Who we are
We are philosophers who believe that philosophy needs specific professional abilities and that PhD is a fundamental step towards  getting a job in philosophy. Here is the text (in Italian) of the opening lecture of the foundation of FINO consortium: Salvatore Veca: Filosofia come professione.

The FINO Consortium – now FINO Convention – was constituted in 2013 with the support of the Compagnia di San Paolo and comprises 4 Universities of the North-Western region in Italy, strengthening the already established  relationships and cooperation among faculty members:
University of Genova;  University of Pavia; University of Eastern Piedmont; University of Torino.
The faculty is composed by over 70 scholars covering a large variety of philosophical approaches, interests and topics. All faculty members are eligible to  act as supervisor of the PhD dissertation and/or to play a fundamental role as tutor.

The Ph.D program offers
• 3 year international Ph.D Program
• 20 positions for graduate students
• 15 scholarships available (about 13.500 € per year) for EU and non-EU citizens.

Aims and Objectives of the Program
In accordance with the European philosophical tradition, the FINO doctoral program embraces a broad range of philosophical perspectives and approaches, aiming to provide graduate students with a rich context in which to discuss different traditions of thought. Moreover, it favors interdisciplinarity and the development of research that is integrated with non-humanistic areas. On completion of the program, graduates will possess up-to-date knowledge about the recent developments of philosophical research in its most important fields:

  1. they will possess up-to-date knowledge of the state of the art within the scope of their own disciplinary research; moreover, they will master the research methods appropriate either to theoretical investigations or to historical inquiries in philosophy;
  2. they will be able to conceive a research project, to plan its realization and to publish its results according to the standards of the international research community.  FINO graduates will also be able to refine their project once confronting it with their research community, in conformity with internationally shared standards of rigor and by means of the appropriate intellectual rectitude. Finally, graduates will be able to master all the proper research tools (computing techniques, use of library resources and cataloguing tools).

Professional Profile of FINO Graduates

  • Academic Research: FINO graduates should be qualified for employment in the global philosophical market,  in any of the branches pursued by the four FINO curricula.
  • Teaching  skills:  once got the Ph.D. title, they will be prepared for teaching in Academia.
  • Non-academic Professional abilities:  they will develop skills for professions related to the organization of information and knowledge; bioethics, philosophical counseling, applied ontology, web managing, no-profit organizations.
  • Furthermore, the FINO Consortium aims to train the opinion-formers of the next generation, by selecting and cultivating a group of well educated people with a strong cultural background,  who excel in critical thinking and are capable of autonomous reasoning and of vision concerning new scenarios in social and political cooperation.

A Balanced Philosophical Diet: Curricula
The FINO Consortium is shaped in 4 curricula that cover all the main philosophical areas of expertise – theoretical, practical, and historical perspectives: 

  • Curriculum 1: Mind, Language and Cognition 
  • Curriculum 2: Ethics and Politics
  • Curriculum 3: Phenomenology, Ontology, Hermeneutics and Aesthetics
  • Curriculum 4: History of Philosophy and of Science

Each curriculum is tailored to provide advanced and highly specialized research and teaching meeting graduate students’ needs and interests. Each doctoral student will choose one of the four curricula; moreover, some overlapping seminars will be run for all doctoral students, allowing  them to compare their views with those adopting different theoretical and methodological approaches. The Consortium  aims to foster interdisciplinary exchanges among different philosophical areas. Interdisciplinary workshops and seminars will therefore be established year by year by the faculty  teaching committee.

An International Program

  • Courses are either in English or Italian, according to students’ needs. Theses can be written in English.
  • Students are encouraged to spend at least one year abroad.
  • Mobility programs and international exchanges are available both for students and teachers.

 In order to facilitate study periods outside the Consortium, both abroad and within Italy, the FINO Consortium has already established or renewed collaborations and partnerships with other Universities. 

INFO (academic issues) PhD coordinator – Prof. Luca Fonnesu: coordinatorefonnesu.fino@unipv.it