Agro-Food System

Admission to the PhD programme is governed by a public call for applications.

Candidates are invited to carefully read the competition notice and check the required documentation before proceeding with online registration.

The application will be complete and valid only after:

• have uploaded all mandatory documents and any optional documents;
• have paid the participation fee of € 50.00 (non-refundable) to be paid online;
• have downloaded the file of the application form, which will be automatically generated by the system;
• have uploaded the file .pdf the application itself on the portal.

At each step, you are asked to confirm what you have entered by clicking on the "continue" icon visible at the bottom right. As proof of the validity of the registration for the competition, the candidate will receive a confirmation e-mail from the PhD Office. If the e-mail is not received, the candidate will have to access the portal again to complete the procedure and complete the application form.

Candidates who have problems with expired users - username and password no longer valid - can write to: servicedesk.it@unicatt.it

The PhD secretariat is available for further information at 0523 599.476/493 - email agrisystem-pc@unicatt.it (from 9 to 12 from Monday to Friday) - Summer closure from 4 to 17 August 2025. 

• Places available: 25
• Scholarships available : 18
• Additional scholarships: 1

of which 17 scholarships aimed at the realization of the following research projects:

• 1 position with a scholarship aimed at carrying out the research project in "Strategies to improve the health, well-being and sustainability of dairy cows", funded by the Emilia-Romagna Region (DGR no. 315 of 10/03/2025), as part of the training projects for research 41st cycle - High skills for the resilience of the territory and communities - presented under the Notice approved with DGR no. 2072/2024. PR ESF+ 2021/2027. Priority 2. Education and training - Specific objective e)", CUP J33C25000250008" - for information Prof. Erminio Trevisi
• 1 position with a scholarship aimed at carrying out the research project in "Development of a forecasting model for the complex of acid rot in viticulture: the role of Drosophila, vector and metabolic mediator", funded by the Emilia-Romagna Region (DGR no. 732 of 19/05/2025), as part of the training projects for research 41st cycle - High skills to contribute to the challenges of technological transition, cultural, economic and social towards sustainability - presented under the Notice approved with DGR no. 344/2025. PR ESF+ 2021/2027. Priority 2. Education and training - Specific objective e), CUP J33C25000580002" -  for information Prof. Ilaria Blacks
• 1 position with a scholarship aimed at carrying out the research project in "Survey and pilot interventions for the promotion of integrated rural development in low-income countries", funded by the Romeo and Enrica Invernizzi Foundation, C3S Research Center - Production of appropriate food: sufficient, safe, sustainable -  for information Proff. Vincenzo Tabaglio,  Giuseppe Bertoni, Andrea Minuti 
• 2 positions with scholarship aimed at carrying out the research project in "Study of the response to heat stress in livestock species using genomic and systems biology tools", funded by the Romeo and Enrica Invernizzi Foundation, Nutrigenomics and Proteomics Research Center - PRONUTRIGEN and the Research Center for Sustainable Dairy Production - CREI - for information Proff. Riccardo Negrini,  Gabriele Rocchetti
• 1 position with a scholarship aimed at carrying out the research project "Food consumption, psychology and health of the planet: between consumer perceptions, communication practices and behavioural change", funded by the Romeo and Enrica Invernizzi Agri-Food Reference Centre – IRCAF;  for information Proff.

• 1 position with a scholarship aimed at carrying out the research project in "Mitigation of methane and ammonia emissions in dairy cattle", funded by the Romeo and Enrica Invernizzi Research Center for Sustainable Dairy Production - CREI -  for information Erminio Trevisi, Andrea Minuti
• 1 position with a scholarship aimed at carrying out the research project in "Reducing Clostridium spp. contamination and improving food quality in agro-livestock farms", funded by the Romeo and Enrica Invernizzi Research Center for Sustainable Dairy Production - CREI - for information Proff. Antonio Gallo, Daniela Bassi
• 1 position with a scholarship aimed at carrying out the research project in "The role of dairy products in the promotion of healthy and sustainable diets: new perspectives for the integration of nutritional aspects in life cycle assessment", funded by the Romeo and Enrica Invernizzi Foundation -  for information Proff. Margherita Dall'asta, Federico Froldi
• 1 position with a scholarship aimed at carrying out the research project in "Use of SNP markers and genomic sequences for the study of biodiversity of zootechnical and aquatic species", funded by the Romeo and Enrica Invernizzi Foundation - for information Proff. Licia Colli, Paolo Ajmone Marsan
• 1 scholarship aimed at the realization of the research project in "Risk assessment of antimicrobial resistance in the food system: the role of microbiomes in the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes", funded by the Romeo and Enrica Invernizzi Foundation - info Prof. Pier Sandro Cocconcelli
• 1 scholarship aimed at carrying out the research project in "Innovative food biotechnology for microbiological food safety", funded by the European project ELEVATE - Empowering HEIs for Sustainable Entrepreneurship & Interdisciplinary Innovation, Proposal Number 24585, CUP J33C25000400006 - Prof. Pier Sandro Cocconcelli
• 1 scholarship aimed at the realization of the research project in "Innovations in the management of winemaking processes and by-products" -  for information Proff. Milena Lambri, Giorgia Spigno
• 1 scholarship aimed at carrying out the research project in "Food processing processes for the development of structures with optimal functionality and performance" - for information Proff. Roberta Dordoni, Giorgia Spigno
• 1 scholarship aimed at carrying out the research project in "Development of protocols for precision viticulture", named after the Eugenio and Germana Parizzi Foundation - for information Prof Matteo Gatti
• 1 position with a scholarship aimed at the realization of the research project in "Innovative approaches for the control of Alternaria toxins in the tomato supply chain", funded by the Emilia-Romagna Region as part of the Completion of programming for rural development of the CAP strategic program 2023-2027, Reg. (EU) No. 2021/2115 of 2 December 2021 intervention SRG01 support to operational groups EIP AGRI project INNOPOM - Innovative systems for the control of from Alternaria and related mycotoxins in tomatoes, CUP E47F23002390007 - for information Prof.

Additional scholarship - 1 position with scholarship aimed at the realization of the research project in "Agricultural practices and agro-ecosystem processes: dynamics of productivity, nitrogen and carbon in crop systems", funded by the BIORECOVER Project - Functional biodiversity and resilient systems for soil fertility and agro-ecosystem protection, Directorial Decree n.0540396 of 14/10/2024 - CUP J33C24002550008 - for information Dr. Andrea Fiorini

For the XLI cycle, in addition to the finalized scholarships, there are:

• n. 2 scholarships for the Economic-Legal Area

Places without scholarship: 6

• 5 places for the Organic-Agricultural area;
• 1 position for the Economic-Legal area.

Those who hold a specialist or master's degree, or those obtained pursuant to the educational regulations prior to the entry into force of Ministerial Decree no. 509 of 3 November 1999, and subsequent amendments and additions, or a suitable foreign qualification, may access doctoral courses without age and citizenship limitations.

The application for participation may also be submitted by those who obtain the qualification, in Italy or abroad, referred to in the first paragraph, by 31 October 2025.