Doctoral Studies

The current internal Ph.D. program regulation has been approved by the Assembly of the Department in 2018. Holders of Integrated Masters or Master of Science Degrees are given the opportunity to pursue Doctoral Studies. Those interested to become PhD Candidates must submit an official request and all relevant documents to the Secretary of the Department. A three-member committee evaluates the perspective PhD Candidate’s profile whether the necessary prerequisites are fulfilled and drafts an official report to the Department General Assembly making their recommendation. The Department General Assembly decides whether the person should become a PhD Candidate. Members of Academic Staff may supervise up to 5 PhD Candidates at any given time.

To every PhD Candidate, the General Assembly assigns a three-member supervising committee, which in turn suggests to the General Assembly the topic of the PhD Thesis. The course duration ranges from a minimum of 3 years and to a maximum of 8 years. The PhD Candidate should also attend two taught modules, as required by their supervising committee after a recommendation of the supervisor. The supervisor, in collaboration with the PhD candidate, should submit a yearly report of progress, which would include the future work scheduled for the subsequent year. The PhD Candidate must also present two seminars relevant to their area of specialty.

The PhD course should aim at achieving novelty and excellence, which should be shown with at least one publication in a peer-reviewed scientific Journal reporting data from the PhD Candidate’s research. For the final evaluation of the PhD Candidate at the completion of the PhD study, a seven-member examination committee is selected by the General Assembly; this committee includes the three members of the supervising committee. The PhD Candidate presents and defends orally her/his thesis publicly in front of the examination committee, which evaluates the novelty and excellence of the examined research and decides whether the PhD Candidate may be qualified for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy.

For more information you must contact the secretariat office of the Department.