Ph.D. in Energy, Environment and Atmospheric Sciences The Cyprus Institute

Program Structure and Requirements

To satisfy the requirements of the Ph.D. program, a student must earn a total of 180 ECTS credits, of which 50 ECTS credits are from courses. The program has a duration of at least three years. A general, indicative program schedule is displayed in the table below.

* Before the student can defend their Ph.D. thesis, they must have completed their coursework, completed the Comprehensive Examination, and have submitted two scientific publications (one submitted, one accepted) inappropriate for each doctoral program international journals.

The information provided in this table is indicative

Program Courses

• EAS 500 Fundamentals, Frontiers, and Methodologies in Environmental Sciences, Renewable Energy and Sustainable Built Environment
• EAS 511 Monitoring and Modelling Terrestrial Ecosystems and Hydrologic Processes
• EAS 513 Terrestrial Ecosystems
• EAS 515 Renewable Energy Sources
• EAS 518 Energy and the Built Environment
• EAS 521 Energy Systems Analysis and Modeling
• EAS 522 Energy and Environmental Policy
• EAS 523 Interactive Visualisation of the Built Environment
• EAS 524 Design, Modeling, and Optimisation of CST Power Plants

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 ecosystem 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 data visualization modalities (including spatial and environmental data-driven descriptions), literature, and computational resources 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 of 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, to address energy and environmental management issues at different scales – corporate, national, and global levels.
• 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 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, modeling, and optimizing power plants and other systems based on renewable energy sources, particularly CST (Concentrating Solar Thermal) systems.
• Practical expertise and know-how regarding the methodologies and computational tools to use in the design, modeling, and optimization of CST systems and other renewable energy systems, such as PV power plants or Wind Turbine systems.