Doctoral program in Biotechnology

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

Prospective students should hold a bachelor's degree or pre-EHEA degree in one of the following subjects: Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Biology, Chemistry, Genetics, Food Science and Technology, Medicine, Microbiology, Nutrition and Dietetics, Pharmacy or Veterinary Science. Alternatively, they should hold similar official qualifications in areas of the experimental sciences and health sciences. Candidates should also have completed a university master's degree in Advanced Microbiology, Biochemistry, Biomedicine, Genetics, Molecular and Cellular Biology, or a related subject.
The Academic Committee may also consider candidates with other profiles.

Admission to the doctoral programme in Biotechnology is overseen by the Academic Committee. The Committee acts in accordance with the UB's internal regulations on academic committees for doctoral programmes, as governed by Royal Decree 99/2011.

(http://www.ub.edu/escola_doctorat/verificacio/documentació-de-suport-i-ajuda-edub).

The Academic Committee determines admission to the doctoral programme on the basis of the following criteria and the corresponding weightings:

1) Curriculum vitae. Credit will be given for knowledge associated with the programme's research areas, and publications in the field of biotechnology. Proficiency in English will also be evaluated. In this case, the Committee will consider official certification of language skills submitted with the application, or ask the candidate to attend a personal interview. Weighting: 35%.

2) Academic record and other academic merits. In particular, the Committee will assess whether the candidate has sufficient training to begin a thesis on research topics related to the programme content, looking primarily at the grade point averages obtained for bachelor's degrees and master's degrees. For candidates whose university master's degree was not completed at the UB, the Committee will also take into account quality indicators for the master's degree and the university at which it was taken. Weighting: 40%.

3) Statement of interest. The statement of interest must clearly indicate the candidate's reasons for applying to the doctoral programme in Biotechnology and include a brief description of the proposed research project. Credit will also be given for a particular interest in the research activities carried out by the staff assigned to the doctoral programme. To clarify the reasons given in the statement of interest, some candidates may also be asked to attend a personal interview. Weighting: 20%.

4) Letters of recommendation. Letters of recommendation must refer to the candidate's previous training, analytical skills and general motivation for learning. Weighting: 5%

Enrolment

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

Lines of research and teaching staff

Research lines

101120 - Biocatalysis and enzyme technology
101121 - Biomedical biotechnology
101122 - Microbial biotechnology
101124 - Biotechnology: models, methodologies and applications
101123 - Plant biotechnology
101125 - Genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics
101126 - Nanobiotechnology

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

Under current regulations, in addition to preparing their doctoral thesis, as part of their doctoral training, doctoral students must complete various specific and cross-disciplinary training activities.  

 

List of programme-specific training activities  

• Research seminars related to the field of biotechnology. These seminars may be chosen from among those organized by the University of Barcelona or its partner organizations or, where the budget allows, by the programme itself.  

• Research seminars organized by research groups. Full-time doctoral students must attend four annual seminars, each with an average duration of two and a half hours. The seminars must be held at the faculties or schools where the students are enrolled. Compulsory activity. 

• Attendance of group meetings by research line in which the students must present their research, orally or in poster format.  

• Conference attendance. Depending on the thesis topic and the results obtained, the supervisor will propose that the student attend a specific conference. Students should be encouraged to participate in at least one conference before defending their doctoral thesis, if possible, an international one.  

• Promotion of mobility. Students should be encouraged to spend three or more months at R&D centres, primarily prestigious international ones.  

• Writing and publication of scientific papers. In this activity, students must interpret their research results, review the literature, proofread the paper, etc.  

• Attendance of research talks by research groups or guest researchers. Each full-time student must attend at least two talks a year.  

Additional cross-disciplinary training:  

Each doctoral programme establishes a minimum and maximum number of hours of cross-disciplinary training to be completed by the student. Information on this training is provided below.  

Cross-disciplinary training courses offered by the Doctoral School.  

The cross-disciplinary training activity requirements can be fulfilled by passing the courses offered by the Doctoral School in collaboration with the IDP-ICE. These courses are offered online at no additional cost to the enrolment fee. The registration process will be specified in the announcement of each course.  

