme doctoral school that also offers programmes in Economics and Management and in Global Dynamics and Local Development. In addition to sharing a common site, the School is a valuable asset in that it pursues ever-increasing coordination and exchanges across the three programmes, fostering interdisciplinary connections and offering students a wider range of teaching and research opportunities as well as a lively international and multi-cultural community.An evaluation of the PhD programme in Sociology and Social Research has been done in 2011, when the Programme was evaluated by Prof. Robert Erikson, SOFI, Sweden.

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From the evaluation report:“I regard the doctoral program in sociology and social research at Trento

University to be of very high quality, any university would be proud of having a school of this character. I particularly want to point at the procedure of admission, the high level of teaching theoretically driven empirical research and the support to students for gaining experience from first rate international scholars and from visiting international research centres. (…) Overall, I would judge the scientific impact of the Committee members to be clearly above what one would find in an average sociology department in Europe or North America and my impression is that the sociology department in Trento must be one of the very best in Italy.

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The three-year Programme at a glance1st year 2013-14October 2013 Arrival and Crash course in MathematicsNovember-January 1st term coursesFebruary-June 2nd term coursesMay-June

June September October 2014

Exams/Papers to be delivered (theoretical and Minor) Pre-discussion of the draft research project Retakes Presentation and discussion of the Major paper; Admission to 2nd year

2nd year 2014-15December Discussion of the Research Project;

Assignment of thesis and supervisorFebruary Seminar coursesOctober Admission to 3rd year3rd year 2015-16November April 2017

1st Graduation session 2nd Graduation session

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CoursesThe SRS programme consists of a set of common mandatory courses in the first year.

First term CourseCrash course in Mathematics and Statistics

Introduction to StatisticsIntroduction to Stata

The Research Process

Classical Sociological Thinkers Causal Models, Measurement and Scales

Measurement in Social Sciences with an Introduction to SEM

Agent Based Models - Netlogo American Social Theory on Race and Ethnic Relations Quantitative Narrative Analysis Sociology of Education Statistics I Structural equation models and issues of causality

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Second Term CourseAcademic Writing for the Social Sciences

Categorical Data Analysis Classical Research Essays Comparative Analysis and Longitudinal Data Contemporary Social Theory Contemporary Sociological Debates

Economic Sociology/Genesis and Development of Market

Introduction to Longitudinal Data Analysis Labour and Households Economics

Macro Sociology, Welfare Regimes, Comparative Political Economy and macro-micro-macro explanations

Main theoretical perspectives in contemporary sociology Panel Data Models Qualitative Research Methods Sociology of International Migrations Stratificazione sociale e disuguaglianze Welfare states and Life course inequality Labour market institutions

Specialization courses and elective seminars are offered in the second year.

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FacilitiesThe School provides doctoral students with:• a personal desk and internet connection in a room equipped with PCs

and personal productivity software• access to a certain number of licensed computer programmes for

special needs • mailboxes• telephone access for local calls • access to a photocopier and printer • access to micro/macro relevant databases

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Research with the SRS Programme

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InternationalizationThe SRS programme has been designed to offer students the best research environment and opportunities, which means first of all creating a stimulating international network.SRS faculty members take part since its foundation, of the Equalsoc network of excellence and of the European Consortium for Sociological Research (ECSR). Thus the SRS faculty has developed extensive networks of international relationships, which can help students organise visiting periods in foreign institutions or co-supervisions.In addition, SRS offers an intensive calendar of seminars and conferences held by distinguished speakers including international scholars such as Michael Spence, Nobel Laureate in Economics 2001; Hans Peter Blossfeld, E.U.I. Fiesole; Roberto Franzosi, Emory University; Ruud Luijkx, Tilburg University; Nicholas Harney, University of Western Australia; J. Barkley Rosser, James Madison University; etc.

“Cotutelle-de-these”: opportunities for earning double degreesSRS offers a limited number of scholarships for 2013/2014 entry to shortlisted applicants who would like to obtain a double doctoral degree.A co-tutelle programme allows a doctoral student to obtain a double doctoral degree within the framework of an agreement between the two participating institutions.

