Sveučilište u Zagrebu Medicinski fakultet

DOCTORAL STUDIES

Motivated by the huge diversity of PhD programmes in Europe and corresponding differences between the existing curricula, the University of Zagreb School of Medicine initiated the organization of two conferences on the harmonization of PhD programmes in biomedicine and health sciences, hosted by the Zagreb School of Medicine in 2004 and 2005. The conferences resulted with two important documents, i.e. the Zagreb Declaration, defining for the first time the meaning and requirements of a European PhD programme in biomedicine and health sciences, and the Guidelines for Organization of PhD Programmes in Biomedicine and Health Sciences. Parallel to these international efforts, with the support of the National Foundation of Science and in cooperation with the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Zagreb School of Medicine organized two conferences on Croatian harmonization and networking of PhD programmes among all medical schools in the country. At the end of the Second European Conference (Zagreb 2005) all participants agreed on the need to initiate the action for ORPHEUS (ORganization for PhD Education in Biomedicine and Health Sciences in the EUropean System), with Zagreb presiding over the organization. With all these activities in the field of doctoral studies, the University of Zagreb School of Medicine has attained a prestigious role among medical schools in Europe.

Based on this platform, along with the Bologna process in Croatia gaining momentum towards promoting greater harmonization among Europe’s diverse systems of higher education, the programme of doctoral studies which started in 1998 was systematically developed, and started with the new study programme in the academic year 2002/2003, the Doctoral Study in Biomedicine and Health Sciences (PhD programme) including programmes in Croatian and in English. Additionally, the existing curriculum has been continuously expanded by a significant number of new courses, such as methodological courses, field-oriented courses and guided tutorials, now approximately reaching a number over 200. The European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) has been incorporated into the new system. Consequently, the scientific criteria for the applicants have been gradually raised. In the academic year 2006/2007 there was a total of 113 PhD candidates sitting for their degree in all fields of preclinical and clinical medicine and public health.

In addition to the PhD Programme in Biomedicine and Health Sciences, the Zagreb School of Medicine has also introduced a PhD Programme in Neuroscience with laboratory rotations and small classes, organized conjointly with the University of Ljubljana School of Medicine. With the idea of internationalization gaining a wide momentum, this programme should develop into a joint programme of several universities from different countries.

The present criteria for the attainment of a PhD degree are in line with the Zagreb Declaration: each candidate should have a minimum of three papers published, one of which, with the candidate as the first author, should be in a journal indexed in the Current Contents with a minimum impact factor of 1 or more. Those criteria are comparable to or surpassing those of the neighboring countries, but are still not as high as those in larger scientific communities. Starting with the academic year 2007/2008, a PhD programme in Biomedicine and Public Health is offered to foreign students in the English language. Several scholarships for students are available in Croatia, who can combine the educational part of the programme with research conducted in their own countries.


	DOCTORAL STUDIES Motivated by the huge diversity of PhD programmes in Europe and corresponding differences between the existing curricula, the University of Zagreb School of Medicine initiated the organization of two conferences on the harmonization of PhD programmes in biomedicine and health sciences, hosted by the Zagreb School of Medicine in 2004 and 2005. The conferences resulted with two important documents, i.e. the Zagreb Declaration, defining for the first time the meaning and requirements of a European PhD programme in biomedicine and health sciences, and the Guidelines for Organization of PhD Programmes in Biomedicine and Health Sciences. Parallel to these international efforts, with the support of the National Foundation of Science and in cooperation with the Croatian Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Zagreb School of Medicine organized two conferences on Croatian harmonization and networking of PhD programmes among all medical schools in the country. At the end of the Second European Conference (Zagreb 2005) all participants agreed on the need to initiate the action for ORPHEUS (ORganization for PhD Education in Biomedicine and Health Sciences in the EUropean System), with Zagreb presiding over the organization. With all these activities in the field of doctoral studies, the University of Zagreb School of Medicine has attained a prestigious role among medical schools in Europe. Based on this platform, along with the Bologna process in Croatia gaining momentum towards promoting greater harmonization among Europe’s diverse systems of higher education, the programme of doctoral studies which started in 1998 was systematically developed, and started with the new study programme in the academic year 2002/2003, the Doctoral Study in Biomedicine and Health Sciences (PhD programme) including programmes in Croatian and in English. Additionally, the existing curriculum has been continuously expanded by a significant number of new courses, such as methodological courses, field-oriented courses and guided tutorials, now approximately reaching a number over 200. The European Credit Transfer System (ECTS) has been incorporated into the new system. Consequently, the scientific criteria for the applicants have been gradually raised. In the academic year 2006/2007 there was a total of 113 PhD candidates sitting for their degree in all fields of preclinical and clinical medicine and public health. In addition to the PhD Programme in Biomedicine and Health Sciences, the Zagreb School of Medicine has also introduced a PhD Programme in Neuroscience with laboratory rotations and small classes, organized conjointly with the University of Ljubljana School of Medicine. With the idea of internationalization gaining a wide momentum, this programme should develop into a joint programme of several universities from different countries. The present criteria for the attainment of a PhD degree are in line with the Zagreb Declaration: each candidate should have a minimum of three papers published, one of which, with the candidate as the first author, should be in a journal indexed in the Current Contents with a minimum impact factor of 1 or more. Those criteria are comparable to or surpassing those of the neighboring countries, but are still not as high as those in larger scientific communities. Starting with the academic year 2007/2008, a PhD programme in Biomedicine and Public Health is offered to foreign students in the English language. Several scholarships for students are available in Croatia, who can combine the educational part of the programme with research conducted in their own countries.