Programme Overview

Overview

The doctoral program, jointly offered by the University of Florence and the IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca, focuses on studying the interactions between social, economic, and environmental systems with the aim of promoting sustainability and wellbeing.

 

Why choose this PhD programme?

S3W stands out for its transdisciplinary nature, going beyond traditional training in economics to encompass fields such as ecological and institutional economics, economic geography, ethical finance, and sustainable accounting. It brings together diverse backgrounds, combining rigorous academic research with strong practical application. Through cross-disciplinary courses, we train experts capable of succeeding in academia, public institutions and sustainability-oriented companies.

Choose this programme if you want to go beyond the boundaries of mainstream economics and seek concrete advanced tools to understand the complexities of the ecological transition. This is the ideal path if you are looking for a stimulating environment where plural economic approacches meets business and institutional practice, and if you believe that integrating different disciplines is the key to generating a real, lasting impact on society and the biosphere.

 

Approach and method

Research within the S3W PhD program adopts a strongly interdisciplinary approach, integrating theoretical rigour with applied analysis. The program is enriched by internships with companies, public institutions, firms and banks, enabling the testing of methodologies in real-world settings. Active participation in national and international conferences is an integral part of the approach, ensuring continuous engagement with both the scientific community and the professional world.

We aim at training an expert in social science methods applied to sustainability and wellbeing issues, broadly understood. The training approach promotes system thinking, interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity, and is based on learning-by-doing, with topic coursers, internship opportunities and involvement in actual research projects.

 

International dimension

The S3W PhD program boasts well-established global collaborations that facilitate visiting periods and joint research. We are currently enhancing our educational offerings by working to launch double-degree programs with prestigious universities in the USA, Latin America, and China. These opportunities provide doctoral candidates with exceptional mobility and access to a global network, both of which are essential for a high-level academic or professional career.

 

Impact and career prospects

The program trains highly qualified professionals capable of analyzing and managing complex processes of economic, social, and environmental transformation. The skills developed during the doctoral program are therefore highly valuable in academia, public administration, national and international institutions, and third-sector organizations dedicated to social innovation and sustainable development.

Employment opportunities are wide, in that more and more public institutions and private companies are actively seeking to integrate sustainability and wellbeing into their policies and programs, thus offering research funding and job opportunities in the public and private sector.

 

You can also access the PhD programme information via IMT School for Advanced Studies Lucca's website (Ita - Eng)