Qatar University (QU) Health on Sunday announced the launch of new PhD programmes in Biomedical Sciences, Medical Sciences and Pharmaceutical Sciences. They are designed to train doctorate-level scientists to investigate and introduce solutions to major health problems in Qatar.
The announcement came at a press conference attended by QU president Dr Hassan al-Derham, vice president for Medical and Health Sciences and College of Medicine dean Prof Egon Toft, College of Health Sciences dean and Biomedical Research Centre director Prof Asmaa al-Thani, and College of Pharmacy dean Dr Mohammad Diab.
The four-year programmes include a total of 60 hours of credit coursework and dissertation research. All courses are taught in English. Collaborations will be established with local and international institutions to align the new PhD programmes with international standards.
Admission to the PhD programmes is open for the academic year 2018-2019, with courses beginning in Fall 2018. For the first academic year, QU Health will enroll 15 candidates (5 per programme). Graduate scholarships will be offered to top-ranked students.
An open day for PhD programmes will be held on April 23. It will provide prospective students with the opportunity to learn about the programmes and their curriculum and to express their expectations and concerns.
Dr al-Derham said, “As Qatar’s national university, QU is committed to provide the labour market with qualified graduates who are capable to contribute to human and social development in the State of Qatar. Therefore, the University is committed to fulfilling the needs of the labor market and the society for qualified and trained graduates in all fields and sectors. Since the establishment of QU Health which comprises the colleges of Health Sciences, Medicine and Pharmacy, QU has been keen to build solid partnerships and collaborations with institutions from the health sector with the aim to uplift the services that the country provides to its citizens and residents.”
Prof Toft said, “This marks definitely a note-worthy development in the Health Cluster’s progress in general, and the synergy and collaboration of the member colleges in particular leading to innovative and impactful health and medical education. We are very optimistic of the results of this initiative, as it will contribute to attracting highly competitive scientists eager to pursue their PhD.”
