Doctoral (Ph.D.) studies
The study programme of Doctoral Studies – Mechanical Engineering is worth 180 ECTS points. Studies last for 3 (three) academic years. They consist of attending and passing 3 (three) compulsory and 6 (six) elective courses from the list of offered courses.
The main objective of the study programme Doctoral Academic Studies – Mechanical Engineering
The main objective of the study programme Doctoral Academic Studies – Mechanical Engineering is the development of top-level experts in the field of mechanical engineering, capable of conducting scientific research and leading scientific research and major professional projects.
Specific learning outcomes of the study programme Doctoral Studies in Mechanical Engineering (Ph.D.)
Development of students’ scientific abilities and academic skills and their education for independent and team-based scientific research work through attendance of complex compulsory and elective courses, following relevant literature, publishing papers independently and with co-authors, presenting papers at relevant conferences, etc;
Training students for the preparation and future leadership of scientific research and complex professional projects in both the academic community and the economy through participation in such projects;
Development of students’ ability to create innovative solutions taking into account social, economic, safety and environmental aspects, as well as principles, norms, standards and protocols of engineering ethnics, with continuous awareness of preserving scientific and professional integrity;
Enabling students to master specific practical skills necessary for future career development through laboratory work, preparation of reports on conducted measurements, implementation of new experimental setups used for dissertation development, participation in the teaching process at lower levels of study and development of competences for working with students etc;
Development of students’ abilities and competences for critical thinking, creative and independent action;
Advancement and development of science and technology through scientific contributions achieved in dissertations;
Improvement of scientific research work at the Faculty in accordance with the national strategy “The Power of Knowledge” and contemporary international academic and scientific standards.
Competences of graduates
The doctoral study programme enables students, upon completion of their studies, to possess the knowledge, skills, developed abilities and competences to:
Independently and as part of a team solve complex practical and theoretical problems in the field in which they obtained their doctorate and organise and carry out development and scientific research with a significant contribution to the field of mechanical engineering;
Participate in international scientific projects;
Carry out the development and practical application of new technologies and procedures within their profession and independently master, understand and use the most up-to-date knowledge, methods and techniques in the given scientific field, as well as synthesise, analyse and evaluate new knowledge;
Independently identify research problems and propose innovative solutions;
Think critically and self-critically, and act creatively and independently;
сагледавају социјалне, економске и еколошке аспекте и предвиђају последице својих решења;
Consider social, economic and environmental aspects and anticipate the consequences of their solutions;
Respect the principles of the ethical code of good scientific practice with continuous awareness of preserving scientific and professional integrity;
Present their scientific research results in a coherent manner in both written and oral form and communicate at a professional level when conveying research results to different target groups;
Disseminate scientific research results at scientific conferences, publish them in scientific journals, through patents and new technical solutions;
Cooperate with the immediate social and international environment;
Contribute to the development of the scientific discipline and science in general.
By completing the study programme, the student acquires the following subject-specific competences:
Thorough knowledge and understanding of the discipline of the relevant field;
Ability to solve problems innovatively using scientific methods and procedures;
Integration of fundamental knowledge from different fields and its application;
Ability to follow contemporary developments in science and the profession;
Development of skills and proficiency in the application of knowledge in the relevant field;
Use of modern information and communication technologies and computer tools in acquiring knowledge and solving problems in relevant areas.
A Ph.D. in the field of Mechanical Engineering acquires competences in:
Context (competence in terms of real circumstances, whether professional or broader social, whereby the application of knowledge and skills in real situations is given a concrete context in which their manifestation is expected),
Role (competence as the ability of an individual, when joining a group, to assume appropriate roles within that group),
Learning for knowledge acquisition (competence in terms of real learning for the purpose of acquiring knowledge, i.e. the ability to engage in new experiences, understand and retain the meaning and significance of those experiences), and
Comprehension (the ability to engage at significantly more complex levels of knowledge and awareness, both internally and externally, through the process of reflecting on new knowledge and experience).
