PhD in Molecular Biosciences
Education objectives
General characterization
DGES code
Cr24-2013
Cicle
PhD (3rd Cycle)
Degree
Doctor
Access to other programs
Available soon
Coordinator
Raquel Sá Leão e Ricardo Louro
Opening date
First week of September 2020
Vacancies
Students must find different sources of financing their PhD plan (either through national or internacional financing institutions). All students with external financing sources will be accepted in the MolBioS Doctoral Programme if they fulfill all the admission criteria.
Fees
For the academic year of 2019/2020 the minimum annual fee is 825.50 euros and the maximum annual fee is 2,750.00 euros.
These amounts are proposed by the Rector of UNL and approved by its General Council.
The annual fees from students with fellowships from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia are directly transferred from this Institution to ITQB NOVA.
PhD students with no financial support from public or private entities, may require a reduction of the annual fee to the Director of ITQB NOVA, according to what it is stipulated in Article 2, point 1, subpoint a) of “Regulamento de Propinas” from Universidade Nova de Lisboa, number 822/2010, of 29th October.
Students may opt for a tuition payment plan in four installments:
• 1st payment (25% of the total fees) - upon registration;
• 2nd payment (25%) – due till three months after the registration;
• 3rd payment 25%) - due till six months after the registration;
• 4th payment 25%) - due till nine months after the registration.
The non-payment of the annual fees, according to what is established on the Portuguese Law – DL 37/2003, of 22 August – article 29th, point a) and b), stipulates the following:
a) All academic procedures during this academic year are considered null;
b) The annual registration is suspended, until the annual fee is paid (with interest). This must be done in the same academic year. The supervisor will be informed of these matters.
In case the student decides not to continue the PhD studies or in case of failure to pay the annual fees, there will be no reimbursements of previous annual fees.
Schedule
The curricular part of the Doctoral Program 23 weeks, mostly in the first year, and begins in September with the following schedule:
Monday until Friday
09:30am - 01:00pm // 02:30pm - 05:30pm
Teaching language
Available soon
Degree pre-requisites
Attendance of the curricular units of the MolBioS Program is mandatory and the students should obtain approval in a minimum of 240 ECTS.
The curricular part of the Doctoral Program is constituted by core units followed by a specialization in one of the four profiles. The students may replace up to two curricular unit of the chosen profile by others from a different profile.
Students choose one laboratory affiliated with the Program to develop a research project within a competitive scientific environment. The process is accompanied by the Supervisor and the Thesis Committee. At the end, students write a PhD thesis to be presented and discussed orally with a PhD Jury
The Doctoral Program has the following structure:
Orientation week - 0
1. DNA and RNA Biology 1 1.5
2. Methods for Biosciences 1 1.5
3. Protein Biogenesis, Folding and Structure 1 1.5
4. Metabolism and Bioenergetics 1 1.5
5. Systems Biology 1 1.5
6. Frontiers in Biotechnology 1 1.5
7. Research Training I (lab rotations) 3 4.5
8. Research Training II 3 4.5
Total 12 18
9. Science Communication 1 1.5
10. Bioentrepreneurship 2 3
11. Fundamentals of Bioengineering 1 1.5
12. Technologies for Biopharmaceutical Development 1 1.5
13. Advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) 1 1.5
14. Bioprocess data analysis 1 1.5
15. Tools for Discovery and Preclinical Research 1 1.5
Total 5 7.5
16. Molecular machines of Life 1 1.5
17. Proteins in Disease Mechanisms 1 1.5
18. Nanoprocesses for Life Sciences 1 1.5
19. Chemical Biology 1 1.5
20. Methods for Biosciences II
Total 5 7.5
21. Mechanisms of Gene Expression 1 1.5
22. Microbial Cell and Developmental Biology 1 1.5
23. Host Responses to Microbial Infection 1 1.5
24. Bacterial Pathogenesis 1 1.5
25. Microbial Ecology and Evolution 1 1.5
Total 5 7.5
26. Plant Cell and Developmental Biology 1 1.5
27. Plant Metabolic Regulation 1 1.5
28. Eco-Physiology and Plant Interactions 1 1.5
29. Modern Strategies in Plant Breeding 1 1.5
30. Plant Biotechnology for Sustainability and Global Economy 1 1.5
Total 5 7.5
31. Thesis 3.5 years 210
Total 4 years 240
Conditions of admittance
Applicants meeting the following requirements may apply to this PhD program:
a) Holding a Master degree or legal equivalent, or a Bachelor’s degree with a total number of academic credits equal or above 240;
b) Holding a Bachelor’s degree and an academic or scientific curriculum vitae of high relevance, recognized by the legally competent ITQB scientific organ as certifying that the candidate has the capacity to complete the third cycle of studies;
c) Exceptionally, applicants with a highly relevant academic, scientific or professional curriculum vitae, recognized by the legally competent ITQB scientific organ as certifying that the candidate has the capacity to complete the third cycle of studies.
Evaluation rules
Each curricular unit has an independent evaluation procedure. Continuous evaluation is complemented withindividual or group assignments during the curricular unit.
The evaluation of the final research work will be made by a PhD jury that will take into account the work of the students in their different research stages, the public papers, the thesis itself, and its oral presentation and public discussion.