OBJECTIVES 

This three-year PhD program is among the first in Italy aimed at training researchers specifically in the cognitive sciences. These subjects constitute a new interdisciplinary area that is made up of converging investigations into the origins and nature of human and artificial intelligence, in natural science as well as in the humanities and social science. The PhD program will provide participating graduate students with a common interdisciplinary education matched to their relative fields of competence and decided on by the students themselves, during the course of which they will be required to prove and strengthen their knowledge. (Usually, though not necessarily, the field of competence is also the field of studies in which the student has already obtained a certified degree of specialization –see below). The aim is to equip PhD students with different backgrounds and specializations as experts in a new field, that is, the new science of cognition, in which various classic disciplines complement each other.

The Board of Professors consists of at least one member for each research discipline, so that each disciplinary area will be covered by at least one competent scholar who will coordinate the activities pertinent to his module. There is also an Executive Council consisting of members of the Board of Professors and of 3 PhD students (one for each year, elected by the PhD students). The Executive Council supports the leading Coordinator in pursuing the targets which have been established by the Board of Professors.

RESEARCH DISCIPLINES 

Philosophy of Mind and Philosophy of Language
Coordinator: Sandro Nannini

Neuroscience
Coordinator: Giancarlo Carli

Cognitive Economics
Coordinator: Alessandro Innocenti

Linguistics
Coordinator: Luigi Rizzi

Cognitive Psychology and Semiology
Coordinator: Oronzo Parlangeli

Artificial Intelligence and Connectionism
Coordinator: Marco Gori

ACTIVITIES 

Courses and Seminars of the PhD Track

 First Year

1)      An introductory course in cognitive sciences is organized into 6 modules, one for each discipline of the PhD. It is a 60 hour course that is compulsory for first year PhD graduate students in Cognitive Sciences. This course is held in the first semester.

2)      Each student is required to take an additional course of 60 hours (replaceable by lab activities in experimental disciplines) in the discipline that (s)he chooses as complementary to her/his field of competence. The choice of this additional course must be agreed upon with the supervisor assigned to the students as tutor for their complementary course. This course is also compulsory for first year PhD students. Additional courses will be held during the second semester or during the second part of the first semester. (The schedule of additional courses will be available at the beginning of October).

3)      Weekly specialized seminars will be organized from January on (in experimental disciplines these are integrated with lab activities). These specialized seminars are aimed at PhD students belonging to each of the 3 years of the PhD program. Some seminars will be jointly organized by two or more research disciplines. Each PhD student is required to attend the seminars in the field that (s)he has indicated as her/his field of competence. Seminars are normally held by scholars of the University of Siena; however, they will be integrated with a number of lectures held by visiting speakers from all over Italy as well as from other countries. These events will be shared with other sections of the Superior School of Humanities Studies (SSSU), to which the PhD program is connected. The schedule of seminars and lectures will be available at the end of December, and the secretarial staff of the PhD program will make these events known.

4)      First year PhD students must also participate actively in the discussions at the one-day workshop for the presentation of the personal research programs of their second year colleagues (see below).

Second Year

1)      Second year PhD students in Cognitive Sciences are required to participate in specialized seminars (see point 3 above) related to their field of competence. Of course, they are exonerated during their period of study abroad, which is compulsory.

2)      Second year PhD students will be required to hold a one-day workshop during the month of June (or in September, in case they were abroad in June) in which they will present and discuss their research project and its further development into a dissertation thesis. These one-day workshops will necessarily have as audience the two supervisors and the entire Board of Professors of the PhD program.

Third Year

 1)      Third Year PhD students will be required to attend specialized seminars (see point 3 above) in their field of competence, and will have to participate actively, for example by presenting subjects under their investigation during the writing of their dissertation thesis.

2)      Each PhD student will be required to participate in the one-day workshop for the presentation of the research projects of the second year students (see point 2, Second Year, above).

Each PhD student will employ most of his third year in writing his dissertation thesis, under the supervision of the tutors who have been assigned to him for his area of competence and his area of specialization

Training Objectives of the PhD Track

First Year

Each graduate student, independently of her/his competence and/or specialization, is required to participate in the educational activities of the first year, which has a general introductory aim. During the remaining years, graduate students will be required to focus on a particular subject matter made up of the overlapping of (at least) two disciplines of the PhD program: the discipline indicated by the student as the area of competence (primary) and the discipline chosen as the area of specialization (secondary). The first year is therefore organized as a real “school”, a training course, and offers all of the PhD students a general common background in cognitive sciences, independently of their former academic education.

