A practical guideline for the process of awarding a PhD degree

This summary gives direction for those PhD candidates who have completed a 3-year PhD training programme governed by the old rules.

1) Definitions

PhD student or doctoral student: student participating in a PhD training programme.

PhD procedure: a formal process for obtaining PhD degree

Doctoral (PhD) candidate: a person undergoing the PhD procedure after having completed a PhD training programme. The doctoral candidate status is established when the Doctoral School opens the PhD procedure and lasts for two years at the most.

2) Before starting the PhD procedure

·check whether you meet all the requirements of the PhD procedure

·make sure that you will be able to submit your thesis within two years from starting of the process

·contact your supervisor about your plan of starting the procedure

3) Requirements of opening a PhD procedure

·submission of the request form for opening the procedure, along with the necessary statements

·detailed CV (not obligatory if the applicant has completed the PhD training programme within the last 3 years at the Doctoral School of Law and Political Sciences, University of Szeged)

·copy of the MA degree (not obligatory if the applicant has completed the PhD training programme within the last 3 years at the Doctoral School of Law and Political Sciences, University of Szeged)

·copy of the language exam certificates, at least B2 type language exam or an equal document which can be confirmed and which are one of the EU languages or Russian, Serbian, Latin, Chinese, Arabic.

·copy of certification on completing the PhD training programme (absolutorium) (not obligatory if the applicant has completed the PhD training programme within the last 3 years at the Doctoral School of Law and Political Sciences, University of Szeged)

·list of publications printed from the MTMT database along with the certificates of the future publications, if any

·submission of report form on previous scientific achievements worth at least 100 points according to the 7^th paragraph of the Doctoral Regulation

4) Submission of the request

Requests and certifications regarding the PhD procedure should be submitted to the Doctoral School:

·in person: at the main building of the School of Law, University of Szeged (54. Tisza Lajos krt. Szeged) Room 11.

·via mail: Doctoral School of Law and Political Sciences, University of Szeged 54. Tisza Lajos krt. Szeged 6720

·via e-mail to: doctoral.school@juris.u-szeged.hu

You should use the forms downloaded from the website if it is necessary according to the guideline. If there is any trouble downloading the forms you can ask for an electronic version at the above mentioned e-mail address.

5) The PhD procedure

Part 1. - Opening the procedure

It starts with the submission of the filled in, signed and annexed request for opening the procedure. If the Doctoral School approves the request the applicant’s new status (candidate status) is established.

Procedural fee should be paid within 30 days of the Council’s approval through the Neptun system (online register). For foreign nationals, who have taken part in a paid doctoral training for at least one academic year (two semesters) at our University, the fee is EUR 500. In all other cases EUR 1000.

Part 2. - Comprehensive doctoral examination and preliminary debate of the dissertation

It starts with submission of the request form for scheduling comprehensive doctoral exam and a preliminary debate of the dissertation. For this the candidate has to meet the following conditions:

·submitting the request form;

·the supervisor’s statement on the request;

·the supervisor’s proposal on the members of the Examination Committee and on the reviewers for the preliminary debate;

·submitting to the Doctoral School a copy of the interim variant of the dissertation on paper along with its digital version.

Part 1 and Part 2 can be done in a parallel way.

Part 3. - Public defense of the dissertation

Request for public defense

Approving this request should meet the following conditions:

·submitting the request form for public defense along with the certain certifications

·the supervisor’s proposal on the Committee of Assessors

·fulfilment of the comprehensive doctoral exam (its report should be submitted by the head of the committee)

·at the preliminary debate the dissertation is suggested to be sent to public defense (its report should be submitted to the Doctoral School by the organizer of the preliminary debate)

·at least 100 credit points of research credits, among which:

a) at most 40 credit points can be approved for scientific lectures, presentations;

b) at least 40 credit points shall be proven by publications written within the topic of dissertation;

c) among the publications there should be at least two worth of at least 15 credits;

d) not more than four 5-credit publications can be approved.

·submitting the final version of the thesis, which falls under the following four conditions:

-submitting the dissertation in 4 bound copies

-submission of the synopsis of dissertation (booklet) in 15 copies

-sending the electronic version of the dissertation and its synopsis to the DS’s e-mail address

-the doctoral candidate shall ensure that the doctoral dissertation and the synopsis* are uploaded into the University Library’s Repository of Dissertations.

(Synopsis: a booklet presenting those scientific conclusions that were reached by the doctoral candidate. For the content and formalities of the synopsis, see this link)

·confirming the payment of the procedure’s fee

·submission of certification proving second foreign language skills (for candidates whose native language is not Hungarian, Hungarian language is qualified as foreign language.)

Preparing the public defense

-Council of the Doctoral School and the Doctoral Council of Social Sciences appoint the Committee of Assessors.

-Two appointed Assessors shall prepare an assessment of the dissertation by drawing up an assessment report on the doctoral thesis within two months of the submission thereof, and making a statement whether the thesis is recommended for public defense.

-Council of the Doctoral School schedules the public defense. (There should be at least 2 months between the preliminary debate and the public defense.)

-The assessment reports are sent to the candidate.

Public defense

-The doctoral thesis shall be defended in front of a Committee of Assessors in a public debate. The debate is presided over by the Chair of the Committee of Assessors.

-At the beginning of the debate Secretary of the Committee reads out the Candidate’s scientific resume.

-In 15-20 minutes the candidate presents the main conclusions of her/his dissertation.

-The appointed Assessors read or summarize their assessment report.

-The candidate responds to the comments, remarks and questions made by the appointed Assessors and - if any - by other members of the Committee and the audience.

-Following the closure of the debate, the Committee – on a closed session and by secret voting – decides on the question whether the defense was successful or not. To be successful, the candidate shall obtain at least 60% of all available points.

-Following the session, the Chair will publicly announce and reason the outcome of the debate.

Part 4. - Awarding of the PhD degree

This part starts automatically after the successful debate. If all the formal requirements are fulfilled by the candidate, then - on the proposal of the Council of Doctoral School and the Doctoral Council of Social Sciences - the University Doctoral Council will make decision on awarding the PhD degree to the candidate.

In line with the traditions of the University, PhD degree is conferred on the candidates at a public ceremonial meeting of the Senate of the University organized twice in a year, once in January and another one is July. At the conferment ceremony the new PhD doctors take an oath. As a rule of thumb candidates can participate in the conferment ceremony in January if he/she fulfils the requirements until the middle of November, or in July if he/she fulfils the requirements until the middle of May.