The PhD

The PhD program in "Internationalization of Legal Systems and Fundamental Rights," divided into four different, yet culturally coherent, curricula—Public Law; Criminal Law and Procedural Law; Private Law, Interculturality and Procedural Law; International, Supranational and Comparative Law—aims to provide highly qualified legal training on fundamental rights within the national, European, and international legal framework.
The relevance and breadth of the subject matter under study necessitate a multidisciplinary approach, which strongly characterizes the curriculum, which over the three-year period is organized concentrically. The first two years are dedicated to an in-depth study of a core topic of the contemporary legal system chosen by the Teaching Committee.
In the third year, the curriculum takes on a dual focus. The first, consistent across the cycles, focuses on the in-depth study of the supranational legal framework: in particular, PhD students will study the main instruments for guaranteeing fundamental rights in the relationship between states and international organizations. The second is different depending on the cycle, as it is influenced by the research lines linked to the funding sources and/or identified by the companies with which a collaboration agreement has been reached.

Learning objectives

Despite the precise identification of the topic of study and the highly specific nature of the second- and third-year courses, the PhD program in "Internationalization of Legal Systems and Fundamental Rights" maintains an essentially theoretical-dogmatic core. Its primary objective is to provide PhD students with the tools to understand legal systems as they have been transformed by, among other things, the Europeanization and internationalization of law. From a perspective of a renewed general theory of legal systems, they are enabled to combine a dogmatic approach with comparative law. The PhD program also pursues a professionalizing objective, aiming to train professionals capable of cutting across the legal field. The dual nature of the training program (the general theoretical aspect at the beginning, and the more thematically specific one to follow) allows for the development of a solid and eclectic legal foundation, useful for access to both traditional legal professions (lawyers and judges "open" to the European and international dimension) and more contemporary ones, both in the academic field (researchers capable of engaging internationally) and in the domestic and supranational political and institutional sphere (international officials, representatives of NGOs working in the field of human rights protection).
The professionalizing focus of the Doctorate has gradually strengthened over the years thanks to relationships with businesses (public and private), which have co-funded doctoral scholarships and hosted doctoral students for internships. Thus, the training offered enables, indeed facilitates, access to employment in both private and public companies, as well as in mixed public-private partnerships.

Career opportunities

The complex educational program of the Doctorate in Internationalization of Legal Systems and Fundamental Rights offers numerous career opportunities, allowing broad access to professions, from traditional to more contemporary, both in Italy and abroad. Listed below, over the three-year period, the doctoral student will be adequately trained to:

• conduct research in academia
• enter the judiciary
• practice private practice (lawyer and notary)
• conduct consultancy for businesses
• conduct consultancy for public administrations, subsidiaries or wholly-owned companies, particularly in the areas of anti-
• corruption and transparency, as well as public contracts
• conduct corporate compliance activities
• enter the Italian public administration or supranational, European, and international organizations
• conduct work for NGOs.

Self-assessment and guidance committee

In order to monitor the progress of the doctoral program as a whole, assess the consistency of the activities carried out with the educational objectives, and improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and quality of the doctoral program, including with regard to its career opportunities and the integration of highly innovative professional paths, the Coordinator selects the members of the Self-Evaluation and Steering Committee from among the members of each Teaching Board of the three active cycles.

The Committee is composed as follows:

PhD students' opinions

Every year, Vanvitelli University conducts a survey to gather feedback from PhD students at the end of each academic year, with the aim of gathering information on the various aspects of the research training program and the services and opportunities that accompany it.

• For the I and II year, access to the evaluation questionnaire is via the University’s institutional credentials, and complete anonymity of responses is guaranteed - Go to the teaching evaluation questionnaire

• For the III year, the end-of-course evaluation questionnaire is managed by Alma Laurea and can be accessed once the PhD student has registered, prior to the final examination - Go to the questionnaire

Results

• For the I and II year: PhD Student Opinions (SISVALDIDAT system)
• For the III year: PhD students’ opinions (AlmaLaurea)

In addition, the AlmaLaurea inter-university consortium compiles annual data on behalf of the University regarding PhD graduates’ academic trajectories and employment status after obtaining their degree.

• Employment status of PhD graduates (AlmaLaurea)