Doctoral program in Biomedicine

Objectives and competences

Objectives and competences

Objectives

Competences

Doctoral studies guarantee, as a minimum, the acquisition by the doctoral candidate of the following basic competences as well as those others that appear in the Spanish Higher Education Qualifications Framework:
a) Systematic understanding of a field of study and mastery of the skills and research methods related to this field.
b) Ability to conceive, design or create, implement and adopt a substantial research or creative process.
c) Ability to contribute to extending the frontiers of knowledge through original research.
d) Ability to carry out critical analysis and evaluation and synthesis of new and complex ideas.
e) Ability to communicate with the academic and scientific community and society in general about their areas of knowledge in the ways and languages commonly used in the international scientific community.
f) Ability to promote, in academic and professional contexts, scientific, technological, social, artistic or cultural progress in a knowledge-based society.

Admission pathways

Access

In general, to access an official doctorate program you must have an official Spanish bachelor's degree, or equivalent, and a university master's degree and have passed a minimum of 300 ECTS credits in all university degree and master's studies.
It can also be accessed by anyone who is in any of these cases:
a) Be in possession of official Spanish university degrees or equivalent Spanish degrees, provided that at least 300 ECTS credits have been passed in the set of these courses, accrediting level 3 of the Spanish Qualification Framework for Higher Education.
b) Be in possession of a title obtained in accordance with foreign educational systems belonging to the European Higher Education Area (EEES), without the need for it to be approved, which accredits a level 7 of the European Qualifications Framework, provided that this title is valid for to access doctoral studies in the country of dispatch. This admission does not imply, in any case, the approval of the previous title that the interested party is in possession of or the recognition for other purposes than that of accessing doctoral studies.
c) Be in possession of a degree obtained in accordance with foreign educational systems outside the EEES, without the need for it to be approved, after verification by the University of Barcelona that this degree accredits a level of training equivalent to the official Spanish master's degree university and which, in the country of dispatch, entitles you to access doctoral studies. This admission does not imply, in any case, the approval of the previous title that the interested party is in possession of or the recognition for other purposes than that of accessing doctoral studies.
d) Be in possession of another doctoral degree.
e) Equally, university graduates who, after obtaining a place in training through the corresponding test for access to specialized health training places, have passed with a positive evaluation at least two years of training in a program to obtain the title, can access official of one of the specialties in health sciences.
f) The graduates, architects or engineers who were in possession of the diploma of advanced studies obtained in accordance with what was established in Royal Decree 778/1998, of April 30, or who had reached the research sufficiency regulated in Royal Decree 185/ 1985, of January 23.

Admission requirements

The Academic Committee will consider the biomedical content of each candidate's master's degree in evaluating their suitability for the doctoral programme. As a general rule, students should hold a master's degree that covers biomedicine or the specific disciplines of immunology, neuroscience, biomedical engineering, bioinformatics, biotechnology, genetics, medical sciences, veterinary sciences, pharmacology, nutrition, physiology and others.

The Academic Committee will select students on the basis of the following scoring system:

1. Academic record for the bachelor's degree or pre-EHEA degree used for admission: maximum 2 points, depending on the grade point average. For each degree, the standard grade point average will be considered.Correction factors will be applied to qualifications issued outside Spain, as provided for in the regulations of the ANECA programme.

2. Academic record for the master's degree (maximum 1 point, depending on the grade point average). For each master's degree, the standard grade point average will be considered. Correction factors will be applied to qualifications issued outside Spain, as provided for in the regulations of the ANECA programme.

3. Possession of a doctoral grant (3 points).

4. Favourable report from a researcher assigned to the degree programme. Credit will be given for the applicant's capacity, aptitude and motivation. The report must state why the researcher is interested in the student's academic profile, in relation to his/her research project (maximum 2 points).

