PhD Thesis

Thesis
(1) At the end of the his/her studies, the student demonstrates his/her ability to conduct independent research activity in the area set by the topic.
(2) The supervisor and the student inform the department concerned of the progress of the thesis.
(3) New findings obtained in the course of the work on the thesis must be published.
(4) The structure of the thesis must meet the topic requirements and lead to the presentation of new findings.

Thesis Defence Committee and Thesis Defence Examining Board

(1) The thesis defence committee members are professors, associate professors and other distinguished experts in the field, appointed by the dean upon the approval of the scientific board concerned. The same procedures apply to the appointment of the thesis defence examining board chair and the vice chair of the thesis defence examining board (hereafter: “examining board), or the chairs and vice-chairs (if there
are more than one examining board) from among the members of the thesis defence committee.
(2) The examining board, which has at least six members, is appointed by the dean from among the thesis defence committee members no later than three weeks before the defence date. At least two examining board members must not be members of the academic community of the VŠE. The chair and the vice-chair of the examining board are professors (exceptionally associate professors) of the given, or the closest related field, appointed earlier on by the dean upon approval by the faculty´s scientific board.

Preliminary Defence

(1) Preliminary defence is the defence of the first draft of the thesis, before the staff of the department where the student conducts research, or where he belongs by virtue of the thesis topic. In case of doubt the department can be determined by the dean.
(2) The student submits the thesis to the head of the department, who organizes the preliminary defence without delay. The aim of the preliminary defence is to evaluate whether the thesis meets the requirements for such work. For this purpose, the head of the department can ask the opinion of other experts, including those from outside the VŠE.
(3) The record of the preliminary defence is kept, stating whether the thesis is recommended for defence or must be revised. The head of department presents the record immediately to the doctoral degree studies counsellor.

Thesis Defence

(1) The application for the thesis defence is submitted by the student, in writing, to the dean through the doctoral degree studies counsellor. The student may submit the application for the thesis defence after he has passed the SDE, and preliminary defence.
(2) Together with the application the student shall submit:

a) A structured, professional, curriculum vitae,

b) At least three bound copies of the thesis,

c) At least ten copies of the thesis abstract; an abstract is a brief summary of the
whole thesis, usually up to 20 pages, stating the objectives, content, results of the
thesis and the characteristics of the original research methodology, the literature
used and concluded with an English, or other foreign language, summary,

d) A list of all works by the student, both published and unpublished, specifically reviewed articles, presentations at seminars, professional conferences, confirmed by the guarantor and the supervisor. Work published during the studies must be indicated. The doctoral degree studies counsellor will enclose the confirmation of the SDE passed along with a record of the preliminary defence with the student´s
application.

(3) The dean appoints the examining board, under Art. 16, and together with the field guarantor refers the items listed in para. 2 to the chair. The chair judges mainly whether the thesis is of sufficient length, and whether the topic corresponds with the field of study; he/she also judges whether the formal requirements have been met. In the case of an interdisciplinary topic, the chair recommends the dean’s appointing
other experts to the examining board.
(4) If the thesis suffers from serious formal shortcomings, the chair of the examining board asks the student to make improvements to it, and sets a reasonable deadline. After the improvements have been made, the defence continues. If the student insists on defending the original work, the defence continues without interruption.
(5) The chair of the examining board proposes to the dean at least two opponents of the thesis, at least one of whom must be a professor or associate professor, and at least one must not be a member of the academic community of the faculty at which the defence takes place. The dean appoints the opponents without undue delay, or asks the chair to propose somebody else.
(6) The opponents review the submitted thesis in writing, and refer the review to the chair of the examining board in both paper and electronic form. The chair will ensure that the reviews are posted in the information system, and stored in paper form in the student´s file. Each review shall conclude with a statement: “I recommend the thesis for defence before the examining board concerned” ,or, “I do not recommend the thesis for defence before the examining board concerned”.
(7) The reviews must be available to the student no later than two weeks before the scheduled defence.
(8) The student is notified of the date and venue of the defence in writing, no later than three weeks in advance.

Publication of the Theses
(1) The database of theses (hereafter: “the database”), the defence of which has taken place at the VŠE, or the defence of which is scheduled to take place at the VŠE, is kept in the information system.
(2) The student shall upload the electronic version of his/her thesis in the database by the date set by the department at which the defence takes place.
(3) The supervisor will review the entered data and confirm their completeness, and make the thesis publicly accessible in the information system.
(4) In the case of shortcomings, the supervisor will enable the student to make corrections. Before the student has entered all the required data correctly in the database, the thesis is not considered submitted.
(5) If the thesis topic requires collaboration with subjects outside the VŠE and the student will work with sensitive data, it is possible to replace the sensitive data in the version available to the public with different data, or to omit a part of the thesis. The scope of the omissions must be approved by the dean upon recommendation by the supervisor. In the publicly available version the fact that some data have been replaced, or that a part of the work has been omitted must be indicated.
(6) The omitted, or replaced, data shall be stated in an enclosure, which will not be publicly available.
(7) The supervisor is obliged to inform the collaborating subjects outside the VŠE of the facts that the thesis defence is open to the public, that the thesis is publicly available before the defence for a period of time set by the law, and that anybody can make notes, transcriptions or copies of the thesis at their own expense.

Conducting and Evaluating the Thesis Defence
(1) The thesis defence is open to the public and can be repeated once.
(2) The responsibility for conducting the defence, and the activity of the examining board, lies with the chair, or, in his/her absence, with the vice-chair.
(3) The examining board has a quorum if at least five of its members are present, including the chair or the vice-chair. One of the members must not be a member of the VŠE academic community (Art. 16, para. 2). At least one of the opponents must be present at the defence.
(4) The supervisor must also take part in the thesis defence. If the supervisor cannot, for some serious reason, attend the defence, the guarantor will propose to the dean a substitute from among the members of the department where the thesis belongs according to its topic. The supervisor (or the substitute, or the consultant) has the right to attend the closed session of the examining board; he is not a member of the examining board and does not vote on the result of the defence.
(5) The thesis defence shall take place even if the opponents´ reviews are negative in the event of the student’s insisting on defending the submitted work.
(6) The defence consists of the student´s introductory presentation, the supervisor´s and opponents´ opinions, the candidate´s responses to the questions raised in the reviews and a scientific debate. After the defence, the examining board vote on the result in a session closed to the public. During the defence a record is kept, stating the name of the student´s study programme, the names of the examining board members and opponents present, along with all significant facts of the defence. At the end of the record the outcome of the vote is shown. The record is signed by the chair, or the vicechair if the chair is absent.
(7) The examining board´s vote is taken by secret ballot. On the ballot paper all voters mark one of the options: “Defended” or “Did not defend” the thesis. The result “Did not defend” is also granted to a student who has failed to attend the defence. The opponents have the right to attend the non-public session of the examining board, but they cannot vote unless they are members of the examining board. The outcome of the vote is announced to the student publicly immediately after the defence is finished.
(8) The result “Defended” is accepted if a simple majority of voters present voted for it.Otherwise the student did not defend the thesis.
(9) The chair forwards the record of the thesis defence to the dean, who, after reviewing the procedural details of the defence, confirms by his/her signature the validity of the defence.
(10) If the student fails to defend the thesis, the examining board may recommend the method, scope and form of revision. In this case, the examining board sets a deadline by which it is necessary to submit the revised thesis for a new defence. The new defence may take place no sooner than four months after the unsuccessful defence, in compliance with Art. 18.