The PhD Educational Offer is structured as follows: classroom lectures; interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary seminar activities; IT skills development activities; language skills development activities; training aimed at enhancing and disseminating the results of intellectual property and promoting open access to research data and outputs; training in research management and in the understanding of European and international research systems; in‑depth study of fundamental principles of ethics, gender equality and integrity. Individual training is added to this.
Common courses and specific lectures dedicated to in‑depth study of each curricular path.
- First year:
- Common teaching 7,5 CFU (45 hours);
- Curricular lectures 3 CFU (18 hours)
- Second year:
- Common teaching 7 CFU (42 hours);
- Curricular lectures 3 CFU (18 hours)
- Third year:
- Common teaching 5,5 CFU (33 hours);
- Curricular lectures 3 CFU (18 hours)
Seminars on interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary topics.
- First year: 1,5 CFU (9 hours)
- Second year: 2 (12 hours)
- Third year: 1,5 CFU (9 hours)
Language skills development activities, Curriculum 1, 2, 3, 4.
- First year: 2 CFU (12 hours)
- Second year: 2 CFU (12 hours)
- Third year: 2 CFU (12 hours)
Doctoral training in Legal Sciences is enriched and completed by a specialist language‑enhancement pathway, organised in close synergy with the University Language Centre. This training itinerary is specifically designed to meet the methodological and research needs of doctoral candidates, offering a laboratory‑based, applied approach focused on in‑depth study of Legal English, with a careful comparative analysis of British and American legal systems and registers.
The laboratory is hosted on a dedicated interactive digital platform combining autonomous asynchronous study with a strong practical emphasis based on the principle of learning by doing. During the path, participants consolidate complex linguistic structures and the technical terminology of Anglo‑American legal vocabulary. Considerable attention is also devoted to examining the terminological, stylistic and conceptual divergences that separate the legal language of the United Kingdom from that of the United States.
As this is a highly practical, laboratory‑based activity, doctoral candidates’ attendance and progress are continuously monitored tracking the interactive modules and the applied assessments on the platform. Final recognition of the 6 CFU is therefore subject to the completion of all the required practical activities.
For Curriculum 5, taught in English and intrinsically interdisciplinary, the PhD training programme is organised as follows.
Curricular lectures
- First year: Curricular lectures 7,5 CFU (45 hours)
- Second year: Curricular lectures 7 CFU (42 hours)
- Third year: Curricular lectures 5,5 CFU (33 hours)
Interdisciplinary multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary seminars.
- First year: 6,5 CFU (39 hours)
- Second year: 7 CFU (42 hours)
- Third year: 6,5 CFU (39 hours)
Individual training and research activities, submitted as a written report and presented to the Academic Board, and evidenced by the publication of at least one contribution in an accredited scientific journal or in an edited/collective volume, are required for progression to the third year of the Course or for admission to the final examination.
- First year: 18 CFU
- Second year: 18 CFU
- Third year: 10 CFU
Research activities for the preparation of the thesis, presented to the Academic Board.
- First year: 15 CFU
- Second year: 15 CFU
- Third year: 22 CFU
PhD final examination: 5 CFU.
IT skills development activities.
- First year: 1 CFU (6 hours)
- Second year: 1 CFU (6 hours)
- Third year: 1 CFU (6 hours)
The IT enhancement seminars/labs, led by an IT specialist, provide doctoral candidates with the digital and methodological skills essential for contemporary legal research, focusing on the practical use of Artificial Intelligence. The path does not require programming skills, but trains researchers to use technologies as study accelerators safely and in compliance with applicable rules.
The first part is devoted to Generative AI and Prompt Engineering. Doctoral candidates learn to interact effectively with Large Language Models (LLMs) to summarise large volumes of doctrine, extract data from complex judgments and simulate counter‑arguments. They are taught to use systems based on RAG architectures to query their own document archives safely, thereby reducing AI “hallucinations.”
A crucial module covers privacy and data management within the digital workflow. The technician will guide doctoral candidates in the practical application of data protection principles (such as anonymisation of sensitive data) when using online software, cloud services and commercial AI tools, to prevent the leakage of confidential information.