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Each “cotutelle-de-thèse” is carried out through the cooperative supervision of two professors, one from the University of Trento and one from the partner university. The student must fulfil the respective requirements for a doctorate at both universities.SRS offers “cotutelle-de- these” agreements with the following university partners:• Université Paris-Sorbonne• University of Tilburg• Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF)• University of St. Andrews - UK• University of Bamberg• University of Jena - Germany

Research Environment

Department of Sociology and Social Research, University of Trento The Department of Sociology and Social Research of Trento University is the first sociology department founded in Italy (in 1967) and it is among the leading institutes in Italian social science. The Department is a multidisciplinary entity, including sociologists, economists, political scientists and statisticians, comprising over 40 tenured academics, over 10 postdoctoral fellows and 30 to 40 post graduates. Exchanges with colleagues from the economic department are well established. It has consistently carried out cutting-edge research projects, often within larger international comparative studies and has successfully attracted both

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national and international funds. The Department is well connected with the international scientific community. It is associated with the European Consortium of Sociological Research (ECSR), the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) and the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). It has well established exchange and collaboration with other top level research departments. Further, members of the Department have been actively involved in research projects and collaboration with other university departments, both national and international, and participated recently in a EU funded network of excellence of direct relevance to the PhD Program: the EQUALSOC network (www.equalsoc.org). Trento University as a whole attaches particular importance to international cooperation, and European research funds providing excellence support for accomplishment of research projects. The dept. of sociology in a recent evaluation resulted first among sociology faculties in Italy (Censis 2012). The Department has a strong standing in empirical research and a traditional emphasis on research on social stratification. Current research areas cover the following topics: Social structure, inequalities and collective action; sociological theory; migration studies; social change; political research; communication and organizational learning; cultural processes, communication and socialization; socio-political studies. Research is supported by the constant development of data archives for the Social Sciences. The Department provides access to other most important secondary data sources.

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Further, the Department hosts the Italian Household Panel Survey (ILFI), a central source also for PhD projects, and the Italian part of the European Values Study (EVS) has been coordinated at Trento University. Beyond these facilities the Department established an excellent research infrastructure, providing technical, informatics and administrative support for research projects. Overall, it offers a stimulating research environment recently rejuvenated, providing a mix of senior and junior staff. The strong international integration, both through research networks but also the bilateral collaborations, the possibilities provided by the University to stipulate exchange with outstanding experts enriches this particularly.

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Some practical instructions

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Please, read carefully the call for applications available on the School of Social Sciences website www.unitn.it/en/drss 10 Scholarships available: • About 1.200 euro per month • 50% increase of the scholarship for research abroad• additional funding for research expensesSRS offers 10 full scholarships for three years, subject to satisfactory academic appraisal. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of merit, meaning that they will be offered to the top candidates of the final ranking.

Admission requirementsApplications are invited from candidates, regardless of gender, age, religion or nationality, who hold an Italian “laurea specialistica” (or “magistrale”) according to Ministerial Decree no. 509 of 03/11/1999 and subsequent amendments, or other university degree according to the previous regulations in force, or an equivalent degree qualification obtained abroad.Applications are also accepted from candidates who can certify that they qualify to obtain their degree by October 31, 2013. If “conditionally accepted”, the candidate must deliver full documentation of his/her degree no later than November 15, 2013.

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Documents to be submitted• photocopy of the applicant’s identity card or passport• degree diplomas• curriculum vitae in English• research proposal See detailed information on the Call for 2013/2014 entry.

English Language requirementsThe programme is conducted mainly in English and a very good working knowledge of that language, including a proven writing ability, is highly recommended.

Selection procedureAdmission to the School is on a competitive basis.The procedure consists of three stages. A first shortlist of candidates is first produced on the basis of the assessment of their curriculum, research proposal, and possible reference letters. Shortlisted candidates are required to sit a multiple-choice test and then invited to an interview in Trento. Non-Italian candidates may be interviewed by phone or videoconference.

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FeesThe PhD programme currently does not charge tuition. Admitted students however are required to pay an annual student fee of about euro 120.00.

Deadline for applying: July 3, 2013

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For further information please contact:School of Social Sciences via Verdi 26 38122 Trento IT ph. + 39 0461 282290-3756 fax: + 39 0461 282335 school.socialsciences@unitn.it

www.unitn.it/en/drss