Sveučilište u Splitu - Fakultet građevinarstva, arhitekture i geodezije University of Split - Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Geodesy

Forms

• Application Form
• Study Contract Form
• Enrolment Form
• Individual Program of the Study
• Request for qualifying doctoral exam
• Submission of Doctoral Thesis Proposal
• Forming a Committee for the Assessment of the Doctoral Thesis (Dissertation)
• Report and Assessment of the Doctoral Thesis (Dissertation) of the Postgraduate Candidate

Structure and Organisation of the Study Programme

The study programme is organised as full-time study and lasts from three to four years (eight semesters) or as a part-time programme which lasts six years (12 semesters), during which the student collects the minimum of 240 ECTS credits. Exceptionally, according to the Ordinance, the maximum duration for the full-time study programme is six years and eight years for the part-time programme. Compulsory and elective classes are carried out during the first two semesters. Last three years are exclusively scheduled for research-related activities, i.e. writing of the dissertation. From the total of 240 ECTS credits, 60 ECTS credits are acquired by examining the 7th level learning outcomes of compulsory and elective courses in line with the Ordinance, and180 ECTS credits in the activities related to the original scientific research resulting in writing and defending of the doctoral thesis.

The student achieves the minimum of 42 ECTS upon the examination of the learning outcomes of this study programme, and the remaining credits (maximum of 18 ECTS credits) can be achieved through acquisition and examination of 7th level learning outcomes at the constituent entities of the University of Split, other universities in the Republic of Croatia and/or abroad. According to the Ordinance, upon supervisor`s request, a certain number of ECTS credits can be awarded to the student for previously acquired 7th level learning outcomes. Ideally, the candidate can be released from attending classes at the preparatory year.

The Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Geodesy provides professional scientific advancement to doctoral candidates in the area of technical sciences, filed of Civil Engineering and other fundamental technical sciences.

Upon the completed admission procedure, a supervisor is assigned to each student. Co-supervisor can be appointed in addition to the supervisor. Supervision is granted pursuant to Article 33 of the Ordinance. In order to obtain the doctoral the degree, the candidate, under the supervisor`s supervision, performs research-related activities, which are provided by the study programme through Research I, II and III. The student thus acquires knowledge and skills for independent research and successful preparation of his/her dissertation.

List of Compulsory and Elective Courses

Except for Research I, II and III and the course Methodology and Techniques of Scientific Research, all other courses are elective. Depending on the candidate`s interest and research topic, the supervisor advises the candidates on the selection of courses, whereas the selected courses should be applicable to the research topic. Each course is represented through the immediate classes and the writing of the seminar paper, which contains experimental work and theoretic analysis of the concerned issue. The seminar paper is composed in line with the rules set out for the writing of scientific and professional papers. The majority of exams is carried out through oral presentation of the seminar paper, unless otherwise provided by the syllabus.

Research-relate activities carried out for the purpose of obtaining the doctoral degree are provided in the study programme through the courses Research I, II and III, which prepare the student for successful participation and autonomy in research-related activities and the composition of the dissertation. Learning outcomes are examined through seminar papers presenting research methods and papers accepted for publishing in journals or papers accepted for presentation at international conferences.

The list of compulsory (research) activities and elective courses across semesters with the number of ECTS credits is presented in the following tables:

The following table presents the list of the elective courses (for each course, the weekly workload is 30+0 hours).

Learning Outcomes and Competences

Doctoral degree in Civil Engineering at this faculty implies a very high level of scientific education based on the most recent findings from the relevant research field with the minimum of three years of research-related activities. The candidates with this degree can work in public and private sector, with the following competences:

Devise scientific research, in cooperation with the supervisor, in order to establish new hypotheses and reach new scientific achievements within the selected research area;

• Prepare and present a public communication about the research results at an international conference;
• Successfully defend the hypothesis and the results of scientific research, and present substantiated arguments in the discussion at the international conference;
• Provide critical analysis and reasoning of published scientific papers of other authors within the selected scientific area;
• Write and successfully publish at least one scientific paper as the main author in an international peer-reviewed journal;
• Write a complete doctoral dissertation, publicly present it and successfully defend it;
• Implement new knowledge and scientific cognitions from the doctoral thesis in practice;
• Participate in the work of scientific teams for the purpose of realising national and international scientific projects.

Research Topics

Since as early as 2005, when the negotiations for Croatia’s accession to the EU started, and the first national documents related to scientific themes and involvement into European research area were drafted (e.g. participation in the FP6 programme) on the basis of strategic and priority documents from the previous period (for example the FGAG – Strategy for the period 2012 – 2016 and documents resulting from reaccreditation of the FGAG in 2012), the FGAG has been participating in projects and has continually achieved progress in scientific excellence and international recognition.

A project leading to scientific advancements and greater progress that is worth mentioning is the Croatian-Japanese scientific project “Risk identification and land use planning for disaster mitigation of landslides and floods in Croatia” (2009 – 2014). The research equipment procured for the project was worth 2,5 million HRK and has been deemed a good starting point for developments in new infrastructural projects. This had led to the greatest project initiated so far, with the working title “From implementation of contemporary scientific and research infrastructure at FGAG to smart specialisation in green and energy efficient building“ (abbr. INFRA), financed from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF 2014 – 2020, third call from the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports). Presently, the project , which will hopefully lead to equipping of 11 Faculty laboratories with modern scientific and research infrastructure and building of a new hydrotechnical laboratory in Žrnovnica, has passed administrative control. Also, the funding for the development of a detailed design project and feasibility study has been obtained by a separate tender.

A starting point for further advancement of research at the Faculty is development of research topics within departments. The departments represent small organisational units and form a rather fragmented structure that, at first sight, might appear as a weakness considering given topics. However, this has quickly been turned into an advantage because the research groups organised themselves around research topics for the needs of participation in the EU and national schemes of financing. Departments and their respective research topics are permanently directed towards the development of research groups through the INFRA project and other activities: researchers from multiple departments constitute one research group and complement each other thus contributing to interdisciplinarity. The management structure of the FGAG provides continuous support for research groups, in accordance with national priorities and the EU topic areas and within particular projects/calls and programmes (Horizon 2020, bilateral schemes of financing and others) from different EU funds. At the same time, the postgraduate university (doctoral) study programme of Civil Engineering, FGAG, continues to offer new research potential and acts as an ideas incubator fostering innovations within the framework of existing research groups and through generation of new ones.