Currently, two Research Training Groups are affiliated with the Doctoral/PhD Programme Medicine and Health Sciences: 

Translational Research: From Pathological Mechanisms to Therapy

Neuromodulation of Motor and Cognitive Function in Brain Health and disease

In addition to their scientific research, doctoral students taking part in the Medicine and Health Sciences PhD Programme must take part in courses falling under the following module themes and gather at total of at least 30 credit points.

Broadening and deepening of field-specific scientific knowledge

In these courses, students broaden and deepen their scien­tific knowledge in the context of their field of research and acquire the necessary skills to perform their research project. Students take an active part e.g. in colloquia, summer schools, lab visits abroad or courses on field-specific themes and research methods. At least 12 credit points must be accumulated in this area.

Communication and knowledge transfer

Students are given the opportunity to develop their communication and presentation skills, as well as their expertise in the transfer of knowledge, e.g. by presenting their research work at conferences or developing teaching skills in didactic courses or teaching activities. At least 6 credit points must be gathered in this area.

Interdisciplinary competencies 

Students are invited to develop strategies and expertise for their scientific career through courses on e.g. good scientific practice, scientific writing and publishing, grant writing, data management and statistics, project management, as well as courses preparing for the job market. At least 6 credit points must be accumulated in this area.

An overview of the modules that fall under the three module themes of the Medicine and Health Sciences PhD Programme is available in the examination regulations of the OLTECH (pp. 27-28), that are also available in English on the OLTECH Regulations webpage. The overview also specifies how many credits are required to have courses count toward a module, how many can maximally be accumulated, as well which modules are mandatory. 

In addition to research activities related to the students research project (research team or departmental research colloquium, research visit abroad, taking part in conferences, etc.), the doctoral students have access to a variety of courses offered by: 

• OLTECH 
• Graduate Academy
• School of Medicine and Health Sciences

You can sign up for most of the courses on StudIP, which you can access with your university account information. You can also search for courses on StudIP by using the search option in the main tool bar and then choosing the directory search, which will give you an array of further search options. 

An exemplary curriculum over the three-year programme can be found here. 

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the programme coordinators!

Please apply for admission to the Graduate School Science, Medicine and Technology (OLTECH) by using the online application form. Further documents will be requested in a second step (e.g. CV, Master certificate, an outline of the PhD project, a statement from your supervisor, etc.).

The OLTECH Applicaton & Admission webpage provides information regarding the application deadlines. In case you have missed a recent deadline, but would already like to attend courses of the programme, you are invited to contact the OLTECH office to inquire about becoming a provisional OLTECH member.

The School of Medicine and Health Sciences offers early career researchers in the fields of medical, health, natural and engineering sciences the possibility of obtaining a variety of doctoral degrees. Each of these degrees is regulated by its doctoral regulations, which are available on the website of the Doctoral Office of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences. The website also provides helpful information, answers to frequent questions pertaining to these regulations and contact information.

Doctoral researchers seeking to obtain the following doctoral degrees can become OLTECH members and take part in the PhD programmes of the Graduate School OLTECH: 

MD-Ph.D.

The fullfillment of the OLTECH Medicine and Health Sciences Programme (30 credit points) is a prerequisite for the completion of the MD-Ph.D. programme. You can find information on this degree on the Dr.med./MD-Ph.D. webpage of the Doctoral Office. 

Dr. rer. nat, Ph.D., Dr. phil., Dr.-Ing.

The fullfillment of the OLTECH Medicine and Health Sciences Programme or of another subject-relevant OLTECH PhD (study-)programme is highly recommended, but not mandatory for doctoral students pursuing a Dr. rer. nat., Ph.D., Dr. phil. or Dr.-Ing.. Information on these degrees can be found on the Dr. rer. nat., Ph.D., Dr. phil., Dr.-Ing. webpage of the Doctoral Office. 

Dr. rer. medic.

Doctoral students seeking a Dr. rer. medic. degree can become members of the Graduate School OLTECH. The 12 credit points, which must be accumulated for the obtention of the Dr. rer. medic. degree can be acquired within the framework of OLTECH’s course programme, in particular within the Medicine and Health Sciences PhD Programme. A membership to the OLTECH Graduate School and the admission to the PhD Programme Medicine and Health Sciences are prerequisites for taking part in the courses offered by the Graduate School OLTECH. The membership also gives the opportunity to attend courses of the Graduate Academy free of charge. Please note that if only the 12 credit points required for the Dr. rer. medic are earned, the OLTECH will issue a transcript of records (TOR) listing the courses and accumulated credit points. For the successful completion of the OLTECH programme, including the OLTECH certificate, at least 30 credit points, distributed over three module areas, are required. To find out more information on the degree Dr. rer. medic., please consult the Dr. rer. medic. webpage of the Doctoral Office.