During the first year, it is compulsory for students to attend seminars and specific advanced courses. Therefore they need to reside in Genova or close nearby.

Each year short intensive workshops on specific topics are offered in order to enlarge the knowledge of research tools. The attendance of summer/winter school is also encouraged and funded by the program, within the limits imposed by available resources.    
During the first year, students choose a research field of interest in agreement with a supervisor, who must be a member of the PhD scientific board. It is also possible to identify a second supervisor from outside the University of Genoa, to support the student in specific areas of research. 

Upgrading to the second year is conditional on: 

1. passing all the required examinations for all the programmed courses;  

2. submitting a final year report that highlights the chosen area of research with a related brief literature review;

3. completing the online PhD student booklet, available here, where students must record all the activities undertaken during the year.

The Scientific Board, based on the above evidence, ratifies the upgrading decision. Passage to the second year is granted  also to students who fail up to 30% of the CFUs in all assessed courses held in the first year, on condition that they must receive a positive evaluation during the second year to be able to progress to the third.