Profile of the Programme

Main Aims and Objectives

The PhD programme aims to provide:

  • In-depth study of a specific topic.
  • The ability to express creativity in research.
  • The opportunity to develop skills that allow students to critically examine the existing literature in their specific research area.
  • Development of skills in developing and testing hypotheses.
  • Development of new theories.
  • Development of the skills to plan and conduct experiments.
  • Development of communication skills such as oral presentation skills by participating in conferences and writing up skills by submitting papers to peer reviewed journals.
  • Development of professionalism and networking skills.
Intended Learning Outcomes

Doctoral degrees are awarded for the generation and interpretation of results/knowledge, which enhances and/or extends existing knowledge in a discipline, usually through original research and critical thinking. Students undertaking doctorates will be able to form hypotheses and seek answers by designing and performing appropriate experiments in order to generate significant new knowledge and/or understanding.

Furthermore, holders of doctorates will have been furnished with the qualities needed for employment that requires the ability to make informed judgments on complex issues in specialist fields, and be in a position to tackle and solve problems.

More specifically and according to the Bologna Process and the Framework for Qualifications for the European Higher Education Area students awarded doctorates should:

  • Have demonstrated a systematic understanding of a field of study and mastery of the skills and methods of research associated with that field.
  • Have demonstrated the ability to conceive, design, implement and adapt a substantial process of research with scholarly integrity.
  • Have made a contribution through original research that extends the frontier of knowledge by developing a substantial body of work, some of which merits national or international refereed publication.
  • Be capable of critical analysis, evaluation and construction of new and complex ideas.
  • Be capable to communicate with their peers, the larger scholarly community and with society in general about their areas of expertise.
  • Be able to promote, within academic and professional contexts, technological, social or cultural advancement in a knowledge-based society.

Additionally, according to the European Qualifications Framework (EQF) and more specifically Level 8 of EQF, the Doctoral Degree’s Learning Outcomes must be as follows:

  • Knowledge: knowledge at the most advanced frontier of a field of work or study and at the interface between fields.
  • Skills: the most advanced and specialised skills and techniques, including construction and evaluation, required to solve critical problems in research and/or innovation and to extend and redefine existing knowledge or professional practice.
  • Competence: demonstrate substantial authority, innovation, autonomy, scholarly and professional integrity and sustained commitment to the development of new ideas or processes at the forefront of work or study contexts including research.”
Career Outcomes

Prospects of employment will include positions in clinical medicine (hospitals or private practice), biomedical research institutes, pharmaceutical industry, academia, government agencies, and national and international legislative bodies.