1) The Board of Professors of the PhD program provides first year graduate students with an introductory course of 60 hours, articulated into 6 modules, one per research discipline. At the end of the first year, students will be required to write at least two short papers, whose themes will be decided on together with the instructors of the introductory courses. (30 CREDITS)

2) During the second part of the year, after choosing a major (area of competence) and a minor (area of specialization), the student will be assigned (according to her/his interests) to two tutors belonging to the Board of Professors, one for the major and one for the minor decided upon. These tutors will supervise the activity of the students, according to the following procedure: the student will attend at least one introductory course in the area of specialization (minor) and at least one seminar related to the major (area of competence). (major 10 CREDITS, minor 10 CREDITS. [E.g., a common pattern might be that of a student with a master in philosophy, which will be his area of competence, who intends to pursue cognitive psychology as his area of specialization. During his PhD track the student will have a supervisor in the area of his competence (philosophy) as well as in the area of his specialization (Cognitive Psychology)]. Some of the seminars can be organized jointly by two disciplines, and their topics can be previously decided on together with the students.

3) Students in their first year will also take part in lab activities, following their tutors’ suggestions for their major. First year students will also participate in the conferences which are relevant to their areas of competence. They will also participate in various conferences organized by the SSSU (this participation is included in the 10 CREDITS of the major. See the point 2 of this section).

The introductory course, the study in depth in the area of specialization, eventual interdisciplinary seminars, and the seminars organized as part of the activities of the SSSU, will accustom the students to approaching their research fields with an interdisciplinary perspective. The Board of Professors consists of at least one member for each research discipline, so that each disciplinary area will be covered by at least one competent scholar who will coordinate the activities pertinent to his module. There is also an Executive Council consisting of members of the Board of Professors and of 3 PhD students (one for each year, elected by the PhD students). The Executive Council supports the leading Coordinator in pursuing the targets which have been established by the Board of Professors. The students must carry out the required assignments in order to pass to the second year and, at the same time, to obtain a masters degree (M. A.) in Cognitive Sciences.

Second Year

 The following assignments must be carried out by the students in their second year:

1)      The students will be required to define a research project in agreement with their tutors, which must be approved by the Board of Professors. The students must develop this project for at least one semester abroad, at a university that usually takes part in the international network of the Ph.D research schools. If necessary, the period of study abroad can be divided into shorter stays abroad (or possibly also in other Italian universities or research institutes). (30 CREDITS)

2)      With the exception of the period of study abroad or at other universities, the students will be required to participate in seminars and/or laboratory activities related to their areas of competence or specialization, including some activities of the SSSU as well. (10 CREDITS)

3)      The students must specify two supervisors for their doctoral thesis, one for their major and one for their minor, usually the tutors assigned in the first year or, if not, the supervisors from the second year. Together with these supervisors the students will choose the subject matter of their doctoral thesis, which must be related to the chosen areas of competence and specialization (the supervisors, like the tutors, can change from the first to the second year). The supervisor will take care of the proper development of the dissertation thesis during the remainder of the PhD.( the CREDITS that are so obtained are in included in the 20 CREDITS of the point  (4). See below).

4)      The Board of Professors establishes yearly a one-day workshop (usually in June) in which each second year student will present an exhaustive version of his thesis project. During this one day workshop, second year students must present a precise and articulated plan for the development of their dissertation thesis. This plan will be discussed with the Board of Professors and with first and third year students (20 CREDITS). The presentation and discussion of the research plan is a requirement for promotion to the third year.

Third Year 

Students will spend most of their third year in writing their dissertation thesis, in agreement with their two supervisors. Third year students will participate in the specialized seminar pertaining to the area of competence, to which they will contribute with a report on the development of the work on their dissertation thesis. (60 CREDITS)

 Credit Assignment and Requirements

First Year

• General introductory course attendance and setting of two short papers = 20 credits

• Exam (either through written test or interview) on topics in the area of specialization (secondary address) = 20 credits

• Other activities (workshops and conference participation, etc.) = 10 credits

Second Year

• Active participation in specialized seminars and presentation of the project on the subject matter of the doctoral thesis = 10 credits

• Other activities (workshops and conference participation, etc.) = 10 credits

• Certified educational internship abroad or at a research institution other than the University of Siena = 30 credits

Third Year

• Writing of the dissertation thesis and its discussion in a seminar = 60 credits

Evaluation in itinere

The students are evaluated at the end of each academic year by the Board of Professors on the basis of the judgement expressed by their tutors on their whole activity during the year. In particular their tutors must certify with regard to the students of the first year a) that they attended the general introductory course and wrote two papers on subjects relevant to their major and minor. Such subjects must be fixed with two professors of the general introductory course. These professors must give a positive judgement of the two relative papers; b) that the students actively participated both in the course and the seminar indicated by the tutors of their major and minor disciplines (in the case of the minor discipline by an interview).

