Download Brochure - Sociology and Social Research

School of Social Sciences
School of Social Sciences - University of Trento
Doctoral programme in
Sociology
and Social Research
29°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 Research
The 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 glance
1st year 2013-14
October 2013
November-January
February-June
May-June
June
September
October 2014
2nd year 2014-15
December
February
October
3rd year 2015-16
November
April 2017
Arrival and Crash course in Mathematics
1st term courses
2nd term courses
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
Discussion of the Research Project;
Assignment of thesis and supervisor
Seminar courses
Admission to 3rd year
1st Graduation session
2nd Graduation session
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Courses
The SRS programme consists of a set of common mandatory courses in
the first year.
First term
Course
Crash course in Mathematics and Statistics
Introduction to Statistics
Introduction 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 Course
Academic 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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Facilities
The 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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Internationalization
The 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 degrees
SRS 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 expenses
SRS 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 requirements
Applications 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 requirements
The programme is conducted mainly in English and a very good working
knowledge of that language, including a proven writing ability, is highly
recommended.
Selection procedure
Admission 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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Fees
The 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
www.unitn.it/en/drss
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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
[email protected]