Short description
The Doctoral School of Biology founded in 2001 is the largest postgraduate biology program in the country, offering research-oriented training in a wide range of areas of modern biology. The main topics include theoretical and evolutionary biology, ethology, ecology, and conservation biology, molecular neurobiology, physiology, human biology, immunology, experimental plant science, cell biology, microbiology, molecular genetics and cell biology, structural biochemistry, taxonomy. The selection of courses covers both theoretical background and lab or field skills and experience. The training emphasizes practical skills: the majority of credits are earned with supervised research work under personal tutoring by leading researchers. Students are involved in collaborative research taking advantage of the collaboration networks within the institute and with international partner institutions. The aim of the training is to fully prepare students for a successful career in the life sciences: either in basic research or in the industry.
The programs are strongly research-oriented: apart from attending specialized courses, the students start their research work well before the end of the first year. At the end of each year the students report about their research progress. Students are expected to publish at least two papers in peer-reviewed internationally renowned journals of their field.
Strength of program
The Institute of Biology employs more than one hundred full or part time professors and teachers who have many years of teaching experience and are well-recognised scientists in their field of work and further distinguished researchers work in close association with the Institute as senior scientists and grant holders. Members of the Institute of Biology have a wide range of international contacts and collaborate with several outstanding research institutes and universities both in and outside Hungary, and regularly invite foreign visitors to do research and/or to give courses.
Biology is the science of the 21st century. Students finishing our doctoral program in biology will have the necessary skills to apply for jobs around the globe. While many of our former students obtain postdoctoral positions throughout the world, a large portion of them gets tenure or tenure track positions at universities or research institutes. Some of our graduates pursue their research career in the non-academic environment of large international research institutions, tied to high-tech development or to the economic or financial world.
