Training researchers who: demonstrate systematic understanding of microbiology; master research skills and methods in this field of study; are able to design and run projects that contribute to advancing scientific knowledge and development in society, and who are able to transmit their findings and contribute to a wider knowledge of microbiology issues in both a specialised and general setting.

Core Skills

• CB11 - Systematic comprehension of a field of study and mastery of research skills and methods related to this field
• CB12 - The ability to devise, design or create, implement and adopt a substantial research or invention process
• CB13 - The ability to contribute to widening the frontiers of knowledge through original research
• CB14 - The ability to perform a critical analysis, assessment and synthesis of new and complex ideas
• CB15 - The ability to communicate with the academic and scientific community, as well as with society as a whole, about their areas of knowledge in the methods and languages commonly used within the international scientific community
• CB16 - The ability to promote scientific, technological, social, artistic or cultural advancement in academic and professional settings within the knowledge-based society.

Personal Skills and Abilities

• CA01 - Work in contexts where there is little specific information
• CA02 - Uncover key questions that need to be answered in order to resolve a complex problem
• CA03 - Design, create, develop and undertake new and innovative projects in their area of knowledge
• CA04 - Work in a team and independently in an international or multidisciplinary setting
• CA05 - Incorporate knowledge, handle complexity and provide opinions with limited information
• CA06 - Intellectual criticism and defence of solutions.

The recommended admission profile is graduates or engineers who hold a university master's degree (or specialised health training) with the abilities and knowledge in one of the PhD research areas:

• Taxonomy and environmental microbiology
• Bacterial physiology
• Biology of infections.

In this sense, and by way of example, one recommended master's degree would be Advanced Microbiology from the University of the Balearic Islands.

In the event that the number of registrations exceeds available places, the academic commission shall apply the following admission criteria (weighting in final mark):

• Academic record of previous undergraduate and postgraduate studies (65%)
• Other academic and/or professional merits (20%)
• Research merits (5%)
• An assessment of a statement of objectives written by the student and stating his/her motivations for taking the PhD programme, as well as the research area s/he would like to look into (10%).

Students who do not possess the suitable qualification for the recommended admission profile must explain and justify this in their statement of objectives, which shall be assessed by the Academic Commission for the PhD Programme. The latter may, where it deems it appropriate, arrange a personal interview with the student and propose suitable supplemental training.

ERASMUS+ inter-institutional agreement between the UIB and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden (2016-2021).

ERASMUS+ inter-institutional agreement between the UIB and the Babe?-Bolyai University in Romania (2020-2023).

Agreements and framework agreements of UIB. Search of agreements  .

Before the end of the first year, the PhD student must have drafted a research plan, which must at least include the methodology and resources to be used and a scheduled plan to be followed in pursuing the intended goals. This plan can be further improved and detailed throughout the student's stay in the programme, and must be endorsed by the tutor and supervisor(s). Additionally, It must be submitted to the Academic Committee for the PhD programme for its approval.

This committee must annually assess the research plan and the student activity document, alongside the reports issued by the tutor and supervisor(s). A positive assessment is required to continue on the programme. In the event of a negative assessment, which must be duly justified, a new assessment must take place within six months, to which end the PhD student must draw up a new research plan. Where a negative assessment occurs again, the PhD student shall be definitively withdrawn from the programme. This notwithstanding, students in this situation may apply for admission in another doctoral programme.

Further information on these procedures is available on the initial review and annual reviews sections.

The research plan or project to be submitted by the PhD student shall comprise the following parts: a summary; background information and current state of knowledge on the topic; an initial hypothesis; a list of objectives; the methodology to be used and the tasks to be conducted; a schedule; and a list of the specific training activities and/or mobility stay(s) to be carried out during the time the doctorate lasts. In accepting a research plan, the Academic Committee shall assess the originality of the proposed research, and whether the objectives are clearly stated and relevant, and the methodology and planning suitably arranged to achieve them. Prior to the end of the first year, the PhD student must also submit a literature review on the thesis topic, alongside an assessment report from the tutor and supervisor(s).

On an anual basis, the Academic Committee shall assess the progress made in the research project; the extent to which the set objectives have been achieved according to schedule; any deviations from the original research plan that may have been necessary; and the specific training activities, mobility stay(s), and teaching tasks carried out by the doctorand. The assessment shall be based on the annual report submitted by the doctorand and the tutor and supervisor(s)' assessment report. Templates of these reports are available to PhD students on the space reserved for the programme on Aula Digital (digital classroom).

The academic committee of the Doctoral Programme will assign a tutor to the applicant (once he or she is admitted). The tutor will be a doctor with accredited research experience and involved in the doctoral programme. Within six months from the first enrolment, the academic committee of the doctorate will assign to every student a thesis supervisor, which may or may not be the same as the tutor.

Supervision and monitoring of doctorand training activities and their PhD theses shall be in line with the UIB procedures for PhDs (RD 99/2011), the UIB Doctoral Degree Regulations (https://seu.uib.cat/fou/acord/13084/) and the verified degree report that you may consult on the "Results" webpage. The administrative and academic procedures that students must perform during their PhD may be viewed on the "Procedures" section of the UIB Doctoral School website:

• Thesis Charter and Code of Best Practice
• Research Plan and Record of activities
• Initial review and annual reviews
• PhD Training Activities
• Thesis Deposit and Viva
• Distinctions for PhD degrees

This PhD programme has a student communication space on the UIB Campus Digital platform. Here, doctorands have access to information about specific training activities on their PhD programme, templates for submitting activity reports and other requests to the PhD Academic Committee, as well as additional useful information on the PhD.

More information:

• Services and Infrastructures
• Academic and Career Advice and Support Services
• FAQs document