Domenico Staiti

PhD Supervision Requests

Recently, a habit has emerged among graduates from all over the world to send their CVs and requests for research project supervision to many professors at various Italian universities, regardless of whether the research project actually matches the specific expertise of the recipients. This is a completely futile exercise. In Italy, admission to a PhD program is through a competitive selection process (concorso). Within the PhD program in Arts at the University of Bologna, the supervisor for each doctoral student is assigned by the Academic Board based on the submitted project and individual expertise, only AFTER the selection process is completed and the results are published. PhD courses require attendance at lectures and seminars, which are held predominantly in Italian, as well as knowledge of literature in Italian: proficiency in the language is essential. I would add that my CV and research interests are visible on my faculty webpage. I am available to offer feedback on the preparation of research projects—independent of the selection processes taking place at my own or other Italian universities—only to young scholars who approach me for research concerning specific topics in which I have direct and specialized expertise.

Published on: October 17 2026