The curriculum of the programme includes core courses, which are compulsory.
Upon the successful examination in the courses the students will receive their degree with 120 ECTS. A student can attend more courses (with the agreement of the course tutor) if they wish, and provided they have collected the required ECTS. The extra courses will be listed in the diploma supplement.
The first year includes acquiring theoretical knowledge in all aspects of of Immunobiology as well as all the new trends and technologies including therapeutic perspectives. More importantly the training of the students in the first year includes laboratory training and hands on experience in a great variety of research approaches necessary for an immunologist either in an academic setting or the private sector.
Each student will have the opportunity to get laboratory training in two individual laboratories that participate in the programme, involved in the design and implementation of a project.
A compulsory Research thesis in a topic related to Immunobiology, which is implemented during the 2 nd year after the approval by the Programme Managing Committee.
Compulsory attendance of the departmental seminars in the field of Immunobiology, which will be accompanied by discussion with the supervisor.
All the courses will be taught in physical presence at the University of Crete, but there is an option of online teaching, at a percentage of 50% of the total teaching hours per course, if this is necessary, and after sufficient justification and approval by the Programme Steering Committee.
The students are obliged to attend all the courses and the activities of each course and to comply with the decisions of the Programme Steering Committee and the academic ethics. The absence in more than 3 lectures leads automatically in the failure of the specific course and the student is obliged to attend the course again the next semester it is offered paying also the respective fees. Failure in a course is only accepted once, while in case of a second time failure the student is expected to leave the programme.
The Programme Steering Committee designates an Academic Advisor for each student who monitors the progress and advices the student during the programme.
The exam for each course is taken at the end of the respective course. The assessment of the student takes also into account their participation in the course lectures during the semester, their performance in the homework and projects assigned by the tutors. The assessment for each course is defined by the tutors. The tutors are obliged to provide the evaluations of the course at a maximum of three (3) weeks after the final exam. In case there are more than one tutors in a course the mode of assessment is decided collectively by the tutors and announced to the students at the beginning of the course.
The evaluation for each course ranges between 0 and 10 with decimals of 0.5. The successful participation in a course is considered when the students has acquired an evaluation of 6.0/10.0. The MSc degree is awarded to a student when the average grade of all courses (including the Research Thesis) is at least seven (7.0/10.0), which is the final grade of the Master’s Degree.
The Research Thesis corresponds to 55 ECTSs and is implemented during the second year of the programme. It is research intensive and is supervised by a two-member committee. The committee includes the supervisor of the research thesis and comprises faculty members and researchers from the University of Crete or the collaborating organization. Professors or researchers from other academic or research institutions in Greece or abroad, that possess a PhD, can also act as cosupervisors of the student’s MSc thesis. The members of the committee should have the same or similar specialty to that of the research thesis.
The students can apply for the research thesis after they have collected at least 60 ECTS. During the second semester, the interested tutors and other members of the programme present shortly the offered research topics. The students have the opportunity to discuss with the tutors and possibly start studying the topic before they undertake the thesis officially.
The implementation process of the research thesis after the approval of the Programme Steering Committee is as follows:
a) Following the agreement of the supervisor the Programme Steering Committee approves the topic and the two-member committee for the research thesis,
b) After the completion of the thesis, the date of the presentation/defense is announced following the agreement of the two-member committee,
c) The thesis is handed in electronic form to the two committee members. The thesis should be handed to the committee at least ten (10) days before the defense. The defense takes place only after the agreement of all committee members.
The committee members assess the thesis in terms of its originality and innovative nature, the literature review, scientific methodology, the research perspectives and the implementation of the experiments and analysis of the results, as well as the presentation of the work by the student. The procedure is completed with the assessment of the thesis presentation and the respond of the student to the questions provided by the examiners. The research thesis is evaluated as “satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory”.
If a research thesis is assessed as “unsatisfactory”, the student must undertake the necessary corrections/improvements following the recommendations of the examination committee. Then a second defense follows at a date that is defined by the members of the committee and within six (6) months after the date of the first defense. If the thesis is assessed again as “unsatisfactory”, no third chance is given to the student. In this case the student is not awarded the MSc degree, but rather receives a certificate stating that they have successfully completed the graduate courses.
After the completion of the theoretical training, the students have the opportunity to get laboratory training in two individual laboratories that participate in the programme. Via these internships the students aim to gain experience, expand their knowledge and specialize in subjects related to immunobiology and the new trends in therapeutic interventions. The internships also give the students the opportunity to adapt and function within a professional environment and to develop the skills related to teamwork. To enroll in the internship program, the students need to apply. Their record and specific requirements of different positions will be considered by the PMC which shall decide taking under consideration the first three preferences of the student for getting training in specific laboratories. Within one month upon completion of the internship, the student shall submit a written 'activity report' which will be utilized for the evaluation of the student and will be kept in the student’s records. The student’s overall performance shall be assessed by the Programme Steering Committee.
Students also have the option to participate in internship programs abroad, in Universities or Research Centers and Institutions in the context of ERASMUS+ program. The same rules apply (activity report and seminar, ECTS 5).
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