Structured Doctoral Programs
A structured route towards a doctoral degree
Key aspects of the graduate program
As an alternative to the classic individual doctorate, participation in a structured doctoral program within a grad program is possible. In a structured doctoral program, the doctoral candidates are integrated into a training program. Selected graduate students come together there, whose projects are often assigned to a common, interdisciplinary topic. An accompanying curriculum prepares them for their research tasks. As a rule, at least one semester off is mandatory; in some structured programs, doctoral students are granted a scholarship.
The structures in the programs provide for regular exchange with other doctoral researchers and frequent contact – both institutionalized and informal – with a supervisory team consisting of a supervisor and at least one mentor. The PhD students are supported in attending conferences and publishing the results of their research – thus establishing early contact with the “academic community”.
Programs funded by DFG
The integrated research training group 1181 (GK 1181), funded by the DFG for four years (2015-2019), has the objective to offer a highly qualified, translational training with focus on life sciences to graduate students in parallel to their dissertation. All graduates within the GK 1181 receive a structural education and mentoring program to be prepared for a scientific career in life sciences.
Since October 2010, the DFG and Bavaria have been supporting the first doctoral Fast-Track program established at a German university. The main objective of this new training program is to teach and foster young scientists in the field of adaptive immunity. Based on an excellent evaluation by outside reviewers, the DFG has decided in May 2014 to continue funding for a second funding period with 3.5 million Euro for 4.5 years.
The new Research Training Group 2162 “Neurodevelopment and CNS Vulnerability” (Speaker: Prof. Dr. D.C. Lie, Institute of Biochemistry) will offer young researchers the opportunity to earn their doctoral degree in a high-quality training program in attractive structural and financial conditions as of 1st July 2016. They will be mentored by scientists from the Faculties of Medicine and Sciences.
The GRK 2504 “New antiviral strategies: from chemotherapy to immune intervention” of the Virological Institute is funded by the DFG from 2019 – 2023 with a total of 6.5 million euros. The researchers aim to develop new strategies for the therapy and prophylaxis of viral diseases. Particular importance is attached to the training of young scientists who are familiar with both antiviral chemotherapy and immune-based approaches. This will be achieved by joint training of PhD students by physicians, biologists, pharmacists and bioinformaticians from the UK Erlangen and FAU. A cooperation with the Boston Ragon Institute also opens up international perspectives for the fellows.Research report Integrated Research Training Group 130
Other programs
The Graduate School of Life Sciences (Life@FAU) supports interdisciplinary graduate programs in medicine and science at FAU. It belongs to the FAU Graduate Center.
Life@FAU offers doctoral candidates of the Faculty of Medicine and the Department of Biology a structured, interdisciplinary training program in the fields of medicine and the natural sciences.
The PhD program provides medical students with the opportunity to complete a doctoral dissertation in a challenging, collaborative field of research. Annually, 18 fellowships are available for medical doctoral students. Fellowships are awarded for a period of eight consecutive months during the research activity. In addition, participants complete set training modules in parallel with their studies.
The Interdisciplinary Center for Aging Research (ICA) operates a collective graduate program “gerontology” which provides structured lecturing and special doctoral workshops for graduate students in gerontology as well as in psychology, psychiatry, geriatrics, and sport sciences.
SAOT provides an interdisciplinary research and education program of excellence within a broad international network of distinguished experts to promote innovation and leadership in the areas optical metrology, optical material processing, optics in medicine, optics in communication and information technology, optical materials and systems and computational optics.
The IMPRS Physics and Medicine (IMPRS-PM) at the Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin (MPZPM) is a highly innovative new graduate program established in January 2022. IMPRS-PM educates and trains a new generation of scientists with insight into both physics and medical research. In collaboration with the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and the University Hospital Erlangen (UKER), MSc stipends and PhD positions are offered. The language of instruction and interaction of the structured graduate program is English. More information can be found here: www.mpzpm.de/imprs<http://www.mpzpm.de/imprs
The Emil Fischer Graduate School in Pharmaceutical Sciences & Molecular Medicine (EFS) leads to a Dr. rer. nat. degree in one of the most dynamic and expanding fields of current science. The school aims to educate students to address the major questions in pharmaceutical sciences and molecular medicine, teach students the basic sciences needed to answer these questions, and create an environment where students can develop into independent and creative scientists. The program is multidisciplinary and has a dual focus: Pharmaceutical Sciences & Molecular Medicine.
Based on the graduate program, a joint research training group („Medicinal Chemistry of Selective GPCR Ligands“, GRK 1910), funded by DFG, was implemented in 2013.