Doctoral programme

The doctoral programme is based on the development of competences essential from the perspective of a beginning researcher and academic teacher. The doctoral students conduct research in a research team or individually, under the supervision of a PhD supervisor and tutors. They participate in classes that develop key competences, prepares grant applications, and through publications, scientific conferences and internships, they join the international scientific community. Each doctoral student who does not yet have a doctoral degree receives a scholarship.

In the field of natural science admission is carried out in the following disciplines:

• biological sciences,
• Earth and related environmental sciences.

More: Doctoral program at the Doctoral School at the Unviersity of Silesia in Katowice [external link]

Qualification criteria

Stage 1, Criterion 1 - Draft research project

(up to 12,000 characters including spaces, excluding bibliography/references)

The project should include:

• the scientific objective of the project (the research problem addressed by the candidate, research questions, or hypotheses; max. 3 points)
• the significance of the project for the discipline (the rationale for conducting research in this area, originality of the project; max. 2 points)
• general research plan (preliminarily outlined stages of the research process; max. 2 points)
• research methodology (methods, procedures, research tools; max. 2 points)
• references (up to 30 key bibliographic sources the candidate intends to use; max. 1 point)
• if the candidate is part of a research team, their contribution to the research project should be described

Points: 0-10

Weight: 2.5 

Stage 1, Criterion 2 - Academic achievements and international collaboration

• conference presentations (max. 2 points)
• authorship or co-authorship of publications listed in the Minister of Science’s announcement regarding the list of scientific journals and peer-reviewed materials from international conferences, and in the Minister of Education and Science’s announcement regarding the list of publishers of peer-reviewed scientific monographs (monograph—5 points, chapter in a monograph—1 point, journal article—3 points; max. 6 points)
• implementation of a research project funded from external sources (principal investigator—2 points, coinvestigator—1 point; maximum 2 points)
• other scientific or artistic achievements (max. 2 points) ⎯ participation in the Erasmus programme or other international exchange (max. 1 point)
• projects carried out jointly with foreign scientific institutions, including internships and scholarships abroad (max. 2 points).

Points: 0-10

Weight: 0.5 

Stage 2 - Admission interview

During the interview, the candidate shall present their planned project, i.e., their doctoral dissertation concept.

Assessment components:

• the ‘defence’ of the research project
• responses to questions concerning the project presented by the candidate
• knowledge within the relevant research field
• command of the English language
• aptitude for conducting research and presenting its results

Points: 0-10

Weight: 1 

How to calculate the final score 

The final result shall correspond to the result of the second stage. If several candidates achieve the same score, their position on the ranking list shall be determined by the total points obtained in the first and second stages.