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 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 3 stages:

A. STAGE I – Substantive Evaluation of the Doctoral Project Outline

Candidates who have submitted the doctoral project outline form and the list of scientific achievements within the deadline specified in the schedule will be admitted to this stage.

B. STAGE II – Evaluation of Candidate’s Scientific Achievements

Candidates who have submitted the doctoral project outline form and the list of scientific achievements within the deadline specified in the schedule will be admitted to this stage. All scientific achievements of the candidate must be documented.

C. STAGE III – Candidate Interviews

The interview aims to assess
(i) the candidate’s general qualifications and knowledge in the discipline in which the doctoral dissertation will be prepared,
(ii) English language proficiency, and
(iii) motivation and aptitude for scientific work. During the interviews, candidates will be required to deliver a 10-minute presentation on their prior achievements and strengths in the context of completing the PhD programme.

Candidates who do not achieve at least 51% of the available points cannot be qualified for admission. Consequently, the recruitment committee may decide not to admit any candidate and announce another call for applications 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 2, 2026 — Opening of registration in the Online Applicant Registration system (hereinafter referred to as IRK).
• October 22, 2026 — 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 23, 2026 — Evaluation of doctoral project outlines (Stage I of the recruitment procedure) and evaluation of candidates’ scientific achievements (Stage II of the recruitment procedure) by the recruitment committee.
• October 26, 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 27–30, 2026 — Candidate interviews and evaluation of candidates’ scientific achievements by the recruitment committee.
• November 2, 2026 — Notification of candidates regarding recruitment results.
• November 3–6, 2026 — Acceptance of documents from qualified candidates and enrollment in the list of doctoral students.
• November 9, 2026 — Notification of candidates from the reserve list regarding qualification for admission.
• November 10–13, 2026 — Acceptance of documents from qualified candidates on the reserve list and enrollment in the list of doctoral students.
• November 16, 2026 — Deadline for announcing the final recruitment results on the IEDS website.

Scholarship

The PhD student will receive a PhD scholarship amounting to:
For the first 24 months: 5,000 PLN gross, including employer’s contributions
For the following 24 months: 6,000 PLN gross, including employer’s contributions.

The doctoral scholarship may only be paid to a doctoral student enrolled in a doctoral programme, provided that the doctoral student meets the requirements set out in the relevant provisions of the Act of 20 July 2018 The Law on Higher Education and Science (i.e. Journal of Laws of 2020, item 85, as amended) must be met in order to receive the doctoral scholarship throughout the entire period of carrying out the planned tasks within the project.