PhD at Austria

IST Austria
Am Campus 1 3400
Klosterneuburg Austria

PhD Program

For students entering the program, their research will focus on Biology, Neuroscience, Computer Science, and interdisciplinary areas. Students with a background in related disciplines, such as physics and mathematics, are also encouraged to apply.

IST Austria offers PhD student positions with the following faculty:

Group	Faculty
Nick Barton	Evolutionary and Mathematical Biology
Jonathan P. Bollback	Evolutionary Biology
Tobias Bollenbach	Biophysics and Systems Biology
Krishnendu Chatterjee	Game Theory and Software Systems Theory
Sylvia Cremer	Evolutionary and Behavioral Biology
Herbert Edelsbrunner	Algorithms, Geometry, and Topology
C?lin C. Guet	Systems and Synthetic Biology
Carl-Philipp Heisenberg	Cell and Developmental Biology
Thomas A. Henzinger	Software Systems Theory
Peter Jonas	Neuroscience
Christoph Lampert	Computer Vision and Machine Learning
Michael Sixt	Cell Biology and Immunology
Gašper Tka?ik	Theoretical Biophysics and Neuroscience
Chris Wojtan	Computer Graphics

Program Description

The duration of the program is on average four to five years (depending on previous education and individual progress) and is divided into two phases: before and after the Qualifying Exam. Students with a BS degree have at most two years from their Start Date, and students with an MS degree have one year from their Start Date, to pass the Qualifying Exam.

First part of PhD Studies

When joining the PhD program of IST Austria, a student may be part of a scientific group (with a Thesis Supervisor) from the beginning or start as unaffiliated student. The overall requirements are the same in both cases.

During the first phase a student must:

• Do training in the field through research apprenticeships with one or more scientific groups and the completion of advanced courses.
• Find a Thesis Supervisor (Professor or Assistant Professor of IST Austria)
• Prepare a Thesis Proposal (normally five to ten pages). The Proposal must motivate a research problem and put it into the context of existing work in the field.
• Form a Thesis Committee consisting of the Supervisor, one internal and one external committee member.
• Study in detail the articles on a Reading List, which are selected by the Thesis Committee (the list will be balanced between survey and research articles, and between classical and recent writings).

The Qualifying Exam consists of:

• an oral presentation of the Thesis Proposal (normally 20 – 30 minutes), followed by
• an oral exam about the Thesis Proposal and the Reading List (normally 30 – 40 minutes).

Second Part of PhD Studies

After passing the Qualifying Exam, a PhD student works primarily on research towards a Thesis. Every student and Supervisor hold regular progress reviews, and a committee of professors must approve each year that the student makes satisfactory progress towards completing the PhD degree. A Thesis Defense must be scheduled within four years of passing the Qualifying Exam. The Thesis Defense consists of a public oral presentation of the Draft Thesis (normally 40 – 50 minutes) in the presence of the Thesis Committee, followed by questions and answers on the Thesis.

Once a Final Thesis is submitted, within two months of the Defense, and accepted by the Thesis Committee, the PhD Degree is awarded by the Institute.

Further Info on Ph D Program in Cell and Developmental Biology at IST Austria