Established in 2005, the Ph.D. course in Methods and Methodologies of Archaeological and Historical-Artistic Research is promoted by the Department of Cultural Heritage Science of the University of Salerno. It is characterized by the presence of a wide range of disciplines that have as their object of study the interpretation, enhancement and planning of cultural heritage, as meant in the dynamic and relational sense defined by the Faro Convention. To the young researchers, the Ph.D. in Methods and Methodologies of Archaeological and Historical-Artistic Research offers an advanced education that provides critical-theoretical tools and methods to deal with the complexity and contradictions of the present, with particular attention to the influence that the research activities can have not only in knowledge and, therefore, in the protection and enhancement of cultural heritage – considered in its history and interpreted in its perspectives – but also in the development of a more conscious, democratic and inclusive society.
Didactic and research activities focus on enhancing scientific and project skills in archaeological and historical-artistic disciplines, but also in the field of aesthetics, visual arts and theater, with a critical approach open to comparison and to the multiplicity of knowledge and contexts.
Research and didactics are in constant comparison and the doctorate develops – at the highest level -methodologies, knowledge and best practices of the Department of Cultural Heritage Science, with which the doctorate shares the holistic vision and the plurality of approaches in education, research and in the dissemination of knowledge regarding the complex system of cultural heritage.
The Academic Board of the Ph.D. also includes scholars from other Italian and foreign universities and research centers, who share a vision of the cultural heritage that is based on the methodological knowledge of each discipline and opens up to the issues of management and enhancement of heritage in its different branches.
The Ph.D. course is divided into two curricula – “Archeology and territorial systems” and “History of art, aesthetics and image languages” – and is especially aimed at the education of young researchers who – in the context of archaeological heritage as well as in the context of studies on artistic heritage and on the development of the contemporary culture of image – know how to develop and use study methods that allow them to work on research in a European and global perspective. The doctorate, therefore, offers a program of courses and seminars with an interdisciplinary approach and with an international focus, aimed at the production of a kind of research based on critical thinking and that deals with the richness of meaning of the cultural heritage and its value in the harmonious development of the “planetary society” (Morin).
The doctorate has been coordinated by Angela Pontrandolfo and Mauro Menichetti and is currently coordinated by Stefania Zuliani.

Job opportunities
The Ph.D. program aims to provide a scientific and technical education with a broad and updated methodological approach suitable for the professions of archaeologist, art historian, art critic, curator and conservator of museum collections, curator of exhibitions and cultural projects, expert of territorial information systems in relation to cultural heritage. The Ph.D. answers to the demand for highly qualified professionals in all the institutes deputed to research and education (Universities, CNR, Higher Education Institutes, Academies of Fine Arts), as well as in all those institutions responsible for the protection and enhancement of cultural heritage (Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, Territorial Superintendencies in charge of Archaeological Heritage and Historical-Artistic Heritage). In addition, these professional experts can take on a managerial role even in the more complex and varied world of companies, corporations, cultural organizations, foundations, regional and local administrations operating in the cultural heritage sector, successfully crossing public and private sectors.