Beritahu teman:

The Scuola Normale Superiore of Pisa announces a competition based on candidates’ degrees and work to date for the academic year 2009/2010 for 10 doctoral (PhD) positions, reserved to university graduates from non-European Union nations.

Applications are invited for the following subject areas in the Faculty of Arts: Modern Languages and Linguistics; Classical Languages, Linguistics and History; Philosophy; History (from Medieval to Contemporary); Art History.

Applications are invited for the following subject areas in the Faculty of Sciences: Molecular Biophysics; Molecular Biology; Chemistry; Physics; Condensed Matter Physics; Mathematics; Mathematics for Industry and Finance; Neurobiology.

Art. 2
Admission Requirements

University graduates from non-European Union nations, born after 31 December 1977, who have attained a 2nd- cycle university degree or equivalent or who will complete it by 30 September 2009 for candidates to the Faculty of Arts or by 30 November 2009 for the Faculty of Sciences can compete for positions in the doctoral programs.

Evaluation of the equivalency of the degree is entrusted, for the purposes of the competition only, to the Selection Committee as described in art. 3.

It is strongly recommended that candidates to PhD programs in the Faculty of Sciences take the “GRE – Subject Test” administered by the ETS (see www.ets.org/gre/), within the application deadline indicated in this announcement, in the subject area corresponding to the PhD for which they are applying, as outlined below:

• PhD in Mathematics or Mathematics for Technology and Finance: Subject = Mathematics;
• PhD in Physics or in Condensed Matter Physics: Subject = Physics;
• PhD in Chemistry: Subject = Chemistry;
• PhD in Neurobiology: Subject = Biology;
• PhD in Molecular Biology: Subject = Biochemistry, Cell and Molecular Biology.

Candidates who take (or have taken) the GRE must explicitly indicate to the ETS that the Scuola Normale Superiore is (one of) the institution(s) to which results are to be sent. The Committee will evaluate whether the candidates have passed the test or not, and the score received. Candidates who obtain a position in the PhD program at the Scuola Normale will be reimbursed the application costs of the Subject Test.

Art. 3
Application and deadline

Application for admission to the competition can be made for only one subject area and can be presented no more than twice.
The application, written out as per the attached facsimile (Attachment A), addressed to the President of the Scuola Normale Superiore, Piazza dei Cavalieri, 7 – 56126 PISA, must arrive to the Scuola Normale no later than 30 June 2009.
Late arrival of the application and related materials, no matter what the cause, even if posted by the deadline, will result in non-admission to the competition.

On the application the candidate must declare, under his/her own responsibility:

1. name, surname, place and date of birth;
2. citizenship;
3. to have no prior criminal convictions (or indicate which type of convictions);
4. to be immunized against (or immune to) diseases incompatible with community life;
5. place of residence and address (if different), telephone number and email address at which he/she would like to receive all communication related to the competition;
6. subject area in which to compete, chosen from among those listed in Art. 1;
7. to have never, or no more than once, applied for admission to the competition for the doctoral program in the Faculty of Arts and/or the Faculty of Sciences;
8. to have taken the “GRE Subject Test” (for candidates to the Faculty of Sciences).

All candidates are admitted conditionally, and may be excluded from the competition for lack of requirements at any moment of the competition procedure.

Candidates will be notified of exclusion by letter at the address indicated on their application.

Candidates must attach the following to the application:

1. copy of the 2nd-cycle university degree or equivalent (1)(all school certificates and the diploma must be translated into Italian with the exception of documents in English, French, German, and Spanish), or a statement giving the name of the University and the program in which the applicant is enrolled, the expected date of completion of the 2nd-cycle degree or equivalent and the list of all courses taken and final grades (university transcript) as well as a list of all courses which still remain to be taken;
2. curriculum vitae;
3. any qualifications (publications, etc.) the candidate wishes to present, including two or more letters from faculty members who have supervised the candidate’s previous work;
4. a program of study and a brief description of the research which the candidate would like to conduct at the Scuola Normale;
5. copy of a legal form of identification.

(1) For diplomas attained in Italian Universities or University Institutes, candidates may present, in lieu of a copy of the diploma, the declaration in substitution of required certifications as per art. 47 of law 445, dated 28 December 2000.

This declaration must contain the name of the University, the date of attainment of the degree and the final grade/mark.

Art. 4
Competition Procedures and Announcement of Winners

The competition consists in the examination of each candidate’s diplomas, work to date and research program. Research programs will also be evaluated according to their correspondence with the research areas promoted at the Scuola Normale, which can be found at: www.sns.it.

The Committee will reserve particular attention that candidates for the PhD programs in the Faculty of Science have passed the ETS “GRE Subject Test” and will take its score into consideration.

