The PhD programme in Sustainability: Economics, Environment, Management and Society (SUSTEEMS) is an interdisciplinary doctoral degree jointly offered by the Department of Economics and Management, the Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering, the Faculty of Law, and the Department Sociology and Social Research.

Developing a sustainable society presents some of the most crucial challenges concerning the future of our planet, and it requires an interdisciplinary approach involving economics, management sciences, engineering and social sciences. This PhD programme provides rigorous knowledge in a broad range of qualitative and quantitative methods and disciplines (see the Curriculum) to allow a deep understanding of the interaction between natural and social systems, and provides students with the flexibility to pursue in-depth research in a broad variety of topics.

In their PhD thesis, PhD students can address research questions within a disciplinary boundary or from an interdisciplinary perspective. They can conduct both theoretical and empirical investigations, using diverse methodological approaches. The PhD thesis consists of three papers to be published in scientific journals.

The PhD programme was launched in 2020/2021 and in the first accreditation round by the Italian National Agency for the Evaluation of Universities and Research Institutes (ANVUR) SUSTEEMS was recognized as an innovative - interdisciplinary doctoral programme.

In 2024 the first PhD students from 36°cycle will discuss their research thesis, and get their PhD title.

The official language of the doctoral programme is English.

More details can be found here.