PhD in Biology

What you study

The doctorate in Biology at the University of Innsbruck is a research degree. You work on your own dissertation project and build the skills that a scientific career needs. The register description puts it plainly: you gain subject knowledge and methods, and you learn to solve problems with theory and methods behind you. You also train the general scientific and communication skills that the job demands, in academia, in business and in the public sector.

Part of the work is presenting. You stand up at national and international scientific events and present and discuss your content on your own. You also learn to analyse results, concepts and experiments critically, your own and other people's. And you learn to publish results properly, above all in international scientific journals.

Admission, language and next steps

There is no entrance examination for this programme. The teaching language is German and English, so the programme is partly taught in English. Check with the institution which parts run in which language before you plan. The degree is a Doctor of Philosophy, PhD, worth 180 ECTS and lasting three years (six semesters). It is taught in Innsbruck.

Applications go straight to the University of Innsbruck, not through a central portal. The university's own programme page gives the application period and the documents you need. As a public university, Innsbruck charges no tuition to EU/EEA and Swiss students within the standard duration plus two semesters; other students pay a fee per semester. Confirm the details on the university's page before you apply.

Absolventeninnen und Absolventen verfügen über wissenschaftlich fundierte, durch Theorie und Methoden gestützte Schlüsselkompetenzen zur Problemlösung. Im Einzelnen verfügen Sie über fachübergreifende Kompetenzen, die es ihnen ermöglichen, sich rasch wandelnden Anforderungen anzupassen. Neben dem Erwerb von hoher fachlicher und methodischer Kompetenz trainieren die Studierenden des Doktoratsstudiums jene allgemeinen wissenschaftlichen und kommunikativen Kompetenzen, die zur erfolgreichen Ausübung des Wissenschaftsberufs benötigt werden, z.B. im akademischen, privatwirtschaftlichen und öffentlichen Bereich. Zu diesen Kompetenzen gehört es auch, wissenschaftliche Inhalte bei nationalen und internationalen wissenschaftlichen Veranstaltungen eigenständig zu präsentieren und zu diskutieren sowie eigene wie auch fremde wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse, Konzepte und Experimente kritisch zu analysieren. Weiters wird die Fertigkeit erworben, wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse in geeigneter Form (v.a. in internationalen wissenschaftlichen Fachzeitschriften) zu publizieren.

There is no central application portal in Austria: you apply to the institution, here University of Innsbruck. A public university sets the admission requirements and dates for this level, so read them on the programme page. Entrance examination, as the register states it: No. Entry requirements and language tests are set by the institution, so start from the official programme page. Our guides cover tuition fees, the student residence permit and housing.