The PhD program aims to train highly qualified personnel capable of critically managing the implementation of national and European Union directives regarding environmental analysis, delving into methodological aspects related to these topics, and independently designing and conducting environmental research within a multidisciplinary perspective on issues. The name of the PhD program is closely linked to the research topics of the faculty members, which are associated with the following ERC sectors: Terrestrial ecology, land cover change; Biogeochemistry, biogeochemical cycles, environmental chemistry; Soil science; Community and population ecology; Biodiversity, comparative biology; Conservation biology, ecology, and genetics; Environmental and marine biology; Environmental toxicology, Prokaryote biology. Agricultural, animal, fishery, forestry, biochemical, and industrial biosciences; Biotechnologies and environmental remediation, animal production; Agricultural crop production, soil biology, cultivated plant biology, Genetics, Population genetics, Molecular genetics, Genomics, Transcriptomics, Bioinformatics, Modeling and simulation, Environmental chemistry.

Career opportunities for PhD graduates are primarily in the field of environmental research, both at Italian and foreign universities, as well as at research institutions in Italy and abroad that address various aspects of environmental research in terrestrial and marine fields. The significant interdisciplinary nature of the PhD program equips graduates with a comprehensive skill set, enabling them to tackle research topics that require expertise across diverse scientific sectors. The methodologies learned throughout the PhD can be applied to address complex and multifaceted issues, such as: the effects of climate change on different natural ecosystems (ranging from the deep ocean to high mountains) and managed systems (such as agricultural and forestry environments); the role of biodiversity in sustaining ecosystem efficiency and its subsequent production of goods and services; the emergence of new pollution sources, the appearance of novel pollutants, and their effects on organisms; the management of next-generation closed-loop production systems; and the digitization of environmental data for public dissemination to foster a progressive ecological awareness among the general public.