Course program, curriculum and ECTS
ECTS Requirements
Your PhD curriculum requires you to collect a number of ECTS points according to the field of research you chose during the admission process.
| Field of study | ECTS points |
|---|---|
| Biology, Molecular Biology | 30 |
| Environmental Sciences | 12 |
| Geosciences | 24 |
What does "ECTS" stand for?
ECTS stands for "European Credit Transfer System". The number of ECTS credits is calculated from the approximate effort that is required for your course/conference participation/event. 1 ECTS credit corresponds on average to a workload of 25 hours per semester. The workload includes the preparation, the event itself and any necessary follow-up work.
You can get ECTS for:
1. Lectures and seminars from the course directory:
57 - Microbiology and Environmental Sciences Directorate of Doctoral Studies
Directorate of Studies 31 - Master Molecular Microbiology, Microbial Ecology and Immunobiology
2. Seminar series/journal clubs from your working group
3. Oral/poster presentations at conferences; summer/winter school participation (online or in person)
4. Transferable skills workshops via the University's platform u:rise
5. Outreach events, e.g. Long Night of Research, KinderUni, …
6. VDS MES courses:
- Onboarding modules
- Write Up Your Paper
- Scientific Graphic Design
- Entrepreneurship seminars
Information and sign-ups for VDS MES courses are circulated via the DocSchool's student mailing list.
The number of ECTS that is awarded for an event is are determined by the head of the study program. Here are some basic guidelines:
| Event type | ECTS points |
|---|---|
| Conference attendance | 2 |
| Conference attendance with poster or talk presentation | 4 |
| Organization of a scientific event | 2 |
| Participation in outreach event | 1-2 |
| External workshops, summer schools etc. | Calculation based on standard conversion system |
ECTS can only be awarded for events that have been attended after the PhD candidate has been officially enrolled in the PhD program.
After you’ve reached 30/24/12 ECTS (depending on field of study), there’s no need to hand in documents anymore; conferences will not be named explicitly in your degree certificate.
How to get ECTS
Please email the following documents to vds-mes.cemess(at)univie.ac.at:
Confirmation of participation
For conferences: Poster/talk confirmation unless already indicated on the certificate
General program (as pdf or link)
Please note that ECTS credits for external courses can only be officially granted after you've submitted your doctoral thesis agreement. You can send the documents beforehand, but they will only be entered into u:space once the agreement has been handed in.
VDS MES has no fixed curriculum, i.e. you are free to choose how you want to collect the required amount of ECTS points. However, please note that you might be required to complete certain courses or attend conferences specifically outlined in your doctoral thesis agreement - this will be discussed between you and your supervisor when creating the document.