Introduction

The PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences (PSC) is a doctoral degree program within the University Federico II, Napoli, Department of Pharmacy. The three-year multidisciplinary course provides new generations of scientists with a solid, broad spectrum, background in disciplines dealing with chemical, pharmacological and technological aspects of drugs.

The Ph.D. Committee will assign to each Ph.D. student a tutor (supervisor) who will follow his/her research activity. The research project aims to reach relevant scientific results that will be the object of a final written thesis. Ph.D. students will present, periodically, the obtained results to the Committee board in order to ascertain their knowledge and skills. During the Ph.D. program (possibly between the second and third year), students are invited to spend at least three months as visiting scholars in a foreign university or research institute, according to their research interests. At the end of the Ph.D. program, Ph.D. candidates can be admitted to the final exam only if they have contributed, as authors, to at least two papers published on international journals. The final exam will be judged by an external Committee, which has to include among its members one or more components from foreign institutions.

During the three-year programme, PhD candidates will have the opportunities to co-operate with both Italian and foreign research institutions.


Brief description on the PhD course

The PhD program in Pharmaceutical Sciences is an innovative, interdisciplinary PhD program with a three-year curriculum offered by the Department of Pharmacy, which combines disciplines and methodologies belonging to CUN areas 03 and 05 and various ERC areas in a coherent and complementary manner. The aim of the program is to train PhD students with high scientific qualifications and autonomy in the planning, development, and management of research and the results obtained.
 
In line with the objectives of the University's Strategic Plan, which is geared towards promoting quality and growth in research, the PhD program in Pharmaceutical Sciences aims to activate a virtuous and dynamic circle of knowledge through an innovative, multidisciplinary, and cross-cutting training program (Objective 6, GLOBAL RESEARCH, action 6.4 Design of innovative, multidisciplinary, and cross-disciplinary doctoral programs). The program enhances the integration of different scientific skills and promotes public-private partnership agreements, fostering strategic alliances between the University, other universities, and public and private research institutions, both nationally and internationally (Objective 7, ENGAGED UNIVERSITY, action 7.1 Qualification of the educational offer in relation to the needs of the territory and the productive world, and Objective 8, MOBILITY AND INTERCULTURALITY, action 8.1 Development of agreements with national and international universities and research institutions that provide for staff and student mobility. 8.2 Initiatives aimed at strengthening participation in national and international university networks. 8.3 Increase in courses taught in foreign languages and joint degree courses).
 
The PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences pursues objectives focused on the development of highly innovative research projects and technology transfer, in full harmony with the 2024–2026 Strategic Plan of the Department of Pharmacy, recognized as a Department of Excellence for the periods 2018–2022 and 2023–2027. In this context, the PhD program contributes to the improvement of teaching and training, the enhancement of scientific research in the pharmaceutical field, and the strengthening of the third mission, consolidating dialogue and collaboration with the local community.
 
The program provides the skills necessary for identifying new leads, rationally designing new drugs, synthesizing them using traditional and innovative methods, identifying molecular and cellular targets for drug action, studying their pharmacological properties, and designing innovative pharmaceutical formulations. During the program, it is mandatory to carry out a period of research, lasting at least three months, at an external research facility, preferably abroad. The aim of the PhD program is to meet the need to provide interdisciplinary knowledge in the training of qualified professionals working in both basic and applied research in both public and private sectors.

Expected career opportunities

At the end of their third-level university studies, PhD students will have acquired scientific knowledge and skills that will enable them to be completely autonomous in planning, developing, and managing research, evaluating the results obtained, and disseminating them. 
 
The career opportunities for graduates of this doctoral program are in universities, public or private research centers, pharmaceutical and biomedical industries, the Ministry of Health, regional governments (pharmaceutical sector and scientific research), Local Health Authorities. Existing collaborations between PhD program professors and other academic institutions, public administration, research centers, and industries, both domestic and foreign, facilitate the integration of PhD graduates into the world of work and academia through scholarships, contracts, research grants, postdoctoral programs, and equivalent positions. An examination of the employment outcomes of those enrolled in this PhD program over the years shows that the majority have found employment in public and private research facilities and institutions, not only in Italy but also abroad, where PhD students find further and greater opportunities for employment in the scientific field.

Training experience

The teaching activities of the PhD program in Pharmaceutical Sciences, organized for each cycle by the teaching committee, are carried out through third-level classroom teaching, which includes basic courses, common to all students, and specialized courses, organized in modules, each on cutting-edge topics.
 
The 128-hour (16 CFU) training program over three years is modulated year by year according to the specific needs of the student body and is divided as follows for the last three cycles:
 
Other educational activities for interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary, and transdisciplinary training also include:
 
  • Annual seminar cycles for all students, held by professors, mostly foreign, invited and financially supported by the PhD program. Students also have the opportunity to attend seminars organized as part of the PhD program in Nutraceuticals, Functional Foods and Human Health and those organized by the PhD program in RNA therapeutics and gene therapy.
  • Laboratory and research activities, as the PhD program makes use of five new laboratories shared between the various areas of the Department of Pharmacy to support scientific/educational activities of excellence, such as the laboratories of: 1) Instrumental Analysis; 2) Molecular Biology; 3) Cell Cultures; 4) Drug Delivery; 5) Molecular Modeling.
  • Scientific English course in collaboration with the CLA, organized specifically for PhD students in this program, held weekly, aimed at obtaining European certification of English language proficiency. In particular, there is an intermediate level course for obtaining PET certification and a more advanced level course for obtaining FCE, CAE, and similar certifications.
  • Spring School on Transferable Skills, with lessons taught by three professors from the University of Glasgow, aimed at transferring transferable skills such as CV writing and job interview preparation, improving scientific data communication skills, and ethics in scientific research. 
  • In collaboration with the European Patent Office, a seminar dedicated to intellectual property in the pharmaceutical and biomedical fields is organized each year.
  • A 4-hour course dedicated to artificial intelligence, entitled "ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL, HEALTHCARE, AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH FIELDS." The course is presented by Dr. Carlo Ranaudo, in collaboration with Prof. Paolo Grieco, and includes a practical component under the guidance of a third-year doctoral student.
Orientation meetings:
 

Seminars and other activities