Information for Doctoral Students

Doctoral studies are governed by the following regulations:

• CTU Study and Examination Code
• FNSPE Doctoral Studies Code
• Faculty application for the state doctoral examination (SDZ)
• Doctoral scholarships: Dean's Order No. 8/2016 – Doctoral Scholarships
• Formal requirements for dissertations: Directive of the Vice-Dean for R&D No. 1/2023

The most important paragraphs from these documents are cited below.

1. Indicative question areas for the entrance examination

Indicative areas of questions for the entrance examination to doctoral studies.

2. Individual study plan (Art. 26 of the Study and Examination Code)

Par. (1): The ISP is the fundamental document of a doctoral student's individual professional development within the doctoral study programme. It is drawn up by the student in agreement with the supervisor. The ISP is submitted for approval to the chair of the Field Council (ORP) no later than one month after the start of studies. Once approved, the ISP is binding.

3. Study block (Art. 27 of the Study and Examination Code)

Par. (1): The study block is a part of the studies in which the doctoral student deepens the theoretical and specialist knowledge related to the field of study in the doctoral programme and to the thematic definition of the dissertation. It consists of completing a set of compulsory specialist subjects under paragraphs 3 and 5, language preparation completed under paragraph 2, and specialist activity presented through a written study and a discussion of the dissertation under paragraphs 9 and 10.

Par. (11): In the ISP, the study block is scheduled over a maximum of 4 semesters in the full-time form of study, or a maximum of 6 semesters in the distance or combined form. A doctoral student who fails to fulfil all study obligations within the study block by the end of the 6th semester from the start of studies (in the full-time form) or by the end of the 9th semester (in the distance or combined form) has their studies terminated under § 56(1)(b) of the Act and Art. 34(7)(b). § 68 of the Act applies to the decision-making procedure in this matter.

4. Study towards the dissertation (Art. 27 of the Study and Examination Code)

Par. (9): Part of the specialist activity within the study block is a study that serves as written preparation for the dissertation. It contains a brief summary of the state of the field worldwide (a comprehensive literature review), supplemented by the student's own results to date in the area of the dissertation topic. These results may also be presented as a set of the student's submitted publications.

Par. (10): At the training workplace, the study is the subject of a discussion of the dissertation, on the basis of which the final title and content of the dissertation are then determined. The discussion with the doctoral student is attended by the supervisor, the head of the training workplace and a member of the ORP recommended by the ORP chair; the discussion may be held in a foreign language. The head of the training workplace appoints at least one reviewer of the study.

The study is submitted to the ORP chair, prof. Karlík, as a PDF file and in two paper copies in ring binding (title-page template; at the end of the study, a "List of Publications" of the doctoral student is given after the "List of References"). The discussion begins with a short (max. 10 min) presentation of the student's work so far and the plan for further progress. After the reviewer's comments, a general discussion follows. The minutes record the final title of the dissertation in Czech and English and the approximate submission date. The discussion of the study usually takes place at the state doctoral examination (SDZ) or immediately precedes it. If the closure of the study block needs to be demonstrated for enrolment, the discussion may be independent of the SDZ date. On completing the study block within 4 semesters and passing the SDZ with distinction, it is possible to obtain a one-off scholarship from the dean – see Dean's Order No. 8/2016.

5. Applications for the state doctoral examination

A student must apply for the state doctoral examination (SDZ) before the end of the study block, which should be completed within two years (4 semesters) and at most within three years (6 semesters) from the start of full-time studies, or within three years (6 semesters) and at most 4.5 years (9 semesters) in the combined form. The SDZ date is set after the study is submitted, according to the availability of the reviewer's report and the scheduling options of the committee members.

Applying for the SDZ takes place in two rounds. First, together with the supervisor, the internal departmental application for the state doctoral examination is completed and submitted (necessary for organizational reasons), stating the names of the examiners and contacts for them if they are not FNSPE employees. After its approval, the compulsory faculty application for the state doctoral examination follows; the signed form is submitted to the Research and Development Office together with a list of publications.

6. Dissertation (Art. 4 of the FNSPE Doctoral Studies Code)

Par. (1): The dissertation must contain original results achieved by the doctoral student and published, or demonstrably accepted for publication, in impacted journals relevant to the field. A necessary prerequisite for submitting the dissertation is therefore the student's authorship of at least one publication published or accepted for publication in an impacted journal (according to the Web of Science Core Collection or its possible future successor). The doctoral student must be listed as the first author of the publication.

Par. (2): The published results contained in the dissertation must be a result of doctoral studies at FNSPE, i.e. they must be published with the address of FNSPE CTU stated (more than one address is permissible). The address must give the full names of FNSPE and CTU: "Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering" and "Czech Technical University in Prague"; in publications written in Czech and Slovak, "Fakulta jaderná a fyzikálně inženýrská" and "České vysoké učení technické v Praze". Abbreviations or other modifications of the official name of CTU are not permitted; the faculty name may be replaced by the abbreviation FNSPE or FJFI only if the full name cannot be given due to a publisher's limit on the number of characters in the institution name. For an article published in a language other than Czech, Slovak or English, the English names must be used.

The formal requirements for the dissertation are set out in Directive of the Vice-Dean for R&D No. 1/2023. The dissertation should explicitly state the aim of the work and, at the end, an assessment of its fulfilment. The student's publications relating to the dissertation should also be listed explicitly, separately from the list of cited literature.

Par. (12): The dissertation is submitted in 3 copies and also electronically (as a PDF file) to the FNSPE research office.

Par. (13): Checking the formal requirements of the dissertation is the responsibility of the FNSPE research office. In the case of deficiencies, it is entitled not to accept the work and to return it to the author for correction.