The goal of the PhD in Health Sciences (PhDCS) is to train PhD candidates in developing biomedical research on their own, in an academic setting, in a business setting or in healthcare institutions. It is targeted at Master holders in several areas of sciences, biomedicine, bioengineering and health technologies.
The PhDCS is a broad program with curricular flexibility that values not only previous training but also the diverse specialized paths in whichever biomedical area students choose. The research projects are usually developed (even though it is not mandatory) within the research domains at the Life and Health Sciences Research Institute: Microbiology and Infection, Neurosciences, Population Health and Surgical Sciences.
Applications are open throughout the academic year, as detailed in Access.
The PhD in Health Sciences is part of the Network of European Neuroscience Schools.
PhDCS has two study plans, one with three years (180 ECTS) and another with four years (240 ECTS). Both study plans include a common curricular unit, which corresponds to the design of the thesis (15 ECTS) that takes place during the first year. In the 180 ECTS study plan, the remaining 165 ECTS are totally devoted to developing the thesis. In the 240 ECTS study plan, the remaining 225 ECTS are dedicated to optional curricular units (45 ECTS) that may be selected from a wide range of choices, and to the thesis (180 ECTS) – which should be developed during the four years of the study plan.
The program is very flexible, to allow students to shape their training in accordance with previous background and competences, research interests and aims. As such, students can yearly choose among a vast offer of advanced courses that take place at the School of Medicine/ICVS UMinho (available here). Students can also be credited for courses taken elsewhere. Of relevance, the program is also shaped to train students in transferable skills (such preparation for interview, writing of CV and motivation letter, communication, ethics and integrity). Those topics are embedded in various curricular units (e.g. "Research Methodologies", "Laboratory Animal Sciences") and mandatory sessions are offered within the curricular unit "Preparation and presentation of thesis plan".
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There are two ways of applying to the PhD in Health Sciences:
Tuition fee for the academic year 2022/2023
*Annual values. Identical for the PhD with a course (doctoral program - 240 ECTS) and without a course (tutorial - 180 EUR).
PhDCS students enter the program usually with PhD scholarships from national or international funding agencies. There are two ways to obtain scholarships for this program:
The PhDCS currently has two specific scholarship-specific training paths supported by the Portuguese national funding agency for science, research and technology, FCT:
To apply to these grants check the procedures in Access.
During the PhD project, students develop original research within the areas of expertise of the School of Medicine, Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS) and 2CA Braga - Clinical Academic Center. These range from basic to translational and clinic research, considering the exciting environment of the health sciences ecosystem available. The diversity of the topics can be observed in the theses developed in the past years within the PhD program in Health Sciences.
