The Doctoral Course in Veterinary Science and Food Safety (SVSA) mission is to assist PhD students in developing research projects within a stimulating and fulfilling environment in terms of collaboration and scientific competitiveness. The candidate’s background can be different (Veterinary medicine, Biology and Biotechnology, Animal and food science), whereas [u]clinical research fields require a veterinary degree. The main objective is to stimulate the PhD student to pursue the [b]research activity independently, but also guided by a supervisor, with a problem-solving approach.

For this reason, the students should develop the ability to conduct systematic studies and analyse them considering the state of the art of the respective topic. During the period of doctorate, PHD students will receive soft skills training and multidisciplinary teaching to become more versatile towards professional requirements outside the veterinary field. The PhD students regularly meet their supervisor and they write a yearly report about their activities and work progress, that will be presented to the Faculty members as oral presentations. Moreover, they will be encouraged to present the findings of their work at national and international conferences.

From the XXIX cycle on, the publication (or acceptance) of a fist-name signed paper related to the student’s research project has become a mandatory requirement for admission to the final thesis evaluation. The SVSA PhD course research fields are:

• basic veterinary sciences;
• veterinary epidemiology, public health and food hygiene;
• food safety and food science;
• animal models for the study of human diseases;
• animal diseases.

After the degree The course trains eligible experts for employment in academia, where they will have the opportunity to continue their research. SVSA Doctors of Philosophy could be employed in the Italian National Health System (Istituti Zooprofilattici Sperimentali, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Azienda Sanitaria Locale, European Food Safety Agency), where they might work in control and prevention as well as in research. PhDs in SVSA have great work opportunities in the fields of [b]veterinary clinics, veterinary diagnostics, pharmaceutical and agronomic industries, and biomedical research[/b], performing qualified and managerial roles in research, health control and animal welfare. The work world embraces a vast number of SVSA PhDs, since the course is featured by a marked professionalizing nature similar to European “Professional PhD”. Thus, it is pivotal to maintain a practical propensity of research programs and provide the PhD students with tools for building different carriers other than pure research. [b]Coordinator of the Course is Professor Massimo MIlan

info mail phd.veterinaryscience@unipd.it

The doctoral course is managed by two departments of the University: MAPS (Animal Medicine, Production and Health) and BCA (Comparative Biomedicine and Food). Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science Department of Animal Medicine Production and Health