MISSION OF THE PhD COURSE
The program offers a unique multidisciplinary training experience leading to a Doctorate degree. The Biology Department, in partnership with private and public institutions in the Rome area, have implemented a Program that crosses traditional disciplinary boundaries to offer the student the appropriate interdisciplinary research training. The Scientific Board is made of experts of various scientific fields, and graduate students can select from research opportunities in areas as Anthropology, Applied Biology and Biochemistry, Botany, Ecology, Genetics, Microbiology, Parasitology, Physiology and Zoology. The main goal of the program consists in enabling students to become independent, creative, and productive researchers, by cultivating their skills in a multidisciplinary environment. Specialized courses are programmed as well as ad hoc seminars in research management, research & funding systems, exploitation of research results and intellectual property.
GUIDELINES FOR APPLICANTS
ATTENTION: Different procedures apply, depending on whether you compete for bursary or you have your own financial support. During the application procedure download all annexes and fill them to completion. Two reference letters must be upoloaded.
All candidates seeking for a bursary must pass an oral examination, IN THE PREMISES OF UNIVERSITY TOR VERGATA. If you are unable to attend, please consider seriously the alternative option: foreign students with their own financial support have reserved positions and a simplified admittance procedure, with an online interview.
Topics of the course can be found at http://dottoratobee.uniroma2.it/category/research-lines/. These fall within the board members' expertise. Candidates are requested to propose their own research project, which can be discussed with one or more of the board members in advance.
In the call some lines of research might be mentioned. These are considered preferential but not exclusive, i.e. all candidates and their projects are evaluated according to the same criteria, published at the time of the call (Criteri di valutazione_ING_2024.docx). In case of admittance, the research project must be FEASIBLE in the context of the PhD community’s ongoing research activities (see http://dottoratobee.uniroma2.it/people-2/) or scientific collaborations with third parties. If not, the candidate will be invited to RE-DIRECT the goals and methods of the project, aligning them with the supervisor’s suggestions.
The admission exam consists of an oral discussion of the candidate’s expertise and project.
PhD STUDENTS’ DUTIES
The course is 3-years long and involves experimental activities carried out by the candidate. Resources for research costs are provided by the supervisor.
As students, you are requested to give the due visibility to this PhD course by displaying the proper affiliation in any publication.
During the course the student must:
-follow strictly teaching activities in the form of seminars and courses posted on the site yearly;
-organize discussions as a "discussant" in some of them;
-present his/her own results to the board and the other students in 4 occasions;
-comply with the schedule for thesis preparation and review.
Training duties consist in mandatory attendance to seminars and courses listed at http://dottoratobee.uniroma2.it/training_offer/
Seminars are given in english by experts, and some of them can be followed online on the Teams platform.
The list of University rules can be found at
http://dottoratobee.uniroma2.it/files/2022/06/DRNuovoRegolamento_Ateneo_per_i_dottorati_prot.pdf
TRAVEL GRANTS
Funds are allotted to PhD students for, e.g.:
-travel and congress fees;
-short-term stays in non-italian research centres;
-medium-term participation in research activities, upon mutual formal agreement;
-need for specific experimental procedures/instruments not available in situ;
-field research and sampling;
-study of particular habitats and ecosystems;
-any other activity instrumental in achieving the project’s goals.
Some types of bursaries require a MINIMUM period of stay.
COMPLETING THE PhD
The final step is the preparation and defense of the PhD thesis. After a positive evaluation on the 4^ presentation, the thesis will undergo the process described in Procedure e scadenziario per le tesi di Dottorato.docx. The thesis must be prepared as described in Guidelines_PhD_thesis.docx.
Two external reviewers evaluate the thesis, possibly calling for amendments. Only after the final approval the candidate is admitted to the final defense session.
The candiate is also requested to submit a final report of all his/her 3-years activities (Relazione_triennale.docx).