The PhD programme in "Comparative and European legal studies" is part of the postgraduate study offer of the University of Trento, and aims to equip graduates with a deep understanding of the historical, economic, social and supranational contexts that shaped contemporary legal knowledge, and of the new global scenarios that are affecting it.

The doctoral students will therefore be provided with the knowledge and skills necessary to address legal research issues with a rigorous method, particularly in the area of comparative law and European, international and global law, all the more now that new technologies and the green and digital transitions are affecting contemporary societies.

The taught courses therefore focus on comparative law, in a diachronic and synchronic perspective, and on the links between the subjects included in the four research areas of the programme:

1. Pluralism, method and legal traditions
2. Market law, welfare and taxation
3. Fundamental freedoms, social transitions and institutional structures
4. Autonomy, protection of rights and safeguards

The PhD gives students the opportunity to take interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary courses with expert trainers. The courses, whatever the areas of research, include cross-cutting modules on topics of common interest, such as the economic analysis of law, the protection of fundamental rights, the method of legal comparison and the evolution of European legal thought, or the theory of interpretation and the legal consequences of the globalization process.

Every module focuses on different disciplinary aspects (so, for example, the subject of legal comparison is examined in terms of private, public, criminal, procedural law, etc.) including through lectures in Italian and in English by University members and visiting lecturers. The theme of the protection of rights, for example, highlights the connections among different subjects, with an emphasis on an integrated model based on the constant comparison between substantive and procedural profiles.

From the second year of study, PhD students are required to spend a research period abroad for at least six months. The purpose of this experience is to train graduates who, regardless of their area of specialization, are able to understand the topics they will have to deal with thanks to the legal knowledge they have acquired and its historical, transnational and disciplinary connections.

Doctoral study therefore provides students with the necessary skills to conduct high level research at universities, research institutions, public and private organizations, to practice law and access to careers in public administrations. Graduates contribute to the development of scientific and technological progress and, with their professional skills and expertise, also contribute to the European Higher Education Area and the European Research Area.