Important updates concerning our Doctoral program in Biology !

As of the 1st of October 2022, the following changes will be implemented:

• A new name for the program: Doctoral School in Life Science (DSLS)​

• A new thesis development structure (only applicable to new PhD students), including: 
  • Appointment of a Thesis Advisory committee since the onset of the thesis. The committee consists of at least 3 members incl. the PhD supervisor, 1 internal and 1 external member (all members should hold a PhD and have expertise in the topic of the thesis project). The Thesis Advisory Committee’s role is to advise the PhD candidate, provide critical feedback on the research project and data interpretation, monitor the thesis progress throughout the doctoral studies, and provide support if needed. The committee will meet once a year, the first time within the first 6 months of the PhD to evaluate the project proposal feasibility and methodology (ideally before the start of the first data collection). The 2nd year meeting should resemble the old mid-thesis meeting format and represent an evaluation of the progress, including evaluation of potential for publication. The last meeting should represent an evaluation of the progress with regard to project completion and submission of the thesis. Before each meeting, the PhD student will send a short progress report to the members of the committee in preparation for the meeting. During the meeting, the PhD students will briefly present their work and discuss their progress and future plans for the thesis. These meetings can be held online. The form for committee members registration can be found here.
  • Yearly questionnaires to evaluate the PhD progress (following the Committee meeting) and the supervision quality.
  • The number of credits required remains at 12, with a minimum of 6 credits within the Doctoral School program, and a minimum of 2 in each activity category (Transferable skills, Research tools, Scientific activities).
  • Publications as 1st author in a peer-reviewed journal now count for 1 credit (in the category Scientific activities).
  • The service learning activity "Microbes at School" organised by the Microbiology lab can now be integrated by PhD students (with a limited number of places) and will count as 3 credits (in the category Transferable skills)
  • and many more updates in the yearly program to discover online soon!

As a reminder, please note that:

- No travel nor mobility grants can be awarded by the doctoral program, please see the webpage Useful links - travel grants for other information.