Also the admission of the second year students to their third year requires a positive judgement expressed by their tutors on the following activities and exams: a) state of the work with regard to the draft of the dissertation thesis and presentation of such a draft  (as indicated above); b) activity carried out in foreign universities or in other Italian qualified research institutions

Finally the students of the third year (or successive years if the Executive Council granted an extension of the PHD track after examining a motivated application) are admitted to their Final Proof on the basis of a positive judgment expressed by their tutors  about a) a period of study spent in foreign universities or in other Italian qualified research institutions, b) the activity carried out in Siena and c) especially the final draft of their dissertation thesis. Such a thesis must be accompanied with the positive judgment  at least of one qualified external referee.

Such an evaluation is normally carried out by the Executive Council after acquiring the positive judgments of the tutors on each student. However, if the evaluation of the Executive Council on a student is negative (and this involves that the student must be excluded from the PHD Program (and lose her/his scholarship if it is the case) such a negative evaluation must be confirmed by the Board of Professors purposely convened in plenary session.

Formalized agreements

Informal agreements and co-tutorship of dissertation thesis

Rutgers University, NJ, USA (valid for all disciplines of the PHD program)

 Massachusset Institute of Technology (USA) (devoted in particular to linguistics and neurosciences)

University of Utrecht (Netherland) (devoted in particular to linguistics)

Université de Technologie - Compiègne (France) (devoted in particular to the philosophy of mind)

Centre J. Nicod (Paris) (valid for all disciplines of the PHD program)

Università degli Studi di Torino (devoted in particular to cognitive economics)

II° Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca (devoted in particular to the philosophy of mind and the philosophy of language)

Facilities and laboratories

Lectures, seminars, exams and office hours with the students are carried out in the classrooms and offices of the Faculties of “Lettere e Filosofia”, “Economia”, “Medicina e Chirurgia” and “Ingegneria”. Moreover the following labs are at disposal of students: “Laboratorio audiovisivo del Dipartimento di Filosofia e Scienze Sociali”, “Laboratorio dell'Istituto di Fisiologia umana”, “Laboratorio del Dipartimento in Scienze della Comunicazione” and “Laboratorio della Facoltà di Ingegneria”. Some activities are carried out also in the “Centro Interdipartimentale di Studi Cognitivi sul Linguaggio”, the “Centro Interdipartimentale per lo Studio dei Sistemi Complessi” and the “Collegio S. Chiara”.

ADMISSIONS REQUIREMENTS 

“Laurea” of the “Vecchio Ordinamento” (four year degree) or “Laurea Magistrale (or Specialistica)” of the “Nuovo Ordinamento” (a two year Master after a three year Bachelor, 300 credits on the whole) or a legally equivalent title obtained in foreign Universities or legally equivalent institutions.

Admission procedure

The Admission procedure consists of two parts. First of all  a Commission nominated by the Rector of the University of Siena checks the validity of all applications and decides which of the applicants are not worthy of being admitted to a further admission exam on the basis of the documents presented by them: one’s publications (including the thesis written to achieve a Master), a research project, “introduction letters” (if available) and any other valid document attached to the application. This part of the admission procedure is called “pre-selection”.

Secondly, the pre-selected applicants are admitted to a further admission exam (to be held in Italian or English according to a choice of the applicant) that consists of an interview during which the research project presented by the applicant, the Master thesis and any other scientific publications or papers attached by the applicant to her/his application are discussed and evaluated. Moreover applicants who hold their exam in Italian must read and correctly translate a brief passage chosen by the Commission and drawn from a scientific or philosophical English text in accordance with applicants’ respective cultural backgrounds.

The Commission carries out the pre-selection and compiles a ranking of the applicants at the end of the admission exam on the basis of the following preference criteria: 1. Evaluation of the pertinence of the Master degree, the academic curriculum and the subjects both of the Master thesis and of the research program presented by applicants at least with one of the disciplines of the PHD program “Cognitive Sciences”; 2. graduating marks; 3. Evaluation of the contents of the Master thesis and any other publications attached to the application if relevant (see criterion (1)); 4. Evaluation of the research project if relevant (see criterion (1)); 5. Intellectual maturity and cultural background shown in the interview; 6. Sufficient knowledge of English language (tested during the interview or by any legally valid title issued by a qualified institution); 7. The following documents deserve particular attention among those which are attached to applications: periods of study in foreign Universities and other qualified Institutions, being winner of  qualified scholarships, post-graduate studies,  having obtained jobs by private firms or State Institutions, the evaluation of any introduction letters by taking into account their content and the prestige and reliability of their signers with regard to cognitive sciences.

