Completion of studies
Requirements
- Achieving 240 credits
- Meeting the requirements of an individual study plan
- Successful completion of compulsory core subjects
- Successful completion of compulsory hard skills subjects
- Successful completion of compulsory soft skills courses
- Completing the internship
- Participation in the CEITEC PhD Conference and completing the TAC meetings (for students who commenced studies before 2017, the annual PhD Progress Day substitute the TAC meetings)
- Publication of results of student's doctoral theses in an international journal with an impact factor. The student has to be the first author of at least one publication. * If this publication has not IF in Q1 in the given field of study, there should be two more publications with IF in Q1 or Q2 of which the student should be a co-author.
- Submission of the Application for the State Doctoral Examination (SDE), the Application for the Defence of PhD thesis with all required attachments and the dissertation thesis (at least two months before the planned date of the state examination and defence).
In individual cases where the requirement (e.g. for an internship abroad) cannot be met for objective reasons, the student may apply for an exemption by filing an application for an exemption – electronically via the IS document office. The application will be sent automatically for approvalto the supervisor, the chair of the doctoral committee and the chair of the doctoral board. The final decision (approval/rejection) will be made by the Vice-Dean for Doctoral Studies.
* For projects on which more scientific teams collaborate (and each is, for example, responsible for a different part of the expertise), shared first-authorship is eligible. In such a case, the student should clearly declare his/her contribution to the work, and the results included.
In case you plan to publish an article in an open access journal without an impact factor, consult your intention with the chair of the doctoral committee immediately. The committee will review the specific situation and quality of the journal and decide whether such output will meet the requirements for the completion of studies.
Procedure
Detailed information: Study Completion Guide
Relevant regulation: MU Study and examination regulations, sections 31 – 34
Student submits the Application for the State Doctoral Examination (SDE), the Application for the Defence of PhD thesis (forms available also in Czech) with all required annexes and the Dissertation work at least two months before the planned date of the state exam.
The Chair of the Doctoral Committee designates a board of experts (the Examination Committee) composed of seven and more members - the Chairman, Members, and Opponents. At least two members are not in an employment relationship with MU; one of the opponents must be from a foreign institution.
The State doctoral examination and Defense of PhD thesis are coordinated by the CEITEC Research and Innovation Support Department in cooperation with the Office for Doctoral Studies at the relevant faculty.
The State doctoral examination, thesis, as well as the defence, is performed in English. The defense of PhD thesis follows the SDE within a day. They usually take place on-site. Also, the committee's external members are expected to be present in person .
Due to the current epidemiological situation, the organization is dependent on the applicable measures (the faculty issues internal regulation). Currently (until further notice), the state exams and the defences have to take place remotely .
Dissertation Thesis
The thesis presents the results of work carried out by a candidate in the course of his/her studies. It must contain original results which have been either published or accepted for publication.
Formal requirements are defined in Measure No. 8/2019 of the Dean of the Faculty of Science, Masaryk University. You can find specific requirements relevant to the Life Sciences program in Recommended Form of Dissertation Thesis.
The dissertation thesis is submitted in electronic form through the application in IS MU and in paper form - four printed copies in B5 format (three copies for opponents, one copy for archiving at CEITEC MU, the printed copy is not archived at the Faculty of Science).
State Doctoral Examination (SDE)
BIO-OMICS
For SDE, the supervisor, in co-operation with the Chair of the Doctoral Committee, designate three topics regarding the theme of the doctoral theses and passed hard skills subjects. The student is acquainted with the designated topics within two weeks after submission of the Application for SDE. He/she will prepare for the SDE three ca 5-minute presentations – one for each of these topics. The presentations will be followed by a discussion on the topics, then general questions covering the field.
STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY
For SDE, the supervisor, in co-operation with the Chair of the Doctoral Committee, identifies three general topics that do not cover the topic of the dissertation work (they may touch but not build on it). The student is acquainted with the specified topics within two weeks after submission of the Application for SDE. According to his/her choice, he/she will prepare for the SDE a presentation of about 10 minutes on one of them. The presentation will be followed by a discussion on the topic chosen and questions covering the area of the given discipline, based on the syllabus of the topics for the state doctoral examinations.
PhD Thesis Defence
A student must meet all requirements for completion of studies before starting PhD thesis defence. The defence is given by a 20-minute presentation of the doctoral project results, followed by a discussion clarifying the opponents' comments and questions, further questions of the Examination Committee members, and questions from the audience.
Candidates for members of the Examination Committee – Bio-omics
Candidates for members of the Examination Committee – Structural Biology