The Doctoral Program in Geosciences at the University of Padova is engaged in world-class research involving the full breadth of the Earth sciences that has been grouped in 6 main research areas at the Department of Geosciences:

1) Sediments, life and climate throught time, 2) Earth and planetary dynamics, 3) Seismology and applied geophysics , 4) Natural resources, raw materials, and sustainability, 5) Archaeometry, geoarcheology and geoheritage and 6) Geomorphological processes and landforms, geological hazards and risks.

We therefore range from research topics where "basic" disciplines are mainly involved to "applied" research activities, fields where the disciplines of Earth Sciences are proving to be crucial for a country like Italy subject to high hydrogeological vulnerability and high seismic and volcanic risks.

Ph.D. students are actively involved in the research programs of the Department of Geosciences, within which they must develop aspects of their particular interest, working with high level of independence on research projects approved by the Academic Board. The Ph.D. aims to train specialists capable of dealing with a wide variety of interdisciplinary connections that typically characterize the research in the Geosciences. The skills and expertise acquired by the Ph.D. candidates during the program will allow them to operate with full competence in a very wide spectrum of fields.

In recent years, the research projects assigned are characterized by great interdisciplinarity, in line with the research methods and approaches of the modern geosciences. During the program, Ph.D. students have very often to face with specific challenges that to be overcome need either highly specialized analytical methodologies and techniques or collaborations with researchers from other disciplinary fields (e.g., engineers, mathematicians, chemists, physicists and biologists). Most of the projects are conceived with strategies aimed at creating an opportunity for collaborations with Italian or foreign public or private universities or research institutes in order to implement the skills, expertise and knowledge of the individual doctoral students.