Extra-curricular Activities

The PhD program has contributed towards founding the Siena Center for the Study of Complex Systems (CSC) of the University of Siena. There is a profound cooperation between the CSC and the PhD program. A similar cooperation has been established between the PhD program and the Center for the Interdisciplinary Cognitive Studies of Language (CISCL) as well as the Interuniversity Center for Experimental Economics and the Laboratory of Experimental Economics (LabSi), which are research institutions of the University of Siena.

DUTIES OF THE PH.D. CANDIDATES  

Each PhD student must obtain 60 university educational credits (crediti formativi universitari, CFU) per year, for a total of 180 at the end of the PhD track. According to EU specifications, a university educational credit amounts to approximately 25 hours of study by a student. Therefore, according to this estimate, 60 credits amount to 1500 hours of study per year, that is, 34 hours per week for 11 months. At the beginning of the year each PhD candidate chooses a tutor on the Board of Professors of the program. During the first year, which is shared by all of the PhD  candidates belonging to every research discipline, students are required to attend the classes, exercises and seminars organized by each research discipline as well as those that are jointly organized by two or more research disciplines. The first year ends with a test (the nature of which will be established by the Board of Professors) which, if passed, allows admittance to the second year and the conferring of a Cultural-Scientific Masters in Cognitive Sciences (MSC). The 60 credits of the first year are divided into 12 for each research discipline, conforming to the following scheme: 3 credits (75 study hours) for attending educational activities (classes, seminars, exercises, laboratory training, interview with tutors, etc.); 4 credits (100 study hours) for writing and discussing a short essay whose subject matter is decided with the professor in charge of the related research discipline; 1 credit (25 study hours) for attending common seminars and for preparing the final test, to which students are admitted after passing oral exams on the written essays. After discussing the written essays, the PhD candidate achieves the MSC. For the following 2 years the PhD candidate chooses a research major and minor (corresponding respectively to one research discipline, that is, the area of competence and the area of specialization). The choice of the PhD candidate must be endorsed by the corresponding tutors. The 120 credits due during the second and the third year are distributed as follows: primary research discipline (major and area of competence) = 40 credits; secondary research discipline (minor and area of specialization) = 20 credits; writing of the doctoral thesis = 60 credits. The 60 credits that are not devoted to writing the thesis are earned by the student through attendance of specialized seminars and training courses that are decided on in agreement with the tutors (possibly after passing the final test of the first year) or through the discussion of written essays. During the second and third year each PhD candidate must attend for at least one semester courses in cognitive science at a university abroad or at a research institution other than the University of Siena, to be decided on in agreement with the Board of Professors. Exchange programs already exist with the MIT (Boston), CREA (Paris), and the University of Osnabrück. Other exchanges will be established, on the basis of the proposals of both professors and PhD students, after being approved by the Board of Professors. The doctoral thesis (final proof) is established and developed in agreement with the two tutors relative to the major and minor.

In order to be admitted to the PhD track, PhD candidates are strictly required to speak English at least at an elementary level (the minimal degree of mastery of the English language is that certified by the PET or equivalent or superior certifications).

The official PhD program is 3 years long, and admits 8 candidates per year. The first 4 PhD candidates resulting from the selection (in September) are assigned a scholarship. Scholarships will be assigned on the basis of a selection test. If there are PhD candidates with equal scores after the selection, the assignment of the scholarship will be decided on the basis of an evaluation of the economic situation of the PhD candidates, according to the Italian Law DPCM 30.4.1997 (G.U. N. 132, published on June 3, 1997). The scholarship will be regularly paid out every two months during the official period of the PhD program. In case the PhD candidate quits the PhD program, the Administration Office will not expect a refunding of the money that the PhD student has received during the period in which (s)he has effectively done research activity certified by the Board of Professors. The PhD student, during his semester of study abroad, has the right to ask for an increase in her/his scholarship of a maximum of 50% of the sum that (s)he regularly receives. The costs of attendance of the PhD activities for the PhD students who do not have a scholarship amount to (approximately) 1550 euros; PhD candidates with scholarships (if assigned by the University of Siena) are not required to pay costs of attendance. The scholarship assigned by the University of Siena to the students is incompatible with other scholarships allocated to the same candidates if this amounts to the same or a superior sum of money. There is legal room for the co-funding of research projects within the PhD program, in agreement with institutions that are external to the Italian academic system.

Scientific Area of the PhD program

 The PhD program is officially an interdisciplinary doctoral school (that is, covering the area of Humanities, History, Philosophy, Arts and Experimental Sciences).