The PhD programme is structured as follows:

• Basic courses common to all doctoral students aimed at developing:
  - interdisciplinary knowledge, solid methodological foundations and common skills to the different areas - 1st year of the doctoral programme;
  - knowledge of both qualitative and quantitative research methodology aimed at developing, from the outset, an adequate knowledge base of research design for all doctoral students - 1st year doctorate;
  - soft skills, research project management skills, research ethics and intellectual property management - 1st year PhD.
• Specialized courses related to the research areas and according to the specific PhD project - either in the 1st or 2nd year of the PhD programme.

Through this pathway, which combines basic and elective training activities, doctoral students have the opportunity to build a solid methodological foundation and common skills to subsequently deepen the knowledge of particular topics and theoretical approaches identified according to their specific research interests, benefiting from the disciplinary interaction offered in the doctoral programme.

Attendance at national and international conferences is strongly encouraged in order to gain awareness of the standards required to access the opportunity to present working papers and research results. Students are guided through the necessary steps to achieve acceptance for presentation of their work.

During the three years, the progress of the doctoral students is monitored through mentoring offered by the Doctoral Committee, by requesting detailed activity reports, by checking class attendance and through checking the compatibility of any external assignments with the priority commitments for the doctoral programme.