The Faculty of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences of the University of Chile offer a study program leading to a doctorate in Biochemistry. The research areas associated with the program include the structure of Proteins, the study of biochemical changes associated with cellular stress, the relationship between Bioenergetics and Cellular Metabolism, as well as Biochemical processes associated with the nervous system and Molecular Physiology. In addition, the biochemical processes underlying immune processes, the interaction between genes and sequence analysis are investigated through Functional Genomics, Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics, as well as Bacterial and Viral Biochemistry; and the study of signal transduction mechanisms and the molecular bases of various pathologies that allow the visualization of different therapeutic strategies, including cell therapy strategies and nanotechnology, among others.

What makes our program unique?

The Doctoral Program in Biochemistry is one of the oldest doctoral programs in the biological area of ​​the country, created in 1978. The PDB is a consolidated academic program that has trained more than 140 doctors who work in the academic field, national and foreign public and private companies contributing significantly to scientific work in the area of ​​Biochemistry sciences.

In this program, the training of doctoral students is based on various tools of modern biochemistry related to cell signaling, molecular biology, bioinformatics applied to genomic and transcriptomic studies, bioinformatics of macromolecules as well as biophysics and protein function.

Modifications have been made to the curriculum to make it flexible, allowing the student to join the research group in the first year where they will do their thesis.

The Doctoral Program in Biochemistry includes fulfilling curricular activities established at admission with 232 credits. The Program Study Plan contemplates that 72 credits correspond to curricular activities broken down as follows:

• two required courses of 15 credits each (Signal Transduction, Biochemistry and Macromolecular Function)

• one required 10-credit course (Advanced Molecular Biology and Genomics)

• a mandatory course of General Training of 5 credits (History and Philosophy of Sciences or Bioethics)

• a required five-credit Scientific English course

• an elective course of 7 credits, two research units of 6 and 9 credits, respectively

• A research unit of 6 credits whose purpose is to bring the student closer to the field of business research.

• a research unit of 9 credits to be carried out at the Thesis site

The remaining 160 credits correspond to the development of the Thesis that constitutes the central activity of the Program.

The duration to meet the program’s requirements will be six semesters of total dedication. If there are equivalent activities previously carried out by the candidate, they may opt for permanence of less than six semesters, which the Dean will resolve following a report from the Graduate School. The maximum effective duration to opt for a Doctorate will be ten semesters. The Dean will resolve requests for an extension of the term of permanence following a report from the Graduate School.

The Dean may authorize students eliminated for exceeding the maximum permanence to rejoin the Program, only in well-founded cases and only once, with a favorable report from the Academic Committee of the Program and the Council of the Graduate School.

Qualifying Exam

The Qualification Exam is an oral exam that aims to verify that the student has achieved sufficient skills and mastery to develop the discipline. The exam requires:

• Verify that the student has acquired extensive and up-to-date knowledge in their discipline.
• That you can manage them in an integrated manner with mastery of their fundamental concepts.
• That he can independently propose theoretical or experimental developments to face new problems.

The candidate who has approved all of the mandatory curricular activities of the Study Plan, excluding the Thesis, may request authorization from the Academic Committee to take their Qualifying Exam.

Thesis

The Doctoral Program in Biochemistry is contemplated as its most important activity in developing the thesis. The thesis must represent an original and creative contribution to the deepening of a specific topic in the field of biochemistry that is relevant to scientific knowledge. The Thesis consists of an individual work that each student develops and must culminate in a written document.

For the execution of the Thesis, the student will have the supervision of a Director or, at most, two Thesis Directors approved by the Academic Committee. At least one of the thesis directors must be part of the academic faculty of the program. If the second Director does not belong to the academic faculty, he will appear as Co-Director. If the thesis is developed in a company, it must have a formal relationship with the University of Chile by signing a cooperation agreement or equivalent instrument.

The thesis must be supported by at least one paper accepted in an ISI journal with an editorial committee at the time of publishing the thesis, in which the candidate is the first author.

Those who hold a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in the field of Chemical-Biological Sciences awarded by the University of Chile or other universities, national or foreign, which ensure equivalent and satisfactory training for students, may apply for the Doctoral Program in Biochemistry purposes and requirements of the Program. Also those who have other degrees that can be considered equivalent to them; in level, duration and content. This application must be made at the Graduate School of the Faculty of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences of the University of Chile.

Applicants must present their background information to the Graduate School, among others:

Curriculum vitae

Photocopy of the identity card on both sides or passport in the case of foreign students

Application

Transcript of grades that includes final average with and without thesis and graduation rank of your promotion

At least two letters of recommendation

Scholarships

To carry out doctoral studies, chilean students can apply for financing through the following options (review the requirements of each one):

• Conicyt (Modifications for applying for 2018 scholarships)
• Scholarship Faculty of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Fee Reduction Scholarship

Foreign students can apply for funding scholarships to carry out doctoral studies in Chile through the following institutions (check the requirements of each one):

• Conicyt
• Senescyt (only for students from Ecuador)
• Pronabec (only for students from Peru)

From Monday, August 19, 2024, at 12:00 p.m. until Monday, October 21, 2024, at 11:59 p.m.