PhD Studies

Conditions during the study

The basis of the doctoral studies at the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University is the procedural pursuit of preparation of the doctoral thesis in close and regular interaction with the supervisor and supplemented by the faculty-wide applicable terms for completing the postgraduate studies.

Before the defense of the doctoral thesis is performed, the following conditions need to be met:

• Fulfill the requirements of the given individual study plan
• Complete at least four courses in four different fields of study courses of a common basis (see below).

Every doctoral student enrolled at LF MU after 1 September 2023 is required to take a course in ethics and academic integrity.                       It is compulsory to attend the course FRESHERS!                                                                                                                                                        It is recommended to choose the course DSEBRa Ethics of Biomedical Research. Completion of the course DSEBRa Ethics of Biomedical Research is highly recommended for all Ph.D. candidates of the Faculty of Medicine.

During the study

During the study, it is necessary to:

Complete at least four courses in four different fields of study courses of a common basis (see below)

• Complete at least four subject-area courses (within the competence of the doctoral board).
• Meet the publication activity requirements:

The faculty-wide conditions of doctoral studies stipulate as a publication minimum one first-author publication of an original paper in a journal with an IF value above the median of the field or two original first-author publications in a journal with an IF value in the third quartile of the dissertation field (Q3).

• Undergo an internship abroad (with a duration of at least one month), alternatively participate in an international project (attendance at the regular project team meetings is mandatory).
• Present original data at an international conference.
• Submit the doctoral thesis.
• Pass the final state doctoral examination.
• Acquire the total amount of 240 credits over the course of studies (in case the MU study and examination regulations change, the credit system may be bypassed at the discretion of the doctoral board).

Participation in teaching can then only reach the maximum of 150 hours/4 years.

The process of constructing an Individual Study Plan may be described by the following:

25 ECTS - The shared courses of the Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University

20 ECTS – Curriculum – Specific Courses

195 ECTS - the doctoral (defense of the doctoral thesis + the final state doctoral examination), publication activities, an internship abroad, attendance at an international conference, assistance in pedagogical activities, and teaching.

Common core courses

The common courses encompass the stated fields of scientific knowledge and capabilities. They can be completed as a part of the organized courses at the MU (in cooperation with the CEITEC, the Faculty of Science, etc.) or through the analogical external courses (e.g. The Course in the Fundamentals of Research Work Administered by the Czech Academy of Science).

State Doctoral Exam and PhD Thesis Defense

To successfully complete their studies, students must pass the state doctoral examination and defend their dissertation.

State Doctoral Examination - The student informs his or her supervisor and the chairperson of the doctoral committee or doctoral board of his or her intention to take the state doctoral examination. This chairperson then determines the date of the state doctoral examination.

PhD Thesis Defense - When applying for PhD Thesis defense, students have to follow:

- the Guidelines on the Formal Requirements for Dissertations Prepared at the Faculty of Medicine

- the Masaryk University Faculty of Medicine Directive No. 1/2019 called Doctoral Study Programme at the Faculty of Medicine of Masaryk University

Students bring an Application for permission to defend the dissertation to representatives of the Office for Research and Quality. The students also send a document about publications via e-mail to representatives of the Office for Research and Quality (phd@med.muni.cz).

Before visiting the Office for Research and Quality, please also send the relevant staff member by e-mail:
a) English title of the dissertation
b) A proposal of the dissertation opponents, including current e-mail, correspondence and telephone contact, in agreement with the supervisor. The opponents are appointed by the dean on the proposal.
The proposal of the opponents must comply with the following requirements according to the MU Study and Examination Regulations (Article 33, paragraph 5 and Article 31, paragraph 4, letter b)
- there must be at least two opponents
- at least one opponent must be external (not employed by Masaryk University)
- the opponent must not be a supervisor or former supervisor
- the opponent must not be a co-author of the dissertation (in the case of a set of annotated theses) or other persons in a similar position.

Together with all these requirements, according to the MU study and examination regulations, the so-called Thesis Archive in the MU IS must be completed before submitting the thesis to the Office for Research and Quality.
The Office for Research and Quality staff will not accept incomplete materials!

The Office for Research and Quality staff will officially accept the thesis and publish it in the IS MU on the day of submission. From this day onwards, the thesis is publicly available and traceable. Therefore, the thesis can no longer be manipulated in any way and an assessment is prepared for this thesis. The opponent is obliged to draw up an opinion according to the MU IS, i.e. the thesis cannot be modified in any way on the recommendation of the opponent and only then the opinion is drawn up.

If the Office for Research and Quality staff has all the opinions available, it addresses the chairman of the doctoral board (if the programme studied has a specialisation, the chairman of the doctoral committee) with a request to set the date, time, and place of the defence (plus possibly the state doctoral examination, if it has not already been taken at an earlier date), and the chairman is also asked to form a committee.
The defence will take place.
In the case of a successful state doctoral examination and defence, the study is officially terminated on this date in IS MU and the student becomes a graduate of doctoral studies at the Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University.