Syllabus
(approved by the Pro-Vice-President on 15 September 2005. Ref. nr. C2005/1045)
(revised 16 October 2008)
(revised October 2013)
(revised 20 May 2014)
(revised 30 August 2016)
(revised 28 March 2018)
1 Description of the subject
Bioscience is an interdisciplinary field of research and education
at Chalmers University of Technology. Bioscience at Chalmers is
characterised by the development, implementation and communication of
technological and engineering tools and solutions to problems within
biology, biotechnology, biomedicine, bioinformatics and food science.
The graduate school for Bioscience operate across the following departments:
- Applied Mechanics (Tillämpad mekanik)
- Biology and Biological Engineering (Biologi och bioteknik)
- Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (Kemi och kemiteknik)
- Computer Science and Engineering (Data- och informationsteknik)
- Mathematical Sciences (Matematiska vetenskaper)
- Microtechnology and Nanoscience (Mikroteknologi och nanovetenskap)
- Physics (Fysik)
- Signals and Systems (Signaler och system)
2 Goal
The doctoral program in Bioscience aims to equip the graduate
student with the ability to plan, perform, critically evaluate and
present independent work within the research and development field,
industry, the educational sector and other operational activities within
society.
The education leads to a PhD- or licentiate degree in Bioscience.
Depending on whether the student has a background in technical or
natural sciences, the final exam will be either doctor or licentiate in
technology or philosophy.
The PhD student can choose to obtain their degree in Bioscience, or
in Bioscience with specialization in one of the following areas:
- Biochemistry (Biokemi)
- Bioinformatics (Bioinformatik)
- Biomedical Engineering (Medicinsk teknik)
- Bionanotechnology (Bionanoteknik)
- Biophysical Chemistry (Biofysikalisk kemi)
- Biophysics (Biofysik)
- Educational Science (Utbildningsvetenskap)
- Food & Nutrition Science (Livsmedelsvetenskap)
- Industrial Biotechnology (Industriell bioteknik)
- Theoretical Biology (Teoretisk biologi)
- Molecular Biology (Molekylärbiologi)
- Synthetic Biology (Syntetisk biologi)
- Systems Biology (Systembiologi)
3 Admission
The general prerequisites for enrollment in the graduate school of
Bioscience is either an MSc degree, engineering degree or equivalent
education, with focus on Biosciences or the particular specialization
the PhD education should be oriented towards (see above, paragraph 2).
Specific prerequisites:
- Applicants to the doctoral program must have achieved 240
credits (HEC) of which 60 HEC must be at an advanced level (i.e. at
least 60 HEC must be from Master courses).
- Students with other equivalent education may be admitted to the PhD
program after review and consideration of expected capacity to complete a
post graduate education. For more details on admission requirements,
such as knowledge of English etc., please refer to Chalmers “Rules of
Procedure – Doctoral Programmes” (paragraph 4.1 – Prior knowledge
requirements) or the “Graduate Student Handbook”.
- Applicants must be approved by a department with supervisors and
examiners in Bioscience prior to commencing their graduate studies.
MSc degree certificates and other relevant documents are reviewed
by the Director of the graduate school who, together with the Proprefekt
(Deputy Head of Department), approves admissions to the graduate
school.
The PhD student is initially employed for a period of one year,
thereafter the employment agreement is renewed for another two years,
and finally for one last year. For the employment contract to be
renewed, all the requirements must be fulfilled by the PhD student. The
requirements are reviewed by the Director of the graduate school in
conjunction with yearly follow-up conversations. The Director of the
graduate school consult with the Supervisor and advises the Examiner if
the contract should be renewed. If necessary the Proprefect is
consulted.
For further details of admission requirements, please refer to
Chalmers “Rules of Procedure – Doctoral Programmes” (paragraph 4.1 –
Prior knowledge requirements) and the “Graduate Student Handbook”.
4 Structure of the education
Students admitted to the graduate school are assigned a main
Supervisor, who is responsible for the supervision of the educational
process and the development of the current scientific research project.
In addition, each graduate student should be assigned at least one
Co-Supervisor. The main Supervisor is responsible for finding a suitable
Co-Supervisor. Graduate students are also assigned an Examiner, who
should not be the same person as the main Supervisor. The Examiners’
most important task is to authorise that the PhD student meets the
prerequisites for half way seminar, licentiate degree and PhD degree.
The Examiner also determines which courses can be included in the exam,
as well as how many credits (HEC) they correspond to.
Each graduate student must have a personal study plan. The study
plan should be prepared in a specific template, which can be downloaded
here. The personal study plan should be completed no later than three
months after admission to the graduate school. This is done in
consultation with the main Supervisor. After that, the personal study
plan should be sent to the Director of the graduate school. Progress of
education is followed-up with annual meetings, of which the first
meeting should take place well in time prior to the end of the first
year, usually 9 months after start. Ahead of each follow-up meeting the
PhD student is responsible for updating the personal study plan,
according to instructions noted within the template and where necessary
following clarifications in person during the follow-up meeting. The
personal study plan is an important document, which is officially
recorded and, amongst other things, provides the basis for half way
seminars and renewal of employment contracts. Instructions for the
personal study plan and follow-up meetings are listed below in bullet
points:
- Mandatory follow-up conversations with the Director of the
graduate school should take place yearly. These meetings are booked by
the PhD students themselves via a slot reservation list sent by email by
the Director of the graduate school at least twice per year to all PhD
students in the graduate school.