Enrollment requirements
A student can enrol in the first year of Doctoral studies in accordance with the Law and the Statute, other general acts of the University, and the Book of Regulations on Doctoral Studies of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (Documents).
The maximum number of students that can be enrolled in Doctoral studies is 50. The ranking of candidates for enrolment in the first year of doctoral studies is determined on the basis of the overall average grade achieved in undergraduate and master academic studies and the scientific results achieved, in the manner prescribed by the general act of the Faculty, in accordance with the general act of the University.
Curriculum of the study programme Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering
(in the table: white fields – compulsory courses, coloured fields – elective courses)
Each course is one-semester, it is worth 5 ECTS points and comprises 50 hours of lectures with additional consultations and knowledge tests as agreed with the course teacher. The percentage of credits allocated to courses is 25%.
The student chooses all elective courses only in agreement with the potential supervisor. A student can take a maximum of three courses held by one teacher. For a maximum of 2 (two) courses, there is a possibility of choosing courses that are not included in the list of elective courses at the Faculty, but are included in the lists of courses of other faculties within the University of Belgrade.
Compulsory courses
Elective courses
The list of elective courses.
The complete list of subjects (compulsory and elective) can be found in the Guidebook (doctoral studies section).
The list of all subjects in the doctoral studies, with additional information on each subject (learning outcomes, content, objectives, etc.), is provided in the Course Catalogue.
Research and dissertation preparation
The courses in Research and Publication comprise:
Laboratory research related to the general topic of the dissertation, stated in the plan of research. Being engaged in projects and other scientific and research activities that are within the scope of the field of development.
Published papers in journals or proceedings of international conferences. One paper in the M21 category is worth 15 ECTS, M22 is worth 14 ECTS, M23 is worth 13 ECTS, M24 and M51 are worth 10 ECTS, M52 is worth 8 ECTS, M33 is worth 6 ECTS, M34 is worth 4 ECTS. The number of points for papers with multiple authors is divided by n-1, where n stands for the number of authors of the paper. The total number of points acquired on these grounds in all reports can be a maximum of 40, regardless of the number of papers. The report lists the paper with all bibliographic data, along with the assigned number of points.
Classes held at the Bachelor and Master studies are worth one ECTS per class per week and per semester (2 classes per week during one semester are worth 2 ECTS). On these grounds, 30 ECTS can be acquired in all reports, regardless of the number of classes held. The name of the course with its position in the curriculum and the ID number in the Book of Courses, the number of classes held and the number of ECTS points are listed.
During Doctoral studies, the student must achieve the following results:
in order to enrol in the second year of studies, the student must acquire a total of 48 ECTS points;
by the end of the second year, the student must publish, or at least have one scientific paper related to the topic of the doctoral dissertation that has been accepted for publication, as well as defend the Project of the idea of the doctoral dissertation;
in order to enroll in the third year of studies, the student must pass all courses, i.e. acquire 120 ECTS points.
In order to gain right to submit a request for the preparation of the dissertation, the student must acquire 120 ECTS points from the first two years of studies, including the defended Project of the idea of the doctoral dissertation.
In order to submit the doctoral dissertation to the supervisor for review (and subsequent defence), the candidate must have at least one published paper as the first author in a scientific journal of the category M21a+, M21a, M21, M22 or M23 that is content-related to the topic of the doctoral dissertation.
In addition to these obligations, the Ph.D. student is also required to engage in scientific and vocational projects that serve to educate him/her for the economic environment (application of the OMSR course) – the Ph.D. student must also be a leader in the future expansion of his knowledge. The time that the doctoral student needs to spend in this kind of work is determined in agreement with the supervisor.
Upon completion of the study programme Doctoral Studies – Mechanical Engineering, depending on the selected courses and the narrower scientific field of the doctoral dissertation, a qualification is obtained corresponding to national qualification codes 80.3.0715.0002 or 80.3.0716.0001 from the Register of the National Qualifications Framework of the Republic of Serbia.
