Branch programme/details

The study program is primarily designated for the graduates with a Master’s degree in Political Science or any other field of Social Sciences who intend to deepen their knowledge in Political Science, focusing on the issue of democratic and nondemocratic forms of government (changes in political systems, with a special emphasis on development trends connected with modernization and democratization, other issues of comparative analysis, including national and regional identities, or the analysis of individual elements of political systems).

1.   To be eligible to apply for the PhD programme, an applicant must have graduated in a Master’s level form of study in Political Science or Social Sciences (Sociology, History). Students who have obtained their Master's degree abroad are required to submit an official document proving that the Czech Ministry of Education (before registering for a Czech university programme) recognizes their degree.

 2.   The dissertation proposal should be submitted by the applicant electronically to cds-ips@fsv.cuni.cz and in printed form to the Centre for Doctoral Studies (U Kříže 8, 158 00 Praha 5 - Jinonice) no later than 15th May 2020. The dissertation proposal in the range of 6-7 pages (1800 characters per page, including spaces) must contain the following parts: a brief introduction of the topic, the definition of the topic, goals and work hypothesis, methodological basis, intended structure, state of the art and literature review.  

3.  The admission procedure runs in two rounds.

In the first round, the admission board evaluates the research proposal based on its academic value and its compatibility with the priority topics offered by the Departments and sets the required threshold in points for the advance to the second round. The threshold will be determined on the basis of the number of applicants, the quality of their projects, the representation of priority themes among the applicants and the distribution among the proposed supervisors. Applicants who pass the threshold are invited for the second round, which takes the form of an interview. In the first round, the applicant may receive up to 30 points.

In the second round, the entrance committee evaluates:

a)  The dissertation proposal quality and the ability of the applicant to defend the chosen topic and to put it into a broader research context (relevance of the proposed dissertation topic in the context of contemporary Czech, respectively international research, proposal should demonstrate applicant´s own contribution to the proposed theme).

b) The candidate must demonstrate that the theme of the project has not yet been carried out and that the work on the topic is beneficial to the current state of research (bringing new empirical and theoretical knowledge or using original methodological procedures, etc.). Committee also takes into account an applicant´s orientation in the field of specialization or previous publications.

 

The decisive criteria for the applicant’s evaluation are:

a) The quality of the dissertation proposal, which the concept, the theoretical and the methodological basis, must be the candidate able to defend in the admission interview. 

b) The motivation for study based on the list of literature read (at least 30 titles of scientific articles or books, which the candidate is required to present at the oral part of the entrance examination). The Admissions Committee will take into account the overall professional profile of the applicant and his / her possible publications and teaching activities so far.

In the second round, the applicant may receive up to 30 points.

The applicant may receive up to 60 points in total.

 

When all candidates finish their entrance examination (i.e. interviews), the admission committee prepares a record. It includes a point evaluation of the candidates and their ranking according to the number of points gained.

4. The maximum score for the entrance exam is 60 points. The point limit for accepting applicants is set by the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University, taking into account the number of applicants and the capacity of the faculty.

See also the General and faculty requirements

Admission to Doctoral studies is conditioned by successful completion of a Master's study programme.

Verification method:	entrance exam
Confirmation date (of entrance exam) from:	08.06.2020	Until:	19.06.2020
Alternative date (of entrance exam):	24.06.2020	Until:	04.07.2020