The University of Trieste (Università degli Studi di Trieste, Italy) has officially opened its call for admission to the 42nd cycle of doctoral programmes for the 2026/2027 academic year. The call covers 15 PhD programmes spanning social sciences, humanities, technology, engineering, life sciences, and health — most of them offered with fully funded scholarships. Applications must be submitted by May 25, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. (Italian time). A second session may open with a deadline of August 31, 2026, though availability of positions in the second round is not guaranteed across all programmes.
Located in the northeastern corner of Italy, just a few kilometers from the Slovenian border, Trieste is a city with an outsized research footprint. It hosts several international scientific institutions — including ICTP, SISSA, and the Elettra Sincrotrone — and the University of Trieste itself holds ANVUR Class A accreditation, the highest quality rating awarded by Italy’s national research evaluation agency. For international candidates seeking fully funded PhD positions in Europe, this call represents one of the broadest and most accessible entry points into the Italian doctoral system.
Available PhD Programmes
The 42nd cycle offers 15 programmes organized into three disciplinary clusters. Each programme has its own admission requirements, evaluation criteria, and scholarship allocation — details are published on the individual programme websites linked from the University’s central call page.
Social Sciences and Humanities
- Advanced Interdisciplinary Legal Studies
- Circular Economy
- Philosophy, History and Political Studies
- Transcultural and Transmedia Studies: Literature, Linguistics, Interpreting and Translation
Technology and Science
- Applied Data Science and Artificial Intelligence
- Chemistry
- Civil-Environmental Engineering and Architecture
- Earth Science, Fluid-Dynamics and Mathematics: Interactions and Methods
- Industrial and Information Engineering
- Nanotechnology
- Physics
Life and Health Sciences
- Biodiversity, Evolution and Adaptation
- Molecular Biomedicine
- Neural and Cognitive Sciences
- Personalized Medicine and Innovative Therapies
This breadth is notable: candidates from fields as varied as AI, nanotechnology, circular economy, neuroscience, and legal studies can all apply within the same institutional call, under the same deadline and administrative framework.
Scholarship and Financial Support
Most PhD positions at the University of Trieste come with a funded scholarship. The standard annual gross amount is €16,243, paid in monthly installments over the full three-year duration of the programme. This amount is subject to national insurance (INPS) deductions but is exempt from income tax (IRPEF) under Italian law.
Two additional financial mechanisms make the package more competitive than the base figure suggests. First, doctoral candidates who spend at least 30 uninterrupted days conducting research abroad can receive an increase of up to 50% on their scholarship for the duration of that stay. Second, every funded PhD student — regardless of programme — is entitled to an additional research budget equivalent to at least 10% of the scholarship value, allocated for conferences, materials, travel, and other research-related expenses.
Some scholarships are co-funded by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) through the Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, under the 2021–2027 Operational Programme. ESF+-funded positions may carry specific obligations related to regional collaboration, technology transfer, or engagement with local industry — details are outlined in each programme’s call attachments.
Eligibility Requirements
Applicants must hold a second-cycle degree — a master’s degree (Laurea Magistrale or Laurea Specialistica under the Italian system) or an equivalent foreign qualification that would grant access to doctoral studies in the country where it was issued. Candidates who have not yet graduated may still apply, provided they complete their degree by October 31, 2026.
International degrees from both EU and non-EU countries are accepted. The Board of Examiners for each programme will assess foreign qualifications for equivalence — no prior formal recognition by the Italian Ministry of Education is required at the application stage. However, candidates who already hold a PhD cannot be admitted to a programme deemed equivalent to their existing doctorate.
Language requirements vary by programme. Some programmes conduct their research and teaching primarily in English (Applied Data Science and AI, for instance), while others may require Italian. Language proficiency is typically assessed during the interview phase. Candidates should consult the specific programme pages for precise requirements.
How to Apply
The application process is fully online and follows these steps:
- Register on the University of Trieste student portal to obtain login credentials
- Log in to the online services, navigate to the admission section, and select the desired PhD programme
- Upload all required documents, including degree certificates, academic transcripts, and — where applicable — official translations. Some programmes may require a research proposal or reference letters; check the specific programme page
- Pay the non-refundable application fee of €30 via the PagoPA system before the deadline. Applicants from certain developing countries listed in Ministerial Decree no. 176/2026 are exempt from this fee
The primary deadline is May 25, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. (Italian time). A second session closes on August 31, 2026, at 1:00 p.m., but only for programmes that still have unfilled positions after the first round. Candidates interested in multiple programmes at different Italian universities should be aware that PhD scholarships in Italy cannot be combined with other study grants, with limited exceptions for mobility-related funding from foreign institutions.
Selection Process
Each PhD programme has its own Board of Examiners, which evaluates candidates through a combination of qualification review and — in most cases — an interview. The exact format varies: some programmes weight the research proposal heavily, others focus on academic transcripts and prior research experience. Scholarships are assigned based on a comparative evaluation of merit, following the ranking order established by the board.
Candidates who rank highly but do not receive a scholarship may still be admitted without funding. Unfunded positions are typically awarded to the youngest eligible candidate when multiple applicants hold the same rank. For researchers comparing doctoral funding across countries, the Italian system is distinctive in that scholarship holders have employee-like pension obligations (INPS registration) while being exempt from income tax — a combination that offers modest net income but strong long-term social protections.
Why Trieste?
Trieste punches well above its weight as a research city. With a population of roughly 200,000, it has one of the highest concentrations of researchers per capita in Europe. The University of Trieste operates alongside SISSA (International School for Advanced Studies), ICTP (International Centre for Theoretical Physics), the Elettra synchrotron light source, and several national research institutes — creating a dense network of collaboration opportunities that few cities of similar size can match.
The city’s geographic position at the crossroads of Italy, Slovenia, and Austria gives it a distinctly Central European character, and many PhD students benefit from cross-border research collaborations with institutions in Ljubljana, Vienna, and across the Adriatic. The cost of living is significantly lower than Milan or Rome, and the Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia actively supports doctoral education through ESF+ funding and regional right-to-study provisions.
For candidates exploring PhD positions across multiple disciplines in Europe, the University of Trieste’s 42nd cycle call offers an unusually wide selection of funded programmes under a single unified application framework — from artificial intelligence and nanotechnology to philosophy and personalized medicine.
Key Dates and Practical Information
- First session deadline: May 25, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. (Italian time)
- Second session deadline: August 31, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. (subject to availability)
- Degree completion deadline (for graduating applicants): October 31, 2026
- Programme duration: 3 years (36 months)
- Annual scholarship: €16,243 gross (+ up to 50% for research abroad, + 10% research budget)
- Application fee: €30 (waived for eligible developing-country applicants)
- Number of programmes: 15
Full details, programme-specific requirements, and the official call documents are published on the University of Trieste PhD admissions page. For more funded doctoral opportunities and academic funding programmes worldwide, visit our scholarships section.
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