Italy, Academic Career Structure

 

 

Introduction

Competitiveness: Italy is usually perceived as a non-competitive system. Incentives for the system to be open are minimal. Universities are relatively autonomous but have few resources. Successful candidates to academic positions are usually internal with no guarantee that they are the best candidates.

Openness to non-nationals: overall, Italian universities are closed to non-nationals as these often lack the contacts necessary to pass a competition. Language is also a barrier. Some private universities and public departments of Economics are reported to be more open than others. Chek them by clicking here|.

Postdoc: until some time ago the assegno di ricerca is the closest to a postdoc in Italy. However, in recent years postdoc programmes have been opened in Italian universities. Visit single Italian university websites (see the list of Italian universities|). Click here| for other information.

Entry positions: the main starting position for a career in the Italian academia is that of permament ricercatore. Recently, the position of professore a contratto was created, which is a temporary lecturer position. Click here| for more information.

Career progress: to move up to professorship positions a ricercatore needs to pass different competitions, win them or become ideneo. It is claimed that these competitions are usually controlled by full professors. Click here|.

Temporary/permanent positions: apart from the assegno di ricerca and professore a contratto, all positions from that of ricercatore to full professor are permanent, civil servant positions. Click here |to know more.

Salaries: salaries and pay scales are fixed by the national legislation. See our section on salaries| for more information.

Gender: the presence of women in the Italian academia is limited. Women make up no more than one-third of the professoriate. Their careers are slower and shorter than men's and make up only 11.4% of Full Professors (1997-1998).

Universities and research instititutions: click here| for the list of the 94 Italian universities.

Job postings: openings for competitions in the academia are published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale|. The website concorsi.it| has a system of job alerts.

 

Higher Education in Italy

Italy has 94 universities, most of which were established directly by the state, while a limited number,  set up by private entities, were later recognised by the state. All institutions depend on the Ministero dell'Università e della Ricerca.

In Italy there are also 77 private universities, of which a smaller number (14) are chartered univerisities (recognised by the state). While two of them have a very comprehensive formative offer (Catholic University of Milan and the University of Urbino), private universities are in general specialised in specific disciplines such as Arts, Economics, Political Sciences and Law.

Universities enjoy a high degree of autonomy in determining the titles, content and outcomes with respect to learning of their own degree programmes. The state remains the main source concernig the definition of job positions and salaries in the academe. The state is also the main funding source not only of public (73%) but also private (43%) universities.

Apart from the universities, scholars can develop an academic career in the National Centre for Research, which has departments all over Italy.

 

Career Curriculum

1. PhD Candidate
2. Non-tenured Researcher (assegno di ricerca)
3. Contracted Professor (professore a contratto: hired to teach one or more
courses)
4. Researcher (ricercatore)
5. Associate Professor (professore associato)
6. Full Professor (professore ordinario)

The average age for obtaining the PhD degree is 31.

 

The entry level for an academic career is a normally the position of Researcher (ricercatore). The assegno di ricerca is sometimes used to cover research of PhD students without a grant. The position of postdoctoral researcher is not very common in Italy.

The Contracted Professor position has begun to be used as an entry level step into the career. Although the position was conceived as an opportunity for universities to hire experts on a certain subject as teachers for one or more courses, many universities use this form of contract to employ young researchers especially after their PhD.

To become a Ricercatore, one needs to win a competition (concorso) consisting of two written and an oral test. The procedure and requirements for a post are laid down in the Gazzetta Ufficiale (the Official Bulletin of the Italian Republic), where vacancies are announced. It is not necessary to have a PhD to complete the concorso. The examining commission is headed by an Associate or Full Professor of the Faculty where the recruitment takes place and complemented by two nationally elected members. At the end of its activities, the commission announces the winner of the competition. Since 1999 competitions are local, that is, organised by the university that offers a vacancy. However, the Moratti Law (2005) established that the contract of researcher would be abolished and replaced by temporary contracts.

The examining commissions in charge of recruiting researchers are composed of one full professor, one associate professor and one researcher. Critics stress that the composition gives too much power to the full professor, as he or she may assess the other members of the commission when they compete for a higher position in the future.

