PhD school of Life Sciences

Regulations for Ph.D. Students of the Department of Botany and Plant Biology

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General remarks

Regulations as stated in the "Règlement et plans d'études" of the Faculté des Sciences (see here) and of the Section of Biology (see here) are applicable and superimposed on the following.

In general, thesis work is performed within the framework of the International PhD program in Life Sciences, the student has to be accepted by the program and unless mentioned below, the rules of the program will apply.

When the topic of the thesis is not related to the themes of the International PhD program in Life Sciences, the student can be recruited independently and dispensed of following the courses of this PhD program. In agreement with the advisor, the PhD student will enroll in another PhD program (CUSO, Marie Curie ITN, etc) or follow courses in order to obtain a minimum equivalent of 9 ECTS credits.

A Thesis from the department will have the "Mention Biologie".

The University of Geneva has a strong policy regarding appropriate citation of other people’s work and against plagiarism (see guidelines here and a short tutorial here).

Students who are not enrolled in the International PhD program in Life Sciences must follow the two lectures on “Ethical conduct of Science” from the first-year PhD course (19B001).

During the thesis

Together with the advisor, a Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC) that includes the thesis adviser and two other group leaders (from within the department or outside of it) will be assembled. The composition of this committee can change over the course of the PhD (members may be added and/or replaced). The thesis adviser has the right to veto choices of co-advisers.

Student progress will be assessed by the supervisor and the student’s Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC). Prior to TAC meetings, the student should prepare for the TAC members a summary outlining the goals of the project, what has been accomplished and what is planned for the future (minimum 3 pages). During the TAC meeting, the student should briefly present this material as a prelude to an open discussion with the committee. Subsequently, TAC members will privately discuss the student’s progress in terms of:

  • Intellectual potential including participation in the course(s)
  • Integration into the host lab
  • Potential to carry out independent research

The conclusions of TAC meetings will be recorded on this report form, which will be sent to the program chair or, if the PhD student is not enrolled in the program, to the Director of the Department of Botany and Plant Biology.

The first TAC meeting will take place approximately 6 months after beginning in the host lab. At this time, the supervisor, with input from the TAC, will decide if the student should continue with the PhD. Subsequent TAC meetings should be held yearly. Ultimately, the TAC will decide when a student is ready to write and defend the thesis.

The student must participate in the following courses/seminars throughout the thesis:

The thesis adviser can demand that the student take additional courses.

Students are strongly encouraged to take advantage of symposia, practical courses and meetings organized by the SPSW (Swiss Plant Science Web), the CUSO Doctoral Program “Molecular Plant Science”, the Swiss Systematics Society (SSS), the Biology00 Symposium or similar programs. However, the choice of courses must be discussed and agreed upon with the thesis adviser.

Thesis exams

Prior to the defense of the thesis, the student must pass two exams, one written and one oral (also see regulations of the Section of Biology, link above)

The candidate will be evaluated by 2 examiners (or 3 if the candidate's thesis advisor is included). Examiners must be defined beforehand as they need to be consulted regarding the choice of the topic for the written exam. Normally, the same examiners will grade both the written and oral exam (at least one should be the same). The student should register in advance for both doctoral exams at the "Secrétariat des étudiants de la Faculté des Sciences" (ground floor of Sciences 3).

The candidate may choose one of the following two formats for the written exam:

  • Complete an EMBO or HSFP post-doctoral fellowship application (or equivalent if approved by the designated examiners). This could be based on research that the candidate would like to pursue during his/her post-doctoral work
  • Write a ~2500 word review on a topic not immediately related to the candidate’s own thesis work

The oral exam should be scheduled between 1 and 4 weeks after submission of the written exam.

In this exam the student should be prepared to defend what he/she wrote for his/her written exam. The exam will begin with a 10-15 minute “chalk talk” by the candidate (no other visual aids should be used, since the examiners have received the written report). This presentation will be continued with a scientific discussion of relevant topics. The duration of this examination will be approximately 1 hour.

WHAT TO DO AT THE END OF THE THESIS

The end

The TAC should decide when a student can finish his/her experiments and begin writing the thesis.

Doctoral exams

Two exams, written and oral, must be passed before you can submit your thesis to the "Section de Biologie". These exams can be taken before your bench work has been completed or while you are writing your thesis (discuss it with your adviser). See Thesis exams above.

Thesis and public defense

  1. Writing your thesis: follow the guidelines of the “Section de Biologie” in thesis_format.pdf . For the title page follow the instructions in thesis_titlepage.pdf . For how to submit the thesis follow those in submitting_thesis_18.4.12.pdf .

  2. The thesis can be written in French or English, or if the thesis jury agrees, in German, Italian or Spanish. In all cases, you still need a summary in French of 1-2 pages.

  3. Make suggestions to your adviser for the thesis jury. It must comprise at least three persons: thesis adviser, one co-adviser plus an expert from outside of Geneva. Members of your TAC can be part of this jury. Contact members of jury to ask whether they accept the invitation and ask them about approximate time when they would be available (regarding scheduling, see further comments below).

  4. Once your thesis has been accepted by your thesis adviser, send copies to the other members of the thesis jury and circulate one copy amongst other BIVEG group leaders.

  5. Once your thesis has been accepted by your thesis jury and the PIs of the Department, it can be submitted along with the signed thesis report and, on a separate sheet, a list of the members of the jury and their full addresses to the “Section de Biologie” (office 2004, Sciences III).

  6. It is up to you to figure out a date for the public thesis defense ("soutenance") that suits the whole jury, according to the guidelines in submitting_thesis_18.4.12.pdf .
  7. Reserve a lecture room for your public defense ("soutenance").

After the public defense

  1. Follow the guidelines in submitting_thesis_18.4.12.pdf .
  2. Discuss with your adviser the accessibility criteria for your thesis in the Open Archive of the University of Geneva.

 

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