Objectives
The Doctoral Program in Biology has as main objective the further scientific and professional differentiation, thus contributing to the advanced training of specialized human resources with a view to their integration into the growing action network within the scope of the competences of the Life Sciences area and in particular by the nuclear branch of biology. The ultimate goal of the program, with strong focus on research, will be to train highly qualified researchers capable to perform and develop autonomously R & D projects , integrating sectors of the economic and social activity and / or in an university context. The programmes includes different biology special areas (Molecular Genetics, Microbiology, Cell Biology, Molecular Biology, Plant Biology, Biotechnology and Bioinformatics), each of which represent a domain of biological knowledge and meet a particular set of knowledge whose approach requires, in general, specific methodologies.
CURRICULAR STRUCTURE
The PhD program is organized according to a credit system. The doctoral program consists of the Project PhD thesis which is taking place in the 1st semester, and has 30 ECTS, and the PhD thesis taking place within seven semesters, which counts 210 ECTS. The complete duration of the study period corresponding to the PhD program is 8 semesters long (four years).
In each Biology doctoral program areas and, in in what regards the 1st semester of the Doctoral Thesis Project, 30 ECTS are awarded , divided into Doctoral Seminars and disciplines (s) belonging to the second or third cycle (s), which are advised to students according to their training needs within the doctoral specialty integrating the project they wish to develop. These disciplines are offered by the Life Sciences Department (CVD), by any other NOVA FCT’s Departments, or by other Organic Units belonging to NOVA. The PhD course structure is individually set for each student, according to their training need, and submitted to the Doctoral Programm Scientific Committee on a joint proposal of the mentor and the student.
The 2nd semester of the 1st year and the 2nd, 3rd and 4th years correspond to the development of experimental research, writing and public presentation of the PhD thesis and corresponds to 210 ECTS.
Career opportunities
Teaching in Higher Education Institutions, Scientific Research, Integration in multidisciplinary scientific teams, Scientific Laboratories, Biotech Industries, Pharmaceutical and similar.
