Program Overview
"Prior to applying to the PhD program at The Cyprus Institute, a newly developed institute, I had doubts about the quality standards and readiness level of such a novel institution. The supportive academic and administrative staff, in combination with the new facilities and equipment helped me to transform from a Master’s student into an expert researcher- with initiative, the ability to design experiments and to implement my own ideas. I became a confident public speaker, capable of presenting my work at conferences and able to support my research in front of experts worldwide."
Marios C. Georgiou, PhD
Alumnus
The program promotes research excellence and educates students on the scientific frontiers and advanced methodologies at the vanguard of interconnected issues related to Climate and Atmospheric Sciences, Energy, Hydrology, Sustainable Built Environment and Sustainable Policy.
The program encompasses both basic research and the development of technologies and innovations. Particular attention is given to the EMME (Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East) regional background in the context of global climate changes, addressing impacts and possible mitigation and adaptation strategies.
The curricula includes a mandatory subject aiming to build a common basis among students from different disciplines as well as a number of electives that provide insight into a variety of more specialized important topics. The program is offered by the Institute as a whole but it is centred around the Research and Innovation activities of two of its four Research Centres; The Climate and Atmosphere Research Centre (CARE-C), and the Energy, Environment and Water Research Centre (EEWRC) both internationally recognized centres addressing important interdisciplinary scientific and technological issues on regional problems of global significance. As such, the program will benefit from the participation of EEWRC and CARE-C in large European Research Infrastructures such as EU-ACTRIS (on climate-related atmospheric observations) and EU-SOLARIS (on Concentrated Solar Thermal technologies). It offers international exposure through the active participation of leading world experts from collaborating top research institutions such as the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (Germany), National Observatory of Athens (Greece), Atomic Energy Commission (CEA, France), and regional universities such as National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Greece) and Saint Joseph University of Beirut (Lebanon).
A key priority of the program is to expose students to the concept of several United Nation Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) relevant to the EMME region such as climate action, sustainable management of water, affordable and clean energy, sustainable cities and communities. It will also expose the students to a wide spectrum of vertical and transverse priorities of the Smart Specialisation Strategy of Cyprus (S3Cy) providing a unique cross-disciplinary approach to solve critical societal challenges. The cross-sectoral nature of the topics demands interdisciplinary research strategies, which enable particularly innovative PhD research and high-calibre publications.
This is a unique program in Cyprus and the region, which aims at providing students with new scientific knowledge to pursue a research and academic career as well as to equip them with a wide range of practical and transferable hands-on field/laboratory and numerical modelling skills that will offer them an advantage in the competitive job market of the future.
Learning Outcomes
The program is divided into specialized tracks related to the research thrusts of the CARE-C and EEWRC.
The learning outcomes for each track include the following:
Climate and Atmospheric Sciences track:
| Comprehensive understanding of the basic physical processes involved in maintaining the global circulation of the atmosphere, the working of the weather, and the surface climate. | |
| Introduction to weather and climate models, understanding the governing physical principles and their use for climate and weather prediction purposes. | |
| The principles of atmospheric physics, chemistry, and biology; The major air pollution sources and methods for measurement, data collection and analysis of atmospheric samples. | |
| Familiarization with the history, causes, and perspectives of climate change science and the IPCC program. |
Hydrology and Terrestrial Ecosystems track:
| Understanding of the distribution and movement of water around the globe, and knowhow to measure and model hydrologic processes and manage water resources | |
| Broad understanding of the interactions between ecosystems and the environment and practical skill in developing and applying equations to describe ecosystems processes. |
Sustainable Built Environment track:
| A deep knowledge of advanced concepts of sustainability and sustainable built environment development using a wide range of methods to (i) identify and select appropriate sustainable solutions to enhance building design and operation; (ii) improve existing technical solutions; and (iii) stimulate critical reasoning. | |
| Familiarization with computer simulation and analysis tools, interactive datavisualization modalities (including spatial and environmental data-driven descriptions), literature and computational resources in order to engage in interdisciplinary activities related to the built environment. |
Energy track:
| A comprehensive understanding of the fundamentals of Energy Systems Analysis and Modelling in Energy planning, practical knowledge on trend analysis, the use and optimization of various bottom-up and top-down models, and interconnections between energy, land and water. | |
| Advanced knowledge of energy and environmental topics and calculation methods, in combination with knowledge of economic principles in order to address energy and environmental management issues at different scales – corporate, national and global level. | |
| A good understanding of the status of the world energy system, the need to transition from the current system to a new world energy system that is much more environmentally friendly and sustainable, and the essential role that energy technologies based on the use of Renewable Energy Sources and particularly Solar Energy will play in this Energy Transition and in the world energy system of the future. | |
| A good understanding of the status of energy systems based on the use of Renewable Energy Sources and particularly on the status of Concentrating Solar Thermal technologies, which is expected to play a significant role in the Energy Transition of the EMME region. | |
| A comprehensive understanding of the overall process of designing, modelling and optimizing power plants and other systems based on renewable energy sources, and particularly CST (Concentrating Solar Thermal) systems. | |
| Practical expertise and know-how regarding the methodologies and computational tools to use in the design, modelling and optimization of CST systems and other renewable energy systems, such as PV power plants or Wind Turbine systems. |
Program Structure and Requirements
The PhD in Energy, Environment and Atmopsheric Sciences is a full-time, 3-year program, structured in six semesters. It is primarily based on research leading to a written thesis, with taught elements being restricted to the beginning of the program.Students can also apply for a part-time PhD program path which can accommodate students who are employed in a related field.
The language of instruction and communication of the program is English.
To satisfy the requirements of the program, students require a total of 180 ECTS, of which 160 ECTS derive from research and 20 ECTS derive from the taught component. Specifically, 20 ECTS are earned through a mandatory course worth 10 ECTS, taken during the first semester, and through elective course(s) worth 10 ECTS, taken during semesters 1-3. The mandatory course is general and covers the different research activities that are related to the program and the elective course(s) are selected out of a large interdisciplinary pool of advanced and specialized courses. Through the integration of the curricula of the programs, interdisciplinarity is greatly enhanced.
At the end of the first year, the students need to successfully complete the Advancement to Candidacy Examination. Towards the end of their studies they need to submit their PhD thesis and successfully complete the PhD Defense Examination.
YEAR 1
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YEAR 1
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YEAR 2
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YEAR 2
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YEAR 3
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YEAR 3
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Course Requirements Component (20 ECTS) |
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1 Mandatory Course |
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1 or 2 Elective Courses (total 10 ECTS) |
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Research Component (160 ECTS) |
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At end of Year 1 students take Comprehensive Examination |
At end of program students must pass their Doctoral Examination * |
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* Before the student can defend their PhD thesis, they must have successfully completed their coursework, completed the Comprehensive Examination and have submitted two scientific publications (one submitted, one accepted) in appropriate for each doctoral program international journals.
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Program Courses
The list of courses below is not exhaustive. Students will have the option to select elective courses from any one of the other five degree programs offered by the Graduate School of The Cyprus Institute.
Course Code |
Course Name |
ECTS |
Course Type |
| 10 |
M |
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Monitoring and Modelling Terrestrial Ecosystems and Hydrologic Processes |
5 |
E |
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| 5 |
E |
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| 5 |
E |
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| 5 |
E |
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| 5 |
E |
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| 5 |
E |
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| 5 |
E |
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| 5 |
E |