LISMATH
Lisbon Mathematics PhD

Curricular Structure of LisMath

LisMath  encompasses the following research areas:

  • algebra
  • analysis
  • geometry and topology
  • mathematical logic and computation
  • mathematical physics
  • numerical analysis and applications

LisMath is a four year program, consisting of two parts. The first part (with duration of one year) consists of course and seminar work (all held in English). The second part (with duration of three years) consists of research on the topic of the thesis.

Upon admittance to the program, the student selects two tutors from the research units involved, one from a unit associated with IST and the other from a unit associated with FCUL.  Together, the tutors draft a training plan for the student, taking into account his/her interests and feedback. This training plan consists of mandatory course and seminar work, as described below under LisMath Course and Seminar Program.

The student will be  enrolled in one of the two existing doctoral programs, which will lead to their doctoral degree:

LisMath Course and Seminar Program

The course work consists of six courses, to be taken during the first year of training. The courses are divided into two sets, namely basic and advanced courses. In the Fall semester, the students enroll in four courses chosen from the set of basic courses. In the Spring semester, the students enroll in two advanced courses.  The six chosen courses have to belong to at least two different research areas, each of them being represented by at least two courses. The course list for the academic year 2019/20 can be found under the following link.

The student must also participate in the weekly LisMath seminar taking place in the Spring semester, and each student will be asked to give a seminar.

The basic courses and the LisMath seminar will take place at both IST and at FCUL.

Yearly LisMath Summer School

In addition, enrolled students will have to participate at the yearly LisMath Summer School for the duration of the program.

Research Work

After successfully completing the mandatory course and seminar work, the student will be asked to select a thesis supervisor.  Upon acceptance, the supervisor proposes a research topic that will be described in a research proposal, to be written within one month of the date of acceptance. The supervisor may ask a colleague to serve as a co-advisor.

Towards the end of his/her training, the student will be asked to give a talk about his/her research work at the yearly LisMath Summer School or at one of the regular research seminars of the participating institutions.