5. Other curricular merits: previous research experience, publications and international placements (maximum 1 point).

Enrolment

You can find all the information and enrolment prices at the Doctoral School

Lines of research and teaching staff

Research lines

101114 - Bioinformatics
101119 - Molecular and cell biology of cancer
101115 - Biomedical engineering
101116 - Immunology
101117 - Metabolism, metabolic signalling and related pathologies
101118 - Neuroscience

Research plan and progress reports

You can find all the information at the following links:

    
• Research Plan
   
• Activities document
   
• Annual monitoring report and evaluation

Training activities

List of courses offered: 

1. Seminar on (bio)statistics for doctoral students.  
2. Macro programming with ImageJ for image analysis.  
3. Image processing and analysis with ImageJ. 
4. High-content screening of cell populations: vacant places in this subject from the master’s degree programme in Biomedicine are offered to doctoral students.  
5. Biomed PhDay Symposium (conference organized by the doctoral programme in Biomedicine).  

Doctoral thesis

FORMAL REQUIREMENTS AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR SUBMITTING THE THESIS

Doctoral theses may be submitted in two different formats: the traditional thesis format or a thesis by publication.  

1. Traditional theses:  

1.1. In accordance with University of Barcelona regulations, theses written in this format must have the following structure:  

— Table of contents  

— Introduction  

— Objectives  

— Methodology 

— Results  

— Discussion  

— Conclusions  

— Bibliography  

1.2. Additionally, the title page of the thesis must include the following information:  

— Name of the doctoral programme (doctoral programme in Biomedicine)  

— Thesis title 

— Name, surname(s) and signature of the doctoral student  

— Names, surnames and signatures of the thesis supervisor or supervisors and tutor  

— Place where the thesis was done  

1.3. Thesis language: The thesis must be written in one of the UB’s official languages (Catalan or Spanish) or in English, understood as the language of the doctoral programme in Biomedicine and a language of scientific use in its field.  

2. Theses by publication: 

 2.1. Doctoral students may choose to submit their thesis in this format provided the following requirements are met:  

— Publication or acceptance for publication of at least two papers in a journal in the first third of the subject area.  

— The doctoral student is listed as the lead author of at least one of the papers.  

— The papers are the result of the work for the thesis and, therefore, deal with the thesis topic.  

2.2. The title page of the thesis must include the following information:  

— Name of the completed doctoral programme  

— Thesis title  

— Place where the thesis was done  

— Name, surname(s) and signature of the doctoral student  

— Names, surnames and signatures of the thesis supervisor or supervisors and tutor, where applicable.  

2.3. Theses submitted in this format must have the following structure:  

— Contents  

— General introduction  

— Objectives  

— The papers (the full text, as well as the complete journal reference, the co-authors and their affiliations). The results, materials and methods, and bibliography are understood to be included in the papers themselves.  

— Overall summary of the results  

— General discussion  

— Conclusions 

— Specific bibliography used in the general introduction, overall summary and general discussion  

2.4. Theses written in this format must be submitted with a report by the supervisor specifying the impact factor of the journals in which the papers were published. In case of co-authored papers, the doctoral student’s contribution to each paper must be specified in detail, and any use made of the papers, implicitly or explicitly, by any of the co-authors for another doctoral thesis must be justified.  

2.5. To accredit a paper’s acceptance for publication, the doctoral student must submit proof of its acceptance with the thesis, as well as the complete reference of the journal in which it will be published. 2.6. Thesis language: Theses submitted in this format must be written in one of the UB’s two official languages (Catalan or Spanish) or in English, understood as a language of science.  

TDX 

Career opportunities

What can you work on ?

The title of Doctor in Biomedicine is the university accreditation that certifies that this professional can carry out quality biomedical research independently.
Regardless of the orientation of the biomedical research in which the thesis work has been carried out, the PhD degree is essential for the pursuit of a scientific and academic career. This professional can join Research Centres, Hospitals and Universities.
The PhD degree in Biomedicine is also a plus for those professionals interested in developing their work in the business world; both in R&D departments and in management. Industries such as Pharmaceutical, Biotechnological or Biomedical Engineering companies welcome Doctors in Biomedicine to their staff in order to achieve their business objectives.

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