Criminology

INFORMAL PRE-APPLICATION

It is possible to participate in an informal pre-application procedure at any moment of the year by sending an email to the Coordinator of the Ph.D. (Prof. Francesco Calderoni, francesco.calderoni@unicatt.it) and attaching an English CV. Afterwards, the candidate may be invited to submit a research proposal in English and to participate in a phone or Microsoft Teams interview to discuss the proposal. 

The informal pre-application procedure is available throughout the year, except during the period immediately before the publication of the official call for applications and until the deadline for applications expires. 

FORMAL APPLICATION

Undergraduate students who are due to graduate by 31 October 2026 are eligible to apply to the XLII Cycle. The official call for applications (in English and Italian) has been published on the Ph.D. office webpage. It contains detailed instructions to submit the application via the dedicated form. Visit the web page of the Doctoral Office.

The deadline for applications is 23 June 2026. The selection is usually completed by the end of September. 

RESEARCH PROPOSAL

Each candidate must submit a research proposal in English for their doctoral thesis. The proposal must be divided into the following sections:

• review of the state-of-the-art 
• research problem and questions 
• objectives and methodology 
• expected results and possible limitations 
• reference list 

Read the brochure for information on the admission criteria and for advice on writing an effective research proposal. This must not exceed 20,000 characters (including bibliography).

ADMISSION

The evaluation for admission to the Ph.D. is based on the following criteria (also for candidates with a positive assessment in the pre-application procedure):

• curriculum vitae and other titles
• research proposal
• phone or video interview.

Candidates will be admitted according to the ranking, up to the number of available positions. More information in the official brochure.