State Exams

Registration for the State Doctoral Exam is possible with the PhD student coordinator personally or by email referentkads_ffu@vse.cz

Conditions for Taking the State Doctoral Examination

(1) The SDE is a comprehensive assessment of the student´s knowledge of the discipline within the doctoral degree study programme. During the SDE the student demonstrates the degree to which he has mastered the broader theoretical knowledge, methods of independent research activity and the ways of applying the new knowledge within the discipline. The content of the SDE is determined by topics set in advance.
(2) The SDE is taken before an examination board, open to the public and oral.
(3) The SDE must be taken prior to the defence of the thesis, so that the result of the SDE
can be included in the application for the defence.
(4) A student may apply for the SDE after he has successfully completed all study
requirements set by Art. 11, para. 2.
(5) The SDEs are held usually once a semester. It is necessary to apply in writing not less than one month before the supposed date of the SDE. The student will be notified about the exact date and venue of the SDE by the doctoral degree studies counsellor well in advance, and in writing (paper or electronic).
(6) With the application for the SDE, the candidate shall submit an overview of publications verified by the supervisor, as well as the supervisor´s report on the candidate´s research activities, confirmed by the guarantor of the field of study.

The SDE Committee and the SDE Examining Board

(1) Members of the SDE committee are professors, assistant professors and other distinguished experts in the given field, appointed by the dean upon approval by the faculty´s scientific board.
(2) No later than two weeks before the date of the SDE the dean, upon a proposal from the guarantor of the study field, appoints the SDE examining board, including the chair, from among the SDE committee members. The SDE examining board has at least three members (the chair and two members). Other members of the examining board may be appointed by the Ministry of Education.

Conducting the SDE and Classification

(1) The chair of the examining board (exceptionally: the vice-chair, appointed by the dean), is responsible for conducting the SDE, as well as the examining board’s activity on the given date. The examining board has a quorum if the chair (or the vice-chair, appointed by the dean), and at least two other members appointed under Art. 13 para. 2 are present.
(2) The SDE is classified with the grades: “Excellent – 1”; “Very good – 2”; “Good – 3” and “Fail – 4”. The grade “Fail” is also used if the student fails to attend the SDE.
(3) The result of the classification of the SDE is decided by the SDE examining board in a closed meeting, by vote on the day of the SDE. If the vote ends in a tie, the chair, or the vice-chair, according to para. 1, casts the deciding vote. The classification result is announced to the student immediately after the vote.
(4) The conducting and classification result of the SDE are recorded in the SDE Record, which is signed by all committee members and intered in the information system, or as the case may be, also in the study record book and signed by the chair, or the vicechair.

(5) A grade of Fail means the student  may apply to retake the SDE. Retaking the SDE is possible no sooner than four months after the unsuccessful sitting. The SDE can be retaken only once.