Third cycle university studies in Portugal: current schemes and possible structured programs of studies in agricultural engineering and in the emerging discipline of biosystems engineering

Abstract

The present trend, even for the universities that have not been adjusted to the Bologna related structured 3rd cycle degree is to organize the PhD programs, offering doctoral courses to a maximum of 30 ECTS plus 150 ECTS for work research. Normally the duration of these programs will be of three years divided in 6 semesters. The prerequisites required for these programs are normally associated to the scientific area of the PhD but usually, the prerequisites are not very strict. Some of the ECTS of the PhD courses have the objective of eliminating PhD student’s formation handicaps and/or to give specific knowledge in areas considered important to each individual student according to its specific PhD thesis.