Skoltech is an international graduate research-focused university that was founded by the group of world-renowned scientists in 2011. Skoltech's curriculum focuses on technology and innovation, offering Master's programs in 11 technological disciplines. Students receive rigorous theoretical and practical training, design their own research projects, participate in internships and gain entrepreneurial skills in English. The faculty is comprised of current researchers with international accreditation and achievements.

About PhD

Skoltech gives its PhD students the opportunity to earn a PhD degree by completing a Skoltech doctoral program and defending a PhD Thesis, summarizing the research work performed during their doctoral studies.

The Skoltech PhD degree is conferred based on the PhD Defense Jury’s decision, and following the candidate’s PhD Thesis Defense.

The degrees are awarded in the fields of knowledge determined by Skoltech and are directly linked to the relevant doctoral programs. Currently, seven doctoral programs are available at Skoltech:

 

Below, we provide the PhD programs requirements that are differ for PhD students admitted before the 2022/2023 academic year and PhD students admitted after 2022/2023 academic year.

PhD Programs requirements
for PhD students admitted after 2022/2023 academic year

The doctoral program includes three components: PhD thesis research, coursework, and Thesis Final Review.

The Skoltech doctoral program includes different categories of courses, as follows:

  • Research Methodology The objective of this course is to overview common research methodologies and practices applicable to major types of research topics in a specific field.
  • Advanced Major-Field courses Each Doctoral Program Committee can set a list of compulsory Advanced Major-Field courses, which is approved in the curriculum of a particular doctoral program.
  • General doctoral courses, compulsory for all PhD students, are:
    • History and Philosophy of Science
    • English
    • Final History and Philosophy of Science and English assessments are equal to the candidate exams.
  • Optional courses Each Doctoral Program Committee can set a list of the recommended Optional courses. These courses can be equivalent to Masters courses. Optional courses can also include entrepreneurship and innovation.
  • Thesis Proposal Defense is a compulsory component of the doctoral program, whereby a PhD student defends a thesis proposal before the Individual Doctoral Committee.
  • Thesis research, writing and revision. A PhD student is expected to start his or her thesis research at Skoltech immediately after admission.
  • Pedagogical Experience. The Pedagogical Experience prepares a PhD student for practical teaching. It includes brief theoretical training and practical training serving as a Teaching Assistant (TA).
  • Qualifying Exam is a compulsory component of the doctoral program and equal to the candidate exam. Its goal is to assess the PhD student knowledge and skills in the area of the thesis research.
  • Thesis Final Review is a procedure that certifies the PhD student`s successful completion of the doctoral program and assesses the readiness of the PhD thesis for the PhD Thesis Defense.
  • Thesis Defense.

PhD students are expected to produce an original PhD thesis, publish the results of their independent research in peer-reviewed academic journals, and present them at reputable international conferences.

Doctoral Program

Publications

Conference Presentation

Mathematics and Mechanics

2 papers in WoS indexed journals

2 presentations at reputable conferences

Physics

2 papers in WoS indexed journals

2 presentations at reputable conferences

Materials Science and Engineering

2 papers in WoS indexed journals

2 presentations at reputable conferences

Life Sciences

2 papers in WoS indexed journals; Impact Factor (IF) > 2; at least one first/shared first/corresponding author publication. No review papers.

2 presentations at reputable conferences

Computational and Data Science and Engineering

3 peer-reviewed publications, of which two appear in WoS/Scopus indexed journals/conference proceedings. At least two publications in: (i) Q1/Q2 journals (in Scimago) in the corresponding fields or journals with IF > 2, or (ii) conference proceedings having a CORE rating of A/A*; one (out of two) first/shared first/corresponding author publication.

2 presentations at reputable conferences

Engineering Systems

3 peer-reviewed publications in WoS/Scopus indexed journals/conference proceedings of which at least 2 as first author in the corresponding fields:

one publication in Q1/Q2 journals (in Scimago);

one publication in conference proceedings with H>=10 (in Scimago) or in journal;
one publication in journal or in conference proceedings, or patent.

2 presentations at reputable conferences

Petroleum Engineering

3 papers in WoS/Scopus indexed journals or 2 papers in WoS/Scopus indexed journals and 1 patent; at least 2 papers in Q1/Q2 journals (in Scimago) in the field.

2 presentations at reputable conferences

 

PhD Programs requirements
for PhD students admitted before 2022/2023 academic year

Each doctoral program comprises 240 credits:

  • 30 ECTS credits of coursework, including:
    • 12 ECTS credits of coursework for Advanced Major-Field courses. Advanced Major-Field courses represent the advanced subject matter in a particular academic field that PhD students or established faculty members would typically be expected to have mastered.
    • 18 ECTS credits for General doctoral courses – to be taken by all Skoltech PhD students. General doctoral courses represent methodological subject matter, pedagogy, philosophical inquiry or general academic or professional learning about research or subject matter related to research, teaching or innovation that are applicable across most or all academic fields.
    • Pedagogy of Higher Education
    • Research Methodology
    • Philosophy of Science, Technology and Innovation
    • Innovation Study course
  • Optional coursesfrom the course catalog. Minimum 0 ECTS credits, up to 60 ECTS credits 
  • 210 ECTS credits of research, professional experience, thesis preparation, and thesis defense. Thesis research and development includes:
    • 6 ECTS of Thesis Proposal Defense. A compulsory component of the program, whereby a student defends his or her thesis as a pre-condition for proceeding to the next stage – carrying out the research project formulated in the thesis proposal.
    • 192 ECTS credits for thesis project research, writing and revision. A PhD student is expected to start his or her thesis research at Skoltech immediately after admission.
    • 3 ECTS of Pedagogical ExperienceThis is a compulsory component of the program, which leads to the development of the student’s professional pedagogical skills.
    • 3 ECTS credits of Qualifying ExamThe goal of the qualifying examination is to assess a student’s ability and inclination to conduct research according to top-tier institution standards; it also provides a learning experience in which students may both strengthen their field-specific knowledge and scientific methods for conducting scholarly research.
  • 6 ECTS credits of Thesis Defense.

PhD students are expected to produce an original PhD thesis, publish the results of their independent research in peer-reviewed academic journals, and present them at reputable international conferences.

Doctoral Program

Publications

Conference Presentation

Mathematics and Mechanics

2 papers in WoS indexed journals

2 presentations at reputable conferences

Physics

2 papers in WoS indexed journals

2 presentations at reputable conferences

Materials Science and Engineering

2 papers in WoS indexed journals

2 presentations at reputable conferences

Life Sciences

2 papers in WoS indexed journals; Impact Factor (IF) > 2; at least one first/shared first/corresponding author publication. No review papers.

2 presentations at reputable conferences

Computational and Data Science and Engineering

3 peer-reviewed publications, of which two appear in WoS/Scopus indexed journals/conference proceedings. At least two publications in: (i) Q1/Q2 journals in the corresponding fields or journals with IF > 2, or (ii) conference proceedings having a CORE rating of A/A*; one (out of two) first/shared first/corresponding author publication.

2 presentations at reputable conferences

Engineering Systems

3 peer-reviewed publications in WoS/Scopus indexed journals/conference proceedings of which at least 2 as first author in the corresponding fields:

one publication in Q1/Q2 journals;
one publication in conference proceedings with H>=10 or in journal;
one publication in journal or in conference proceedings, or patent.

2 presentations at reputable conferences

Petroleum Engineering

3 papers in WoS/Scopus indexed journals or 2 papers in WoS/Scopus indexed journals and 1 patent; at least 2 papers in Q1/Q2 journals in the field.

2 presentations at reputable conferences