PhD in Computer Science

The Study Plan of the PhD program Computer Science involves the acquisition of 180 ECTSs (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) are a European standard to measure the student efforts. 60 ECTS credits are the equivalent of a full year of study or work). Among them 150 ECTS are dedicated to research activities, while the remaining 30 ECTS are for training activities.

• Research activity (150 ECTS)

Research activities are the main activities made by PhD students. Such an activity consists in developing an original research project proposed by the student, under the guidance of a supervisor. Also, the PhD Board periodically assesses the progress status of the research plan. PhD students will develop their capacities of problem solving, critical thinking, systematic comprehension and comparison with the state of the art. Finally, the PhD student will conclude the training with a personal and original contribution in a clearly identifiable research area. Research funds are available to PhD students from the PhD school, the department, and the personal research funds of the supervisor. This funding allows students to participate to international research projects, to present their works at conferences and workshops, and to publish research results in journals. The PhD program encourages periods of study abroad. The duration and training program of the period abroad has to be agreed with the supervisor.

• Disciplinary and interdisciplinary training activity (24-28 ECTS) 

The courses portfolio of the PhD program in CS offers both theoretical and applied courses and is approved annually by the CS Department Board, upon proposal of the PhD Committee. Please, have a look to the list of the available courses next year (see following Course Offered section) 

PhD students may participate to doctoral courses at other universities or research centers, doctoral (summer) schools, tutorials, workshops or conferences, upon agreement with the supervisor and approval by the PhD Board. The PhD Board encourages the participation to the Bertinoro International Spring School, organized by the National Computer Science Group (from Italian Gruppo Nazionale Informatica, GRIN).

By the first two months of starting the PhD, all students are asked to submit to the PhD Committee a proposal of courses to be taken over three years. Such a proposal must be agreed with the supervisor, and may be amended later on, provided that the PhD Board approves the proposed change. The exams of all courses must be passed by the end of the second year of the program, except in well motivated cases to be approved by the PhD Board.

To facilitate a fruitful integration of PhD students joining with a degree which is not on Computer Science, the PhD Board and the supervisor may require the students to take extra exams on basics on CS.

The Ph.D. study plan must be submitted and updated using this form.
The plan can be modified at any time. To do that it is necessary to:

1. Fill in the form with an update proposal.
2. Send an email to the PhD Coordinator highlighting the requested variations (with tutor approval and motivations).
   
   

• Complementary training (2-6 ECTS)

Complementary research training aims at acquiring  complementary and soft skills, as emphasized by the “Principles for Innovative Doctoral Training” by the European Commission.

These complementary skills enrich the education of researchers, enable the acquisition of competences which are applicable to both academic and non-academic area and facilitate the diversification of the post-PhD career paths.Examples of these skills are: language skills, bibliographic search, intellectual property management, written and oral scientific communication, writing and evaluating research proposals, ethics in research, public engagement and third mission. Courses may be given by experts at University of Turin (from the  doctoral school and from PhD programs) and other institutions. 

For activities chosen by the PhD student outside those proposed by the Doctoral School or the Doctoral Course, the validation by the supervisor is required. The PhD Committee assigns the number of corresponding ECTS to each activity.

The Computer Science Department offers a series of seminars held by the academic staff as well as visiting researchers from both industry and academic institutions. Seminars are announced in the News section, on the Department Web Site and on the internal mailing list.

At the end of every year, PhD students are required to complete and upload an annual report summarising the training and research activities that have been carried out.

• Annual report template
• Annual report upload

The PhD Committee will extabilish deadlines to give at last one annual presentation of the research activities and achieved results.

The next deadlines are:

• June 30, every year: draft of research report sent to discussant and upload
• Cycle 34 thesis must be sent to reviewers with personal deadlines according to the extension granted.
• Dcember 2021: deadlines for the annual report for cycle 34 (with extension)

Upon the conclusion of the PhD course, PhD candidates must present a copy of a completed thesis to the Doctoral Board for the evaluation of the research results. If the work meets the requirements of a PhD, the candidate will be admitted to the oral examination.
Regulation for the admission and deadlines for final defense

• Cycle 29 rules: Regolamento conseguimento titolo ciclo 29
• Cycle 30 rules: refer to cycle 29 rules with deadlines updated according to cycle 30 starting date (November 1st) 
• Following cycles: refer to rules above with deadlines updated according to cycle starting date (October 1st)

PhD thesis evaluation form (to be sent to external reviewers).
Please refer to this page for the list of requirements from University of Turin.