PhD in Biomedical Engineering

Education

PhD in Biomedical Engineering

Started in the academic year 2009/2010. The minimum number of credits to obtain the degree is 240 (4 years).

Objectives

With great tradition in the United States, but recently established in Europe, Biomedical Engineering is a scientific / technological field that deals with the methodologies and equipment for diagnosis and therapy, as well as for research in healthcare.

The professionals in this area must have scientific and technological bases to innovate and optimize methodologies and equipment, while having acquired knowledge that facilitate their dialogue with doctors.

The importance of this area resides not only in its great social interest, due to its potential to improve the health system, but also in the training aspects of methodology and associated instrumentation, which endows students with conceptual resources that enable them to have an innovative vision on the issues that work.

Fulfilling the objectives of the 3rd cycle to ensure training leading to conceptual or instrumental innovation capabilities, critical analysis and evaluation, promotion of technological progress, skills that result from specialization and systematic understanding of a scientific-technological sub-area and the acquisition of skills and methods of research, this doctoral program aims at training specialists with great capacity for innovation and technological progress to promote following sub-areas of Biomedical Engineering:

  1. Imaging (MRI)
  2. Techniques of medical diagnosis using optical characterization

  3. Biomechanics
  4. Hemodynamic
  5. Tissues Engineering (skin substitutes)
  6. Interaction of radiation with biological matter (dosimetry, effects on biological molecules)

  7. Bionanotechnology

  8. Atomic and nuclear techniques for elemental characterization of biological samples

In these sub-areas, covered topics correspond to areas of high importance (with big international repercussions), not only in the scientific point of view but also due to its potential social impact.

Structure

Curriculum

Career opportunities

While ensuring specialists  training with strong innovation capabilities and of promoting technological progress in the area of Biomedical Engineering, this doctoral program brings career opportunities regarding university teaching careers and / or research, the physical hospital career and technical top places in hospitals and clinics and enterprise development, especially in the sub-areas indicated in the objectives. Among the capabilities with which candidates are provided these include critical thinking, conceptual autonomy and entrepreneurship, aiming at the creation of new businesses.

ORGANIZATION

The program consists of a doctoral program with 60 ECTs, and a doctoral thesis with 180 ECTs.

The completion of the doctoral program entitles an Advanced Studies Diploma (DEA).

OBSERVATIONS

The course is unique. As initial preparation, the student may be asked to conduct courses of the 2nd cycle of the Master in Biomedical Engineering. Students can obtain 12 ECTS by attending and passing courses belonging to the 3rd cycle of any other doctoral program of this University and others with which it will establish a cooperation agreement. Also included are subjects of the 2nd cycle of the Faculty of Medical Sciences of NOVA.


The first year corresponds to the Advanced Studies Diploma (60 ECTS)

Study plan

Tuition fee

Portuguese students:

2 750 Euros/ year 

Foreign students:

2 750 Euros/ year

Applications

1st phase: 11th march to 5th april 2024

Applications

Entrance requirements for the 2024/2025 academic year

Vacancies for 2024/2025:

10

Admission rules:

To join the PhD program in Biomedical Engineering, the candidate must meet the conditions set by national legislation, in the NOVA’s and NOVA FCT’s regulations, and meet at least one of the following conditions:

  1. Hold a master's degree in the scientific areas of Biomedical Engineering, Engineering Physics or alike, or equivalent, with a final mark of fourteen values;
  2. Hold a degree in Biomedical Engineering or similar with a minimum grade of 14 and a relevant academic or scientific curriculum recognized as attesting the capacity to accomplish this cycle of studies by the Scientific Council;
  3. Holds a school, scientific or professional curriculum in the area of Physics Engineering that is recognized by the Scientific Council of FCT NOVA, under proposal from the Scientific Committee of the Physics Department, as attesting the capacity to accomplish this study cycle.
 
Documentation for the on-line application:
  1. Application form;
  2. Qualifications certificate listing the obtained grades;
  3. Curriculum vitae and professional curriculum;

Ranking:

A selecção dos candidatos é da responsabilidade da Comissão Científica do doutoramento através da apreciação da documentação apresentada, podendo convocar para uma entrevista os candidatos potencialmente elegíveis. 
A Comissão Científica do programa de doutoramento em Engenharia Biomédica poderá solicitar ao candidato a apresentação de documentação suplementar que entenda relevante para a avaliação da candidatura.

Course coordinator:

Professor Hugo Gamboa

pdebm.coordenador@fct.unl.pt

Registration and Accreditation

DGES

Registration number R/A-Ef 3070/2011 on 18/03/2011

A3ES

Publication date of the accreditation decision: 26/11/2014

for 6 years

About the Department of Physics

The Physics Department (DF) is a graduate teaching unit and a post-graduate degree unit (1st, 2nd and 3rd study cycles) and a basic and applied research unit in the fields of Physics, Physics Engineering and Biomedical Engineering. It is focused on scientific and technological development, services provision and scientific disclosure. Besides being responsible for the Integrated Masters in Physics Engineering and Biomedical Engineering, as well for the doctoral programs in the same areas in Physics  and for  the doctoral programs "NOVA Instrumentation for Health - NOVA 4H" and "Radiation Biology and Biophysics - Rabbit," the DF ensures the teaching of basic physics to all NOVA School of Science and Technology courses.

This Department started with a small existing nucleus since NOVA School of Science and Technology’s the birth, managed by Prof. Manuel Laranjeira (then Rector of NOVA), the Department of Physics was formally recognized in 1986 and maintained since then a faculty of about 30 people. Its activities in Physics and Physics Engineering were extended in 2000 to include the Biomedical Engineering.

The scientific DF activity takes place mainly in two Research Units, the LIBPhys-UNL and the CEFITEC. The research covers various areas such as nanophysics and energy, atomic and molecular physics, nuclear physics and plasma, physical interfaces, lasers and optoelectronics, sensors, cryogenics, analytical techniques applied to health and cultural heritage, medical instrumentation and medical imaging.

More info