- Apart from the PhD student and the Director of the graduate school,
at least one Supervisor should attend the meeting. Other parties, such
as the Examiner, Co-Supervisor and others are welcome to join the
meeting if desired.
- The personal study plan is updated by the PhD student and sent to
the Director of the graduate school at least two working days prior to
the meeting.
- After the meeting the study plan is revised according to the
discussion and decisions taken during the meeting. The PhD student
collects signatures from the main Supervisor and Examiner and send the
updated study plan to the Director of the graduate school for final
signature. The final, signed, version should be sent in pdf format by
email to the Department Administrator (institutionsadministratören) for
archiving in Chalmers 360 registry system.
The graduate school comprises a number of components of a total of
240 HEC for a doctoral degree or 120 HEC for a licentiate degree (60 HEC
represent one year of full time study at Swedish universities and
colleges). A doctoral degree is equivalent to 4 years of full time
studies. The licentiate degree is equivalent to 2 years of full time
studies. Graduate students can work up to 20% of a full time with either
teaching at undergraduate level, other departmental- or external
assignments. In such cases, a licentiate degree can take up to a maximum
of 2,5 years, while a doctoral degree can take up to a maximum of 5
years.
The graduate program consists of the following components:
- Research work which forms the basis of a scientific thesis
- Mandatory and optional courses
- Participation in scientific conferences, seminars and guest lectures at the department and the graduate school
It is strongly recommended that graduate students, in addition to
their own research area, acquire skills in the following two areas prior
to receiving their PhD degree in Bioscience:
- Statistical planning of biological experiments and analysis of experimental results
- Ethical issues in bioscience research
This knowledge can be assimilated either through formal courses or
seminars, participating at conferences, during work in the graduate
school or through previous education.
4.2 Courses
To receive a PhD degree, at least 60 HEC is required, whereof at
least 15 HEC must be from Generic and Transferable Skills courses (GTS
courses) and 6 HEC from Advanced Technologies in Bioscience. To receive a
licentiate degree at least 30 HEC is required, whereof at least 9 HEC
must be from GTS courses and 4 HEC from Advanced Technologies in
Bioscience.
The exam for a course included in a PhD degree can be in written or
oral form, or in the form of a project or similar. Only ratings “pass”
or “fail” are given for such courses.
4.2.1 Mandatory Courses
During their education, PhD students must acquire 15 HEC (9 HEC for
a lic. degree) in the field of Generic and Transferable Skills (GTS),
which is an umbrella term for activities and courses which are not
directly related to the research topic, and which aims to give Chalmers
students professional and personal development. In addition, all PhD
students at Chalmers should attend an introductory day for PhD students,
and in the period after their half way seminar hold an oral popular
science presentation
Advanced Technologies in Bioscience (6 HEC for PhD, 4 HEC for lic.)
is a required course in the Graduate School of Bioscience. This course
should consists of in-depth studies of 2-3 techniques that the PhD
student uses in their research. Examination is in the form of one
report/technology.
4.2.2 Optional Courses
These courses should have a strong focus on bioscience, or on the
subject of a particular specialization. When the PhD student choose to
specialize within a particular subject, approximately 50% of the
optional courses should be with focus on bioscience.
Completed courses at the advanced level (Master) can be credited as
courses for a PhD degree, provided that the obtained total credits
exceeds 240 HEC. The number of credits which can be credited corresponds
to obtained credits over 240 and a maximum of 30 HEC. The Examiner
decides which courses can be credited.
5 Requirements/rules for graduation
5.1 PhD degree
To obtain a PhD degree the following requirements must be fulfilled:
- Completed courses of at least 60 HEC (see above, point 4.2)
- Approved half way seminar or licentiate degree
- Approved popular science presentation (see above, point 4.2.1)
- Approved PhD thesis and thesis defence
The requirements for the half way seminar are the same as for the
licentiate degree (see below, point 5.2), with the exception that the
licentiate thesis is not included. Normally this should take place prior
to the end of year 3. A reminder is sent to the PhD student after 2,5
years.
The PhD thesis should normally be written in English (Swedish can
be approved, but the thesis should still include a summary in English in
such cases). The thesis should include an overview of the research
field as well as a discussion concerning the student’s own contributions
towards this research field. The thesis should be based on at least 4
scientific articles based on the doctoral student’s own original
research whereof at least two must be published.
To ensure that the thesis is of an acceptable quality, a
preliminary version of it should be sent for review to the opponent and
members of the grading committee at least three months prior to the
thesis defence. The preliminary version should, as a minimum
requirement, include a short summary of the work (approximately 1
A4-page), as well as the articles and manuscripts intended to be
included in the final thesis. The final, printed, thesis should be
available for review at least three weeks prior to the defence date.
The doctoral thesis is defended at a public thesis defence, after
which the grading committee assesses whether the grade “pass” or “fail”
should be given.
5.2 Licentiate degree
To obtain a licentiate degree the following requirements must be fulfilled:
- Completed courses of at least 30 HEC (see above, point 4.2)
- Approved licentiate thesis
- Approved licentiate seminar
The licentiate thesis can be written in English or Swedish. The
thesis should include an overview of the research field as well as a
discussion concerning the student’s own contributions towards this
research field. The thesis should include at least 2 scientific articles
based on own original research, whereof at least 1 article, with the
student as first author, must be published.
The licentiate thesis should be presented publically in English or
Swedish, after which the Examiner in consultation with the main
Supervisor assesses the thesis and its presentation. Only the grade
“pass” or “fail” is given.