Credits for PhD Candidates in the DSLS
As part of their doctoral training at the Doctoral School in Life Sciences (DSLS), PhD candidates are required to complete a total of 12 credits. At least 6 of these credits must come from courses offered directly by the DSLS.
How can I earn credits?
You can earn credits by a ttending courses, activities, or workshops organized by:
- The Doctoral School in Lifes Sciences (DSLS) of the Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel
- External programs (e.g., CUSO Biology programs, CUSO Transferable Skills program)
- Other opportunities (REGARD, Equality Office, LS2, etc.)
- Giving a presentation at an international conference
- Publishing as first author
- Participating in science outreach activities
Additional Training Opportunities
We encourage all DSLS students to take advantage of the many external training programs available. Many of these — such as CUSO Biology programs (Ecology and Evolution, Microbiology, Molecular Plant Sciences, StarOmics: genetics, proteomics, genomics, etc.)— offer high-quality workshops, courses, and activities free of charge, often with travel costs reimbursed.
These programs do not require you to validate credits with them, but the activities you complete can be counted towards your DSLS credit requirements. In the case of CUSO, you may register for several programs at once to access a wider range of learning opportunities.
More information on CUSO programs: https://biologie.cuso.ch/home
Credit categories
To ensure a well-rounded academic experience, candidates must also earn a minimum of 2 credits in each of the following categories:
Transferable skills (T)
Competences that are transferable to other career paths than academia:
e.g., Scientific writing, Public speaking, Project management, Conflict management, Stress management, Carreer planning, Outreach events, etc.
Research tools (R)
Practical skills or specific scientific technics :
e.g., Biostatistics, Statistical softwares, Microscopy, Sequencing, etc.
Scientific activities (S)
e.g., Presentations at conferences or seminars, scientific workshops (e.g., Open Science, Agriculture, Animal Behaviour, etc.)
How are credits validated?
To validate credits :
- Attend the course or workshop
- Obtain a certificate of participation
- Complete and sign the external credit validation form (for activities outside the DSLS)
- For presentations, include the abstract and event program
- Send all documents to: ds.biology@unine.ch
How much is one activity worth in credits?
Generally, 1 credit corresponds to:
- 2 days of workshop participation (approx. 14 hours)
- An oral presentation
- A first-author publication
- An outreach activity or event organization
For more detail see list of examples of credit validation by type of activity per type of activity
Who determines the value of a credit?
The DSLS academic coordinator determines the final credit value for each activity.
The External Credits Validation Form should be completed when a student seeks to receive credits for coursework, internships, training or conference presentation completed outside their home program or institution. Ideally, the form should be submitted after the activity with supporting documentation (certificate of completion or attendance, course program, abstract, conference program). Its purpose is to formally validate and integrate external academic experiences into the student’s current degree program.
The Example list of credit validation by activity provides a list of eligible activities through which DSLS doctoral students can earn credits toward their program requirements. Each activity—such as presentations, publications, outreach, or workshops—is assigned a specific credit value and falls under one of three categories: Scientific (S), Transferable (T), or Research (R) skills.
Credits are based on effort or duration (e.g., 7 hours = 0.5 credits), and students can use this list to plan and track their training and academic engagement throughout the PhD.