Once the examination of the candidates is completed, the Committee will compile a ranking of qualified candidates in order of merit based on the regulations of the Scuola Normale Statute. This list will be posted on the Official Bulletin Board of the Scuola Normale and published on the site www.sns.it.
The President of the Scuola Normale approves the final ranking of the competition and names the winners.
The results of the competition will be communicated only to the winners.

Art. 5
Documents for admission to the Scuola Normale

The winners of the competition must present the following documents by the date that will be communicated to them:
a) declaration of acceptance of the rules in the Statute and Regulations and recognition of the exoneration of the Scuola Normale for consequences deriving from failure to observe said rules;
b) two passport photos;
In accordance with art. 3, paragraph 1 of law no. 127, dated May 15, 1997, information such as surname, name, place and date of birth, citizenship and residency will be taken from a valid form of identification.
The Scuola Normale reserves the right to verify the validity of information contained on identification documents and to verify the student’s immunization against (or immunity to) diseases incompatible with community life.
In addition, the Scuola Normale reserves the right to request the certificate of the student’s legal record from the competent judicial authority of the country where the student is citizen.

Art.6
General Rules

The winners of the competition must take their places in the Scuola Normale starting from the date indicated on the nomination. Failure to do so will be considered forfeiture of their right of admission.
Doctoral programs last for three years. Their legal and economic start date is:

• 16 October 2009 for candidates admitted to the Faculty of Arts;

• 1 January 2010 for candidates admitted to the Faculty of Sciences.

Students in the doctoral course cannot accept commitments incompatible with their duties. The incompatibilities indicated for research doctorates in Italy are binding as well for programs at the Scuola Normale.
Doctoral students must attend to their studies according to a plan approved by the Faculty Council. Fulfillment of said obligations will be ascertained periodically by the student’s internal faculty advisor. Admission to each successive year is subject to the favorable evaluation of a Committee nominated by the Faculty Council.
At the conclusion of their doctoral studies students must sit a final exam for their diploma.
The final exam of the doctoral program consists in the discussion of a written dissertation before a Committee of specialists appointed by the President of the Scuola Normale.
In accordance with law no. 308 of June 18 1986, the diploma of Perfezionamento is equivalent in every respect to a research doctorate.

Art. 7
Students’ Rights

From 16 October of each year to 15 October of the following year for competition winners in the Faculty of Arts, and from 1 January to 31 December of each year for competition winners in the Faculty of Sciences, students have the right to free meals (value approximately €7,700.00/year) and housing, with the exclusion of vacation periods indicated on the academic calendar established by the Board of Directors.

They will also receive a fellowship that is determined annually by the Board of Directors.
For the 2009/2010 academic year the fellowship will be €9,200.00 gross/year. The distribution of the fellowship, in 12 end-of-month payments, is dependent on the fulfillment of academic obligations by the students. In case of need it is possible to request an advance of the first installment only.
Said fellowship is subject to the fiscal regulations in force concerning university scholarships.

In case of temporary scarcity of rooms, as a provisional measure, doctoral students will receive an allowance of €3,800.00 gross/year for lodging outside the Scuola Normale.
Doctoral students can request reimbursement of travel costs at the beginning and end of doctoral studies up to a limit of €1,000.00 for each journey. Travel costs indicated in the reimbursement request must be documented.
The Faculty Council can authorize students’ participation in research and study activities outside the Scuola Normale. Documented requests will be screened by a Committee nominated by the Faculty Council.

Art. 8
Head of Competition Procedures

In accordance with law 241 of August 7, 1990, and related Scuola Normale Regulation, Presidential Decree 331 of 22 July, 2004, subsequently modified with Presidential Decrees 376 of 3 September 2004 and 580 of 9 November 2005, the head of the competition procedure described in this announcement is Mario Landucci – Scuola Normale Superiore – Piazza dei Cavalieri 7 – 56126 Pisa (tel. +39 050 509237 or +39 050 509026 or + 39 050 509236; email: m.landucci@sns.it; a.vettori@sns.it; g.dalterio@sns.it).

Art. 9
Use of Personal Data

Personal data will be entered into the databases of the Scuola Normale and will be treated in accordance with legislative decree no. 196 of 30 June 2003 “Protection of Personal Data”.

Art. 10
Attachments

Attachment A constitutes an integral part of the present announcement.

Art. 11
Final Rules

The rules in this competition have precedence over Scuola Normale Academic Regulations in case of incompatibility.

Official announcement can be obtained at:

http://www.sns.it/en/scuola/ammissione/corsodiperfezionamento/bandounico/