Lecture hall
Overview
A PhD contract is a performance contract: you are to produce a thesis within the 3-4 years, or you cannot graduate. We are not strict in the hours that you work, but it is recommended that you make regular 40-hour work weeks. Experience tells us that you will certainly need the time, your time is always up much faster than you think, and sticking to regular working hours can save you a lot of stress at the end. Also, it is important that you take your holidays, and a day off once in a while to clear your mind. Plan them with your advisors and make sure to officially register them.
The point of doing a PhD is that you show that you can be an independent researcher, and you have four years to prove that. This is primarily the responsibility of the PhD student, but of course you get support from your advisors so please stay in close contact to them.
Thesis
In our group, you are expected to write a thesis containing four chapters (minimum three), an intro placing your work against the background of your field, and a discussion highlighting the perspectives of your work for the field. All of these should be written by you. This means that you are either (co-) first or last author on each chapter, and the only author of the intro and discussion. Not all chapters have to be accepted by a journal, but they should be "submission-ready". After submission you are going to be asked to defend your research orally. This thesis defense contains a 30-minute presentation and a 30 – 60-minute discussion and defense.
Presentations
You should have presented your work regularly at our group meetings, at the department seminars (Microverse), and at least one international conference (poster and/or talk).
Contributions
Less "hard" are the requirements that you make constructive contributions to our group meetings and discussions, help out with teaching, collaborate in others' projects (shared authorships!), and volunteer in group organizational things.
Documents
The faculty of Biological Sciences collected more input concerning your graduate studies on their website . You will find study documents, application forms and links there. Please read through the PhD and implementing regulations carefully. This will get more important the more you advance your research and writing. There is also an FAQ section included on the site. Ulrike Kaiser will be your contact on the part of the faculty. You'll find her contact details on the website, too.