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 CV,
• an application for admission to the IEDS (personal questionnaire);
• an authorized copy of master’s degree along with the supplement or other document entitling to undertake education at a doctoral school in accordance with Section 8 (5) (6) and 8 (5) (7);
• 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.

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.

 

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 berequired to give a 10 minute presentation about their achievements to date and their strengths in the context of the PhD project. Candidates who do not receive at least 50% points cannot be qualified to enter the program. Therefore, the commission may decide not to accept any of the candidates and announce another recruitment under the same conditions.

On the basis of the submitted list of scientific achievements and the conducted admission interview, the recruitment committee grants:

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.

  

Schedule

• October 9, 2026 — Opening of registration in the Online Applicant Registration system (hereinafter referred to as IRK).
• October 19, 2026 (till noon) — Closing of candidate registration in IRK, i.e., creating an account in the online recruitment system IRK, paying the recruitment fee (determined by the date the transfer is initiated), and submitting the required information and documents. Deadline for submitting the outline and the candidate’s list of scientific achievements to polarknow@us.edu.pl.
• October 19, 2026 — Sending information to candidates via the email addresses provided in the IRK system regarding admission or non-admission to interviews, as well as notification of the date and venue of the interviews.
• October 19-23, 2026 — Candidate interviews and evaluation of candidates’ scientific achievements by the recruitment committee.
• October 26, 2026 — Notification of candidates regarding recruitment results.
• October 27-30, 2026 — Acceptance of documents from qualified candidates on the reserve list and enrollment in the list of doctoral students.
• November 2, 2026 — Notification of candidates from the reserve list regarding qualification for admission.
• November 3-6, 2026 — Acceptance of documents from qualified candidates on the reserve list and enrollment in the list of doctoral students.
• November 9, 2026 — Deadline for announcing the final recruitment results on the IEDS website.

 

Scholarship

Years 1-2: 5000 PLN gross with the employer’s costs

Years 3-4: no less than 5341 PLN gross with the employer’s costs

During the first 24 months, the scholarship will be financed under the NCN (National Science Centre of Poland) project: Meteorological and geophysical predictors for high and extreme atmospheric pollution episodes. Detailed information about the NCN scholarships are available in Regulations for awarding scholarships for NCN-funded research projects set forth by the NCN Council.

The last 24 months will be co-funded funded by the doctoral school. The amount of scholarship during this period will be in accordance with §10 of the Rules of the International Environmental Doctoral School associated with the Centre for Polar Studies at the University of Silesia in Katowice (IEDS)

Additionally, the PhD student can apply for external funding such as NCN Preludium grant.