The full time-study can last at most four years. The part-time study can last at most six years. The Study Committee can exceptionally allow study period longer than four years if such study period is still shorter than maximal length regulated by law. For instance, the Study Committee can decide for students lacking necessary background that the time needed to go through supplementary courses will be added to the four year limit.

 

Students will be selected after public competition. The preferred type of students for the proposed Ph.D. study are those who already demonstrated interest both for physics and for life sciences, in other words for biophysics. We realize that interest for biophysics can arise after the degree in physics, in molecular biology, in computer science or in medicine. For these students supplementary (preparative) courses are obligatory. What supplementary courses a student must enrol in, the Study Committee will decide on case by case basis. Student’s responsibility is to be informed on time what supplementary courses will Study Committee require in his or her case (at least one year before intended enrolment in to the biophysics Ph.D. programme). It is also student’s responsibility to reach agreement with the Study Committee that similar or equivalent supplementary courses are recognized in the case when such courses are offered by universities other than the University of Split.

 

The Study Committee selects students on the basis of their grades, their demonstrated interest for biophysics, and on their accomplished research during undergraduate and master’s degree study (poster or research paper authorship). Recommendation letters of experts will be welcome. Students are expected to show initiative in talking with all prospective mentors. Since this is an interdisciplinary study programme, it will not be unusual for a student to have two mentors for his/her Ph.D. research. Student must achieve agreement with a chosen mentor or mentors concerning student’s Ph.D. thesis research topic before enrolling into the second study year. The written proposition of a student about his Ph.D. research topic will be considered by the Study Committee at the beginning of the second study year.

Student's responsibility is to learn the rules connected with the Ph.D. study, to have frequent briefings with mentor with respect to research and to plan research together with mentor and advisers so that results can be obtained in a required time period. Full-time student in the second and third year of his study programme and latter until his/her Ph.D. will be expected to spend weekly at least 40 hours at research (excluding vacations). The study programme will encourage the participation of a student in all intellectual activities that do not distract the student from his studies. Student's responsibility is to inform his mentor and Advisory committee about all changes that may have negative influence on his research or study practice. Student must create written report about his progress at least once per year for mentor, for advisers and for the Department head.

Efficient three year Ph.D. study programme is very challenging for students. First year students will have advisers who will help them concerning all decisions and problems connected with the study programme. To enrol into the second study year students as a rule must have positive grades in all preparative elective and regular courses taken by them beforehand. In addition, students enrolling into the second year must have the agreement with their chosen mentor about the topic for their Ph.D. thesis research. The Advisory Committee and Study Committee will closely follow student's progress in the chosen research field. Advisers and Study Committee must be satisfied with the quality of student's research seminar and with student’s written research proposal to allow student's enrolment into the third year study programme. The crucial question to answer is how promising is student's research with respect to producing novel and important results in the chosen field. Student’s responsibility is to engage mentor’s help in writing high quality research proposal during the second study year. This proposal will be submitted to student’s advisers and to Study Committee. Experts for the proposed research topic may be consulted too. For the Ph.D. thesis topic seminar in the third year student is expected to enclose for the audience printed research paper as submitted (or accepted) by the well known (CC) international scientific periodical.

 

The responsibility of student’s advisers is to decide independently of the journal review process whether student’s research is of so excellent scientific quality that student can proceed with his/her work on the Ph.D. thesis in accord with detailed instructions that will be present in the Instructions booklet to be prepared for this study. In order to be accepted for the thesis defence student must present at least one published or accepted paper in the CC periodical, with student as the first author. At least one expert for the chosen topic (in addition to thesis adviser) should be present during the thesis defence.

 

As a rule the Thesis defence committee will have one member from the University of Split, one from the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Zagreb, and one internationally recognized expert for the thesis research topic (usually the thesis adviser). Regular students, who fulfil all study obligations, can have their thesis defence already at the end of the third study year, but thesis defence during fourth study year will be also in accord with study rules. In other words, four years full-time study (up to three years of research work) will be allowed for research topics requiring longer than two-year research period. Regular students, who fail to fulfil all their obligations for the enrollment into the third study year after four years of study, will lose the priviledge to continue with this study programme. They may be helped by the Study Committee to transfer to some related study specialization. 

Each student will have three advisers. One of them is student's mentor with main responsibility to supervise and guide student during his/her Ph.D. research. Second adviser can be student’s co-mentor. Mentor leads the three member advising committee. Mentor must be one of course leaders of the proposed study and research worker committed to support the proposed study programme during the time period of four (full-time) to six (part-time) years which will student need to finish this programme. All our course leaders, wishing to be mentors as well, must be able to offer to our students high quality research topic that can lead to the Ph.D. During first study year we plan to bring together potential mentors and students at the dedicated workshop.

 Mentor's obligation is to explain clearly to student what is expected of him, to discuss student's progress with other two advisers and after reaching consensus to report yearly in the written form about student's progress to Study Committee, to Department head and to Faculty committee. An agreement between mentor and student should be achieved with respect to how often they will meet (at least one time per month, and much more often is the case of necessity), how student's progress will be followed, how much of financial resources mentor controls will be devoted to student's research and student's participation in research meetings and workshops, what new skills student must learn, and how student can establish contacts with researchers working in the same field. Furthermore, the agreement should exist between student and mentor from the very beginning of their collaboration, how research results, coming out of student's work, will be published, how mentor's contribution will be honoured in authorships of these papers. If research is sponsored by the contract, a student should know all details and obligations written in the contract.

Mentor's will explain to the student all necessary ethical rules connected with chosen research topic and rules of safety and protection at the work place. The necessity to keep in the safe and orderly form the primary research data for many years will also be pointed out to a student.

More important decisions with respect to student's work must be put in writing, distributed to other advisers, given to a student, and enclosed in the yearly report of student's progress. Mentor will ensure that student can participate in research so that interesting and original results can be produced. If some difficulties develop mentor will explain to a student in the written form that progress is not satisfactory and of measures needed to be taken for smooth study continuation. According to previously agreed plan mentor will ask a student for written material, offer critical comments, give support, or ask for the modifications in a paper or thesis concept.

The conditions for the Ph.D. thesis acceptance and for the positive outcome of the thesis defense have been already outlined. The suitability of chosen research topic is judged by the Study Committee, student’s mentor and student’s advisers as well as experts for that topic. At least one high quality research paper accepted or already published in the international journal with student as the first author is the minimal requirement for a student to be admitted to the PhD thesis defense, because in their goal to become independent researchers, students must learn not only to perform research independently, but also to present their main results in a scholarly manner. During the third or fourth study year (for regular students) student has public dissertation defense. The Study Committee must have good reasons to grant thesis defense date after fourth study year.