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Type

PhD Programme

Access mode

Programmed

Length

3 years

Location

Reggio Emilia

Language

English

Department

Department of Education and Humanities

Course presentation (FOR PhD course/Specialisation school ONLY)

The Industrial PhD in Reggio Childhood Studies, offered by the Department of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, in collaboration with Fondazione Reggio Children – Loris Malaguzzi Center, provides a third-cycle program that is distinctly transdisciplinary and international, enriched by high-level international partners in the field of research.

The methodological approach, content, and practices of the educational philosophy and philosophy of knowledge developed in Reggio Emilia can be summarized in the idea that knowledge is a social good, constructed and shared cooperatively. This prestigious legacy forms the foundation of the challenges taken up by the PhD program, which aspires to build multidirectional and multidisciplinary development pathways. These are designed to equip doctoral candidates with the skills and knowledge necessary to understand and address the complexity of global reality.

The program is situated within the "industry/industries" framework of Fondazione Reggio Children – Loris Malaguzzi Center, which offers ongoing and open laboratories for the elaboration of educational experience in its diversity and variety, within a multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary methodological context.

The program also benefits from an International Network, comprising representatives from over 40 countries. This network allows PhD candidates to engage with a variety of research environments—each of proven significance—so they may acquire the tools needed to understand, develop, and respect new forms of knowledge and educational experience, all within the methodological framework of the Reggio Emilia Approach.

Info

Department: Department of Education and Humanities
Didactic method: PRESENCE

More information

Calls, rankings and notices

Call for admission to PhD Programmes - 41° cycle - A.Y. 2025/2026

Italian second cycle master's degree (Laurea Magistrale, under D.M. 270/04 or Laurea Specialistica, under D.M. 509/99) or Italian degree obtained prior to D.M. 509/99 (the previous Italian regulations) or Second cycle Master's degree obtained abroad and recognized as suitable for the admission to doctoral program.
More information available in the Call.

PhD graduates in Reggio Childhood Studies will be qualified to take on leading roles in the design, organization, and pedagogical coordination of early childhood services. They will also be able to contribute to research in the humanities, work within institutions that promote and organize cultural activities, and serve as educational consultants in both public and private sectors. Furthermore, they may act as advisors and trainers for leadership, guidance, support, and oversight bodies established by public administrations or private organizations.

As scholars, trainers, and evaluators, they may engage with centers and projects focused on pedagogical and psycho-pedagogical research, taking on responsibilities in the design of collaborative policies at both national and international levels (such as cultural foundations, international relations, human resources, etc.).

Career opportunities will be available within public and private institutions, both national and international, that promote the Reggio Emilia educational approach in various ways—across early childhood services and other educational levels.

A final professional pathway lies in academic research, at both national and international levels, in the many institutions where the Reggio Emilia Approach is the subject of study and research, and where it is adopted as a methodological and epistemological framework.