Program Overview

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Program Overview

The International Doctoral Program in Integrative Neuroscience is designed to form the next generation of neuroscientists to address emerging questions in the area. The program provides a general view of the state of the art of the field of neuroscience, from an integrative point of view, covering topics from molecules, synapses, to neural circuits, behavior, and computation, in animal models and real-life human experiments, in health and disease.

General Objectives of the Course

The general objective of this PhD program is to provide transversal training that ranges from basic research to clinical applications, with emphasis on experimental design and data analysis methods. Starting with one year of intensive courses, students will define their respective PhD thesis projects that will be performed in their chosen laboratories.

Admission Requirements

The following may apply for access to the study cycle leading to a doctorate degree:

• Holders of a master's degree or legal equivalent in the following areas: Neuroscience, Biology, Engineering, Psychology, or related areas.
• Holders of a bachelor's degree, holders of a particularly relevant academic or scientific curriculum that is recognized as attesting the ability to carry out this cycle of studies by the Scientific Council of the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research.
• Holders of an academic, scientific, or professional curriculum that is recognized as attesting the ability to carry out this cycle of studies by the Scientific Council of the Interdisciplinary Research institute. Basic knowledge of English is required.

Professional Goals

Career paths for graduates include:

• Academia through postdoctoral training in any field of Neuroscience.
• Industry sector careers, either in Neuroscience-related areas or in other areas that require advanced knowledge in Biology, technical skills, and analysis tools.
• Non-scientific fields that require competences in management and problem-solving.
• Careers related to advanced data analysis, Neuroscience-related or others.
• Science communication or medical writing.

Mode of Study

The program offers full- or part-time attendance, with presence required in a daytime schedule.

Teaching / Evaluation Language(s)

Portuguese and English are the languages used for teaching and evaluation.

Examination Regulations, Assessment, and Grading

The evaluation is a pedagogical activity attached to teaching, intended to determine the skills and knowledge acquired by students. Assessment elements include:

• Written exams or oral tests.
• Written and practical assignments and projects (laboratory-based or computational), individual or in group, which may have to be defended orally.
• Class participation. The classification of each student for each course corresponds to an integer value between 0 and 20. Students are approved if they obtain a final mark of 10 or above.

Learning Objectives and Intended Skills

The objective is that the student reaches at the end of their PhD the following competences:

• Critical thinking in the subject of his/her thesis and in a wider context.
• Design and perform experimental/computational approaches to advance neuroscience state of the art.
• Critical analysis of results and discussion of them into the current body of knowledge.
• Presentation, writing, and publication of scientific results.
• Identification of the scientific and translational impact of results.

Course Coordinator(s)

• Ana Luísa Monteiro de Carvalho.
• Cristina Márquez Vega.

Recognition of Prior Learning

Recognition of prior learning is carried out in accordance with the Academic Regulations of the University of Coimbra.

Qualification Requirements and Regulations

The qualification is framed in Decree-Law no. 74/2006, of March 24, in the current version; Ordinance no. 782/2009, of July 23.

Graduation Requirements

Students must complete a total of 240 ECTS, with the 1st year corresponding to 60 ECTS and the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years corresponding to 180 ECTS, which includes the work of their PhD Thesis that must be defended in public.

Access to Further Studies

Post-doctoral training is available after completing the program.

Study Programme

• Academic year: Variable.
• Course Type: 3rd Cycle Studies.
• DGES Code: D037.
• Qualification Awarded: PhD in Integrative Neuroscience.
• Duration: 4 years.
• ECTS Credits: 240.0.
• Annual Fee: 2750.0.

Accreditations

The program is accredited by Agência de Avaliação e Acreditação do Ensino Superior, with registration number R/A-Cr 113/2024.