The curriculum is designed to train highly qualified personnel by providing the theoretical foundations and core methodological skills needed to conduct innovative translational and clinical research in all areas of bio-psychological and statistical sciences. These are devoted to the study of the organisation of behaviour and of the main psychological functions through which individuals interact with the environment and develop representations of the environment and of themselves. Training is also focused on the investigation of the foundations and biological, physiological and neuropsychological correlates of behaviour and psychological functions in humans and animals, as well as on the development of scientific and disciplinary expertise concerning the relationships between nervous structures and mental activity.

From a methodological perspective, the curriculum covers the scientific and disciplinary competences related to the methods and techniques of psychological, psychobiological and neuropsychological research, to natural and artificial cognitive systems and their interactions, as well as quantitative methods for research design and the theories and procedures of measurement in the psychological sciences.

The curriculum also promotes the acquisition of competences in basic biological and biochemical research, including the study of molecular, cellular and genetic mechanisms.

The programme of lectures and seminars is delivered by members of the Academic Board, by experts from national and international institutions or by professionals from the technology industry. The scientific training pathway is based on experimental work carried out in the laboratories and facilities of the proposing Department under the supervision of a Tutor. Collaborations with advanced research centres, in Italy and abroad, are strongly encouraged, with the aim of training researchers capable of distinguishing themselves in the national and international scientific landscape.