Doctoral study

Study plan and duties of doctoral students

The specifics of doctoral studies are defined in the internal regulations of the UHK and FF UHK. The student is obliged to complete all compulsory courses given for individual years / modules within the study. Students are obliged to publish partial outputs of their scientific work during their studies. Students also participate in doctoral teaching.

The doctoral student must pass the state final doctoral examination and defend his / her PhD thesis, which is evaluated in the review process. All processes related to the state examination and defence of the PhD thesis proceed according to the instructions of the Study and Examination Regulations of the UHK (SZŘ UHK).

All information will be obtained at the introductory meeting of doctoral students and other continuous meetings. The contact person for all questions concerning doctoral studies is Mgr. Petra Vodová, Ph.D .: petra.vodova@uhk.cz.

 

Other activities required of doctoral students:

1. Participation in scientific, research and other activities of KP FF UHK (only for full-time students) - conferences, projects, entrance exams, open days, journal editing, essay correction, supervision of bachelor theses, opponent reviews, etc.
2. Publication of at least one article in a peer reviewed journal or a chapter in a monograph per year (3 publications linked to RIV during the first three years of study) - the text must be ready for publication by the end of August (evaluated by the supervisor); it must be published by the end of the calendar year.
3. Participation in teaching in the bachelor or follow-up master programme; it concerns mainly the teaching in seminars or the preparation of their own optional courses (only applies to full-time students) - full-time doctoral students teach 1-2 lessons per week from the summer semester of the first year; from the second year they teach 2-4h a week. In the winter semester of the fourth year they teach 2-4 lessons per week and in the summer semester 1-2 lessons per week if they wish to receive a full scholarship.
4. Twice a year, the student submits (through the Secretary of the Subject-area Board) to the Chairman of the Subject-area Board a completed Report on the PhD student's activities (including the supervisor's evaluation) concerning the PhD student's study and research activities for the previous semester.
5. Examinations and credits from individual courses must be passed by the end of August of the relevant academic year according to the individual study plan at the latest (the dates of examinations can be arranged with the teacher of the given course). The report on completion of the examination / credit must always be taken to the examination and then handed over to the Secretary of the Subject-area Board.
6. During the first year of study, PhD students and their supervisors consult the PhD thesis intent and write down an “annotation” of the PhD thesis. It should contain the Czech and English title of the thesis, the Czech and English versions of the annotation (about 20 sentences - topic, goals, methodology), and basic literature (10-20 titles). Once the annotation has an acceptable form (approved by the supervisor), the PhD student will enter it in the STAG - by the end of August of the relevant year at the latest.
7. Supervision of bachelor theses (maximum 3 per year) and writing opponent reviews (assigned number is in the competence of the head of the department):
8. a) In the case of bachelor thesis management, the doctoral student always consults with his / her supervisor the annotation of the bachelor thesis before being entered into the system. In the case of an external supervisor, the PhD student sends the annotation for approval to the Head of the Department.
9. b) The final thesis review is always consulted with his / her supervisor before being entered into the system. If the PhD supervisor is also the supervisor or opponent of the bachelor thesis, the PhD student will send the review to Dr. Špičanová.

 

Study plan - courses

The courses of the first and second module are completed by an examination (except publishing activities), the courses of the third and fourth modules are completed by credit.

 

1. compulsory module

 

• Methodology of Scientific Research (DMEVT / KDMEV)

Mgr. Karel Kouba, Ph.D.

• Theories of Political Systems (DTPS / KDTPS)

doc. PhDr. Vlastimil Fiala, CSc.

• Philosophy of Mind, Language and Culture (FIMYJ / KFIMY)

prof. RNDr. Jaroslav Peregrin, CSc.

• Theory and History of International Relations (TEDEM / KTEDE)

Mgr. Jan Prouza, Ph.D.

• Publications 1 (DPUB1 / DKPU1) - supervisor

 

 

 

1. compulsory module

(specialization module) - the student chooses a specialization module according to the territorial focus of his / her field of study

1. Africa

• Africa in International Relations (AFSY / KAFSY)

Mgr. Jan Prouza, Ph.D.

• Political Institutions in Africa (POLAF / KPOLA)

doc. PhDr. Vlastimil Fiala, CSc.

• Foreign Language Exam (except English) (DZKJA / DKZKJ)

Language centre

• Publications 2 (DPUB2 / DKPU2) – supervisor

 

 

1. Latin America

• Latin America in International Relations (LASYM / KLASY)

Mgr. et Mgr. Pavlína Springerová, Ph.D.

• Political institutions in Latin America (POLLA / KPOLL)

Mgr. Karel Kouba, Ph.D., M.A.