To become Associate Professor, one needs to pass a competition (concorso) consisting of a didactic test and a discussion of one’s scientific publications. The examining commission is headed by an Associate or Full Professor of the Faculty where the recruitment takes place and consists furthermore of four nationally elected Associate and Full Professors. At the end of its activities, the commission selects a maximum of two capable candidates (idonei), out of whom the Faculty selects a winner. Until three years after the competition, a candidate who was judged to be isuitable but did not win the competition, can still obtain a position in his/her field in the Faculty or in another university without having to pass a further competition. Since 1999 competitions are local, but the Moratti Law (2005) established that the competition will be national again from 2008 onwards. It is not necessary to have been Researcher to become Associate Professor.

To become Full Professor, one needs to pass a competition (concorso) consisting of a didactic test and a discussion of one’s scientific publications. The examining commission is headed by a Full Professor of the Faculty where the recruitment takes place and consists furthermore of four nationally elected Full Professors. At the end of its activities, the commission selects maximum two capable candidates (idonei), out of whom the Faculty selects a winner. Until three years after the competition, a candidate who was judged to be suitable (idoneo) but did not win the competition, can still obtain a position in his/her field in the Faculty or in another university without having to pass a further competition. Since 1999 competitions are local, but the Moratti Law (2005) established that the competition will be national again from 2008 onwards.

It is not necessary to have been Associate Professor to become Full Professor.

 

Barriers to Career Advancement

Access to the academic career and then progression along the career ladder is strongly conditioned by the fact that the Italian academic system is not meritocratic, and this ends up often being a barrier. Italian academia has the reputation of being highly closed and the professoriate is sometimes referred to as 'the mafia of the barons'. In fact, it is the candidate who beforehand has the support of the majority of the jury who usually wins a competition. Quite often the composition of the jury is negotiated beforehand to make a specific candidate win. The intrinsic quality of a candidate is of far less importance. Outsiders, not to speak of non-Italian citizens, have little or no chance.

However, critics, who plead for a liberalisation of the academic market and the introduction of a system that is close to the UK model, point out that the main problem is not that the system is closed (as in other countries including the UK and the US local candidates have a greater chance to obtain a position for a variety of reasons) but that universities are not punished for hiring less-competent people.

The alternative critics propose giving Italian universities full autonomy to hire the people they want and in the way they want (hence abolishing the very complex, expensive and biased system of competition) under the express condition that a system of incentives be built in for hiring competent people. For example, the subsidies of universities could be made dependent on the scientific output.

Another feature of Italian academia is the gender-inequality. Women make up no more than one-third of the professoriate. As their careers are slower and shorter, they make up only 11.4 % of Full Professors (1997-1998).

 

Job Security

Contracts and Duties

Researchers have no sabbatical opportunities. Associate Professors and Full Professors are entitled to a paid sabbatical year for research without teaching duties after five years of teaching.

 

Gross Salaries

Gross monthly salary levels from 2004

Start	Average	Max
PhD Student	c. 820 €/month	--	c. 820 €/month
Postdoc	1,500 €/month
Researcher	1,685 €/month	--	4,622 €/month
Associate Professor	3,004 €/month	--	6,232 €/month
Full Professor	3,969 €/month	--	8,522 €/month

Maximum level is reached after 39 years of seniority.

Source: Perotti, R., A. Ichino, et al. (2005), 'Le Retribuzioni Perverse dell’Universita’ Italiana|'.

Note: These salaries are gross and include insurance, pension contributions etc. for about 40%. They automatically increase every two years. They are low at the beginning of the career, but become high towards the end, even compared to academic salaries in the US. If one makes a full academic career in Italy, the salary at the end is 5 times the beginning salary. During the first three years in each position (the test period) no seniority is awarded.

While salaries of academics in the National Research Council are somewhat higher at the beginning because there is no trial period, the increase is slower than at the universities.

PhD fellowships are awarded for 36 months, with the chance to obtain 12 extra months (proroga) without a stipend. In the past years, the number of PhD students without a scholarship increased significantly.

 

Number of Existing Positions

Number of existing positions in 2005

All Disciplines
Researchers	22,010
Associate Professors	18,966
Full Professors	19,275

Source: Ministry, http://www.miur.it/scripts/visione_docenti/vdocenti0.asp|

About 1,800,000 students were  enrolled in the same year.

 

Accessibility for Non-Nationals

We have no exact numbers for how many foreigners are hired at Italian universities. However, it is widely reported that Italian academia is generally closed for foreign applicants. The common perception is that Economics is the discipline most open to foreign researchers, followed by Social and Political Sciences, History and Law.

Language may also be mentioned as a possible barrier for foreigners. Very few universities offer courses in English and it is generally expected that faculty members have a good knowledge of Italian. Many Italian professors do not speak English well. Junior faculty members generally perform better in this respect.