In this perspective, the cybersecurity section provides basic skills for protecting the intellectual property of one’s research. Best practices in encryption, secure credential management, defence against phishing and malware, and secure backup procedures aligned with Open Science criteria are addressed.
Finally, the course tackles digital copyright protection from a technical standpoint. It analyses how licensing systems (such as Creative Commons) work, content protection mechanisms (DRM, watermarking) and the technical impact of text and data mining on copyright‑protected materials, and provides IT tools to detect plagiarism and ensure the integrity of doctoral theses and publications.
Training in research and knowledge management and in European and international research systems.
- First year: 1 CFU (6 hours)
- Second year: 1 CFU (6 hours)
- Third year: 1 CFU (6 hours)
Training activities on project design (Europlanning), aimed both at developing knowledge of national, European and international research systems (PRIN, FIS, Horizon) and at preparing project proposals for participation in competitive calls. These training activities are organised in collaboration with the U. ORG. International Projects unit and the U. OP. International Research Programmes unit.
Training activities aimed at enhancing and disseminating the results of intellectual property and open access to research data and outputs.
- First year: 0,5 CFU (3 hours)
- Second year: 0,5 CFU (3 hours)
- Third year: 0,5 CFU (3 hours)
The enhancement and dissemination of research results are covered by a basic training course designed to introduce the main channels for managing and sharing research outputs. This activity, aimed at protecting doctoral candidates’ research results and at identifying and organising the most efficient methods for allocating and exploiting usage rights and research outcomes, is also organised in collaboration with the University Library System.
Advanced training on the fundamental principles of ethics, gender equality and integrity.
- First year: 0,5 CFU (3 hours)
- Second year: 0,5 CFU (3 hours)
- Third year: 0,5 CFU (3 hours)
Elective training activities.
- First year: 10 CFU
- Second year: 10 CFU
- Third year: 8 CFU
Allocation of CFU for elective training activities
- Attendance at a conference, congress or seminar: 0.25 CFU for every 4 hours of attendance.
- Invited presentation at a conference, congress or seminar: 2 CFU.
- Scheduled interventions at conferences: 1 CFU.
- Research stays abroad (Erasmus or other types): 3 CFU.
- Attendance at specialist courses, Summer/Winter Schools or certifiable training activities related to the doctoral candidate’s training and research (subject to evaluation by the Academic Board): 0.5 CFU for each day of attendance.
- Publication of scholarly works (the date of acceptance of the contribution or the publication date of the volume shall be authoritative):
- Monograph: 4 CFU;
- Article in a Class A scientific journal: 2 CFU;
- Article in an accredited scientific journal, essay in a volume, book chapter: 1 CFU.
- Tutoring activity provided by the University of Messina, duly certified: 3 CFU.
- Teaching activities, including supplementary teaching and remedial courses: 0.5 CFU for every 6 hours (as shown in the certification issued by the responsible instructor).
- Third‑mission activities (public engagement/outreach): 0.5 CFU for every 4 hours (as shown in the certification issued by the responsible instructor).
(*) Publications submitted for admission to the subsequent year of the programme or to the PhD final examination cannot be counted under this item (elective training activities related to research)
Please note: CFU earned from elective training activities that exceed the annual allocation for each year (10 CFU for Year I and Year II, and 8 CFU for Year III) will not be counted toward the annual threshold of 60 CFU.
If circumstances prevent attendance at training activities, a limited number of excused absences is permitted upon submission of appropriate supporting documentation. The maximum allowable excused absences for common and curricular lessons are set as follows.
Maximum excused absences by Curriculum.
Curricula 1, 2, 3, 4, Maximum allowable excused absences for common and curricular lessons:
- First year: max 12 hours
- Second year: max 9 hours
- Third year: max 6 hours
Curriculum 5, Maximum allowable excused absences for lessons, interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary seminars:
- First year: max 12 hours
- Second year: max 9 hours
- Third year: max 6 hours