• Foreign Language Exam (except English) (DZKJA / DKZKJ)

Language centre

• Publications 2 (DPUB2 / DKPU2) - supervisor

 

1. Compulsory module

• Foreign Research Fellowship (ZASTU / KZAST) - must take place in the studied region and must be at least three months in its entire length; it can be divided into a maximum of three shorter stays (minimum length of one stay is 14 days). The form is approved by the supervisor before the start of fellowship (each doctoral student submits a plan of his / her stay abroad to the supervisor), after his / her return the supervisor evaluates whether the doctoral student has met the objectives of the stay and can be awarded credit (based on the report from the stay abroad).
• Ph.D. Seminar 1 (KDSE1) - PhD students participate in doctoral seminars usually held three times per semester (eventual absence must be excused) and continuously consult their supervisor on the procedure for the PhD thesis. Credit is granted by the supervisor on the basis of presentation: public defence of the research plan of the doctoral thesis - the purpose of these presentations is to evaluate methodological and theoretical solutions of the doctoral students' own research, to improve them on the basis of critical discussion and to check whether the methodological, theoretical and empirical knowledge is successfully used. Emphasis is placed on precise formulation of research hypotheses and possibilities of their empirical verification, further on identification and operationalization of studied variables and student's ability to identify a suitable theoretical framework for her/his research and to defend the chosen empirical method.
• Publications 3 (DPUB3/DKPU3) – supervisor

 

1. compulsory module

 

• Ph.D. Seminar 2 (KDSE2) - see Ph.D. Seminar 1 (the same conditions for granting the credit)
• Dissertation (DISER / KDISE) - supervisor
  
  

 

Module of compulsory-optional courses - at least two out of three courses must be completed during a four-year study

• Abroad Conference (supervisor) (ZAHK1 / ZAKN1) - each student consults her/his participation in a foreign conference with their supervisor before leaving. The supervisor decides whether the character of the conference and the PhD student's contribution corresponds to the relevant professional and regional focus of the PhD study. The supervisor decides on the granting of credit upon the doctoral student’s return and submission of a written form of his / her contribution.
• Foreign Internship (supervisor) (ZAHS1 / ZAST1) - the course takes the form of a foreign internship lasting at least 31 days. Its nature depends on the offer of the host institution and may include lectures, seminars, theoretical training, individual training under professional guidance, work on the PhD thesis, language training or work placement. Before leaving for an internship, each student submits to their supervisor a plan containing the main objectives of the internship. Upon return, the student completes the defence (submits a report from the stay) during which he / she proves the fulfilment of the set plan. The supervisor decides on the granting of the credit.
• Research Project (supervisor) (SPVY1 / SPV1) – it is a student grant competition announced annually at FF UHK. The student discusses the content of his / her specific research project with his / her supervisor and submits its final form for approval. The supervisor decides on granting the credit based on the fulfilment of all project objectives and outputs.

Schedule of credits (except publishing activities) and examinations can be proposed by the doctoral student within the individual study plan (ISP) - in the first year (by the end of January) he / she submits a binding ISP approved by the supervisor, the subject-area board and the dean of the FF. Any subsequent changes to the ISP are then approved by the subject-area board and the dean of the FF at the student's official request. The postponement of the completion of one course to the next academic year may exceptionally be approved by the chairman of the subject-area Board.

Publishing activities must be performed continuously - the supervisor decides on the granting of credits based on the entry of the publication record into the OBD.

To complete the study, it is necessary to defend the PhD thesis and pass the state doctoral examination (SDE). All information on the defence and SDE can be found in the Dean's Decree No. 17/2018.

 

The course of the State Doctoral Examination and the Defence of the dissertation is based on the Study and Examination Regulations of the University of Hradec Králové.

State Doctoral Examination

1) For the state final examination, the student must submit to the committee in advance a list of 20-25 books not related to the dissertation. The state final examination lasts about one hour. The exam consists of three questions (1 question related to the heading Methods of Scientific Work and Theory, 1 question related to the heading Comparative Politics of the African/Latin American Area, 1 question related to the student’s list of books).

2) In a closed session, the State Doctoral Examination Board will evaluate the course of the State Doctoral Examination and decide by vote on its classification (Passed/Failed). If a student fails the state doctoral examination, he/she is not admitted to the defence. The Doctorand may re-sit for the State Doctoral Examination only once, no earlier than six months after the date of the failed examination.

 

Defence

The doctoral candidate must submit his/her thesis of the dissertation (The thesis contains in a brief form the basic ideas, methods, results and conclusions of the dissertation in the same structure as the thesis. The theses are of the following length approximately 25 standard printed pages and are presented in A5 format.), curriculum vitae and a list of his/her publications to the committee in advance.

1) The chair of the committee will introduce the doctoral candidate, the topic of the dissertation, and provide the dissertation defence committee with an overview of the doctoral candidate's published scientific work.

2) The doctoral candidate will explain the essential content and main results of his/her dissertation.

3) The supervisor shall inform the dissertation defence committee of his/her opinion on the doctoral candidate's work and the dissertation to be defended.

4) The opponents will present the essential content of their opinions,

5) The doctoral candidate shall give his/her opinion on the opinions of the opponents,

6) The chair of the committee will open a discussion in which all present may participate and which may cover the whole field of the study.

7) In a closed session, the dissertation defence committee, in the presence of the opponents and the supervisor, will evaluate the defence of the dissertation. The doctoral student's supervisor attends the committee meeting with an advisory vote if he/she is not a member of the committee. In a secret ballot, the committee shall decide on the outcome.

7) The doctoral candidate is informed of the decision and its justification.