Educational Programme

Educational Programme

The fundamental educational aim is to equip the students with a set of skills necessary to identify new, innovative and applicable research problems, and to conduct research according to the highest, international level, with the use of state-of-the-art analytical methods and techniques. Studies at the Doctoral School will enable the students to gain up-to-date, specialist knowledge in the field of exact and natural sciences as well as engineering and technology, and to develop interdisciplinary understanding of the ways in which the environment operates in the context of global climate changes. The School will enable wider dissemination of knowledge and study results within the academia and the society at large.

Education in the IEDS is provided in the disciplines of Mathematics, Earth and related environmental sciences, and Biological sciences  (in the field of Natural Sciences), and Materials Engineering (in the field of Engineering and technology).

Substantive description

Requirements to enter qualification procedure

To enter the qualification procedure, each candidate must:

1. Create a personal account in irk.us.edu.pl and fill a form containing relevant declarations and consents;
2. Submitting through irk.us.edu.pl the following documents and information: 
• curriculum vitae,
• an authorized copy of master’s degree along with the supplement,
• The list of the scientific achievements and documents certifying the achievements, as well as a cover letter, via polarknow@us.edu.pl within the recruitment schedule
3. Pay the admission fee of 450,00 PLN.
4. Applicants who are due to defend their Master’s thesis after the admissions process is concluded, but before the start of the 2026/2027 academic year, are eligible for the admissions process.

Requirements to admission

Candidates will be evaluated according to the Resolution No. 42 of the Senate of the University of Silesia in Katowice passed on 21 January 2025 concerning admission requirements and mode of recruitment https://www.mssd.us.edu.pl/en/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/resolution_42_2025.pdf. 

The evaluation will be carried out in accordance with Article 3, Point 12 of the Regulations for Awarding NCN Scholarships for NCN-funded project (Appendix to NCN Council Resolution No. 25/2024 dated March 4, 2024. On the basis of the submitted list of scientific achievements and the conducted admission interview, the recruitment committee grants:

The evaluation procedure consists of 2 stages:

A. STAGE I – preliminary evaluation of candidates

Candidates who have submitted the form of scientific achievements in accordance with the recruitment schedule are admitted to this stage of evaluation. The form of scientific achievements of the candidate will be made available through the IEDS website.

the candidate’s scientific achievements, including publications in renown publishing houses/scientific journals (50% of the final assessment):

• 4 points – extraordinary;
•  3 points – very good;
•  2 points – good;
•  1 point – poor;
•  0 points – no scientific achievements.

achievements resulting from conducting scientific research, scholarships, awards and scientific experience gained at home or abroad, scientific workshops and training, participation in research projects (20% of the final assessment):

• 4 points – outstanding  achievements (including scholarships, internships in leading foreign centers, prestigious international awards or distinctions, workshops or training in leading scientific centers, participation in international or foreign projects);
• 3 points – major achievements (scholarships, internships in good domestic and foreign centers, national awards or prizes, workshops or training abroad or nationwide, participation in domestic or foreign projects);
• 2 points – moderate achievements (local awards or prizes, workshops or training, participation in university projects);
• 1 point – minor achievements;
• 0 points – no achievements.

competences to carry out specific tasks in the research project (30% of the final assessment):

• 3 points – very good;
• 2 points –  good;
• 1 point – poor;
• 0 points – lack of competence.

B. STAGE II – interviews with candidates

Recruitment interview assesses

• (i) the general qualifications and knowledge of the candidates in the discipline in which the doctoral dissertation will be completed,
• (ii) English proficiency, and
• (iii) motivation and aptitude to conduct scientific work. During the interviews, the candidates will be required to give a 10 minute presentation about their achievements to date and their strengths in the context of the PhD project.

The evaluation will be carried out in accordance with Article 3, Point 12 of the Regulations for Awarding NCN Scholarships for NCN-funded project (Appendix to NCN Council Resolution No. 25/2024 dated March 4, 2024: https://ncn.gov.pl/sites/default/files/pliki/uchwaly-rady/2024/uchwala25_2024-zal1_ang.pdf ). During the evaluation, the committee will take into account only those achievements that are relevant to the doctoral project for which the recruitment is conducted. Candidates who do not receive at least 50% points cannot be admitted to the PhD program. Therefore, the commission may decide not to accept any of the candidates and announce another recruitment under the same conditions.

Schedule

• April 1, 2026 - opening online registration for candidates in OAS (https://irk.us.edu.pl/en-gb/).
• May 17, 2026 - deadline for completing candidate registration in the IRK online recruitment system, including creating an account in the system, paying the recruitment fee (the date of the bank transfer is binding), and entering the required information and documents.
• May 18-22, 2026 - interviews with candidates (2nd stage of the recruitment procedure).
• May 25, 2026 - the date of announcing the results of the recruitment procedure on the IEDS website.
• May 26-29, 2026 - receiving documents from candidates qualified for admission and inclusion of them on the list of doctoral students.
• June 1, 2026 - notification of admission to candidates from the reserve list.
• June 2-3, 2026 -  receiving documents from candidates qualified for admission from the reserve list and inclusion of them on the list of doctoral students.
• June 8, 2026 - the date of announcing the results of the recruitment procedure on the IEDS website.

Scholarship

The scholarship amount is PLN 5,000 gross including employer contributions (approx. PLN 3,690 net) before the mid-term evaluation (1st–2nd year) and PLN 6,500 gross including employer contributions (approx. PLN 4,800 net) after the mid-term evaluation (3rd–4th year).

The scholarship consists of a doctoral scholarship as defined in Article 209 of the Law on Higher Education and Science of July 20, 2018, and a NCN research scholarship for PhD students, in accordance with the Annex to Resolution No. 23/2024 of the NCN Council of March 4, 2024, on amending the regulations for awarding funding for tasks financed by the National Science Centre.

The NCN research scholarship is awarded based on a scholarship agreement, which defines the scope and timeline of tasks performed within the project, the amount of the NCN scholarship, and the terms of payment.

The doctoral scholarship may only be awarded to a doctoral student enrolled at a doctoral school, provided they meet all requirements specified by the Law on Higher Education and Science of July 20, 2018 (Journal of Laws of 2020, item 85, as amended) for receiving a doctoral scholarship for the entire duration of the planned project.

There is a possibility of an increased scholarship for the best PhD students.