Dottorato di ricerca

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In Italy, the dottorato di ricerca (doctorate of research) is the highest academic degree, and the equivalent of a Ph.D..

The dottorato is a relatively recent addition to the Italian academic landscape, having been instituted in 1980.

Students are admitted to the doctoral program via competitions offered by individual universities, which set their own standards for admission. The program is from three to five years in length.

Holders of the laurea (a lower degree, similar to bachelor's degree) are granted the title "Doctor" (dottore; women are commonly named dottoressa); holders of the laurea specialistica (now renamed laurea magistrale, similar to master's degree) are granted the title "Doctor magistralis" (dottore magistrale); holders of the dottorato acquire the title of dottore di ricerca ("doctor of research").

Until recent times, laurea referred to the current laurea specialistica, and no title matching bachelor's degree existed in the Italian education system.

In Italy (as well as some Spanish-speaking countries such as Colombia or Mexico), the term dottore (or doctor in Spanish) is used commonly to refer to any person with a university degree, and sometimes to any person holding a certain authority independently of his/her academic qualifications. Therefore the need for the "... di ricerca" part in the Ph.D. title.

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