Additionally, students who have received cross-disciplinary training outside of the Doctoral School offer, or carried out activities that might be considered equivalent, may list them on the doctoral student activities report, and the progress review panel will assess their suitability.  

The training or activities included on the activities report must meet the following requirements:  

• The training must have taken place during the period in which the doctoral studies are being carried out.  

• The training must be on transferable research skills, such as:  

• Scientific diffusion and communication 

• Scientific documentation  

• Research ethics 

• Protecting research results 

• Knowledge transfer 

• Research methodologies 

• Entrepreneurship 

• Other topics, subject to assessment.  

By way of example, language courses, office software courses, training from bachelor’s degree or equivalent programmes, and professional experience will not be considered.  

Doctoral thesis

The general characteristics of the thesis formats are described below. Before depositing their thesis, students must review the specific instructions and recommendations of the Faculty of Biology and the Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences regarding the chosen thesis format (traditional or by publication) in the doctoral programme section of their respective websites.  

1. Traditional thesis 

2. Cover 

• UB corporate image 

• Thesis title  

• Doctoral student’s name and surname(s) 

• Name of the doctoral programme (optional) 

• Date (optional) 

2. Title page 

• Institutional identification: University of Barcelona. Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences. 

• Name of the doctoral programme 

• Department with which the student is affiliated. If the thesis was done outside the faculty, the school, faculty or centre where it was done.  

• Thesis title  

• The following sentence must be included: ‘Thesis submitted by [name and surname(s) of the doctoral student] in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of doctorate from the University of Barcelona.’  

• Doctoral student’s name and surname(s) 

• Name, surname(s) and signatures of the thesis supervisor or supervisors and tutor 

• Date (optional) 

3. Sections specific to the traditional thesis  

The basic structure approved by the UB includes the following sections.  

• Abstract  

• Contents  

• Introduction 

• Objectives  

• Methodology 

• Results 

• Discussion 

• Conclusions  

• Bibliography  

2. Thesis by publication: 

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 journals in the first third for 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. 

 

Theses submitted in this format must have the following structure: 

2.1. Cover 

— For the requirements for the cover of a traditional thesis, see section 1.1. 

2.2. Title page  

— For the requirements for the title page of a traditional thesis, see section 1.2. 

2.3.  The basic structure approved by the UB includes the following sections. 

• Abstract 

• Contents  

• General introduction 

• Objectives 

• The papers (the full text, as well as the complete journal reference, 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 (the supervisor’s report must be included at the start of this section: see 2.4). 

• Discussion 

• Conclusions 

• Specific bibliography used in the general introduction, summary and general discussion. 

2.3. The thesis must be submitted with a report by the supervisor specifying the impact factor of the journals in which the papers were published. Furthermore, 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.  

2.4. 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 to which it was sent for publication.  

3. Additional sections that both thesis formats may include: 

• Dedications, acknowledgements  

• Lists of tables and figures  

• List of abbreviations  

• Appendix 1, 2, etc. 

Thesis languages: Catalan, Spanish or English 

Theses subject to data protection: See the link with the regulations. 

Programme thesis readings: 

• Faculty of Biology 

• Faculty of Pharmacy and Food Sciences 

 

TDX (Theses and Dissertations Online): Cooperative repository containing digital copies of doctoral theses read at the universities of Catalonia and other Spanish universities. 

Career opportunities

What can you work on ?

This PhD focuses on applying the principles of biotechnology to: agri-food, bioprocesses, chemical engineering, agrobiotechnology, biochemical engineering, biotechnology of microorganisms and animal cells, food biotechnology, environmental biotechnology and renewable energies, biotechnology of natural products and pharmaceuticals, and marine biotechnology.
Therefore, the main career opportunities are:
- Academic, research and professional career in universities, institutes or research centres.
- Tasks in R&D&I departments and in bioprocessing plants of companies in different sectors (agricultural, food, environmental, pharmacological, bioenergy and marine) based totally or partially on biotechnology.

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