Terms and Conditions of Admission to FEA’s Doctoral Degree Programmes in the academic year of 2013/2014 Masaryk University’s Faculty of Economics and Administration, respecting the stipulations in chapters 48, 49 and 50 of the Act no. 111/1998 on higher education as amended, sets the following terms and conditions of admission to DDP studies. DDP Admission Procedures FEA doctoral degree programmes entrance examinations take place twice a year: * At the end of spring semester (studies to begin in the autumn semester of the following academic year) * At the end of autumn semester (studies to begin in the spring semester of the current academic year). The entrance tests are done in the on-site mode. International applicants who may enter and/or stay in the Czech Republic territory under visa requirement obligation or who cannot sit for the exam for this or another significant reason may apply for sitting for the entrance examination in a distance mode (i.e. based on written documents assessment – see item 1.2). The decision of applicant acceptation/rejection is under Faculty Dean’s responsibility made on the basis of examination/doctoral board’s recommendation. A doctoral board does/does not recommend the applicant for acceptation upon the review of the below specified documents and entrance examination result. The Dean may set different conditions for accepting the applicants who studied a Master’s degree programme or its part in a relative field abroad, including on different date of admission procedure. 1. Application for Studies: Requirements The application for DDP studies shall be submitted in electronic form. The applicants shall complete the electronic application with the following printed documents: * Application form dispatch note * Structured curriculum vitae * Documents proving qualification * Printed documents for the expert part of the entrance examination (determined individually for each field). 1.1 Specification of Higher Education Qualification Documents In case the applicant is a graduate from Masaryk University, the following shall be submitted: · a Master’s degree diploma copy. In case the applicant’s origin is in the Czech or Slovak Republics and the applicant is not a Masaryk University graduate, the following shall be submitted: * an authentic Master’s degree diploma copy. In case the applicant is the holder of a university degree diploma issued in Hungary, Germany, Poland or Slovenia, the following shall be submitted: · The Qualification Certificate issued by RMU Office for Studies and a certified copy of the diploma with official translation into the Czech/English language or a certified copy of the diploma issued in the English language; the applicant shall apply the RMU Office for Studies for the Qualification Certificate[1]. In case the applicant is the holder of a university degree diploma issued in a country other than those mentioned above, the following shall be presented: · a Recognition Certificate of Foreign University Qualification issued by any Czech public higher education institution and an authentic copy of Foreign Higher Education Recognition Letter[2]. Given the aforementioned documents are unavailable for the applicant at the time of application submitting, those may be presented subsequently but not later than on the date of his/her enrolment in studies. If the applicant requests an English language examination be credited the following shall be presented together with the Application Form for studies: · a document that would certify passing the English language examination – see the terms and conditions for crediting English language examination mentioned in 2.6. 1.2 Specification of Documents Required for the Case of an Entrance Examination Held in a Distance Mode If a DDP studies applicant comes from a visa requiring country and is unable to sit for the entrance examination in person for this or another serious reason, the applicant may apply for the entrance examination in distance mode and shall present the following documents. International applicants for studies accredited in the Czech language shall present the following documents: · An application form dispatch note · Czech language instructor’s statement of applicant’s language proficiency (if the applicant has taken a Czech language course) · Recommendation letters by two teachers of applicant’s home university (in English) · Structured curriculum vitae in the Czech language · A motivation letter in Czech · A paper on dissertation thesis topic in Czech · A document to certify passing an English test in the form of an authentic copy of an acknowledged international certificate of passing an English test at the minimum level of C1[3]. Applicants for studies accredited in the English/German language shall present the following documents: · An application form dispatch note · Recommendation letters by two teachers of home university in English · Structured curriculum vitae in the English language · A motivation letter in English · A paper on dissertation thesis topic in English/German (in compliance with the programme applied for). In case applicant’s first language is different from English he/she shall also present a certificate of passing an English language test in the form of an authentic copy of an acknowledged international certificate of passing the test at the minimum level of C1. In case of application for a doctoral degree programme accredited in the German language those of the applicants whose first language is different from German shall present a certificate of passing a German language test in the form of an authentic copy of an acknowledged international certificate of passing the test at the minimum level of C1. 2 DDP Entrance Examination Entrance examinations to the doctoral degree programmes in the fields held by FEA consist of the following: * A field special test that checks applicant’s knowledge (requirements are determined for each field) * A field special discussion that checks applicant’s creative research abilities and his/her motivation for DDP studies (based on the presented documents as requested for each field) * An English language test that checks applicant’s ability and level of English proficiency including basic economics terminology knowledge; if the applicant presents a certificate of passing the English test as specified in 2.6 of this Document the test may be considered passed by the applicant on the basis of the presented certificate. The committee appointed for each of DDP fields by the Dean of the Faculty based on the proposal made by the doctoral committee chairperson shall consist of three or more members. Entrance examination parts have got the following weights: * special test 20 % * special discussion 70 % * English test 10 %. 2.1 DDP Entrance Examination in Economics · The special test takes a written form lasting 60 minutes. It checks the knowledge of microeconomics and macroeconomics in the extent required for the final state exam (hereinafter referred to as FSE). · The discussion is based on a paper produced and presented by the applicant. The paper in the extent of 8 – 12 pages shall content the following: - information of diploma thesis topic and achieved conclusions - applicant’s motivation to the chosen dissertation thesis topic - dissertation thesis’ contribution as planned. · An English test. 2.2 DDP Entrance Examination in Economic Politics · The special test takes a written form lasting 60 minutes. It checks the knowledge of general economic theory (with accent placed on macroeconomics) and of economic politics in FSE extent. · The discussion is based on a paper produced and presented by the applicant. The paper in the extent of 8 – 12 pages shall content the following: - applicant’s motivation to the dissertation thesis topic as chosen - situation of scientific knowledge in the appropriate issues - the basic vision of dissertation thesis expected results and intended contribution. · An English test. 2.3 DDP Entrance Examination in Public Economics · The special test takes an oral form. It checks the knowledge of economics, public economics and public funding. · The discussion shall relate to the special paper (in the extent of 8–12 pages) produced by the applicant to show applicant’s interest in the dissertation thesis topic and the knowledge in the field related to the topic. The paper shall obligatory contain the basic summary of the current situation in knowledge, future dissertation thesis purpose specifications, and an outline of intended methods of solution. · An English test. 2.4 DDP Entrance Examination in Business Economy and Management · The special test a written form lasting 30 minutes. It checks the knowledge of the fields of organisation economy, enterprise science and management. · The discussion relates to the special paper in the extent of 8 – 12 pages produced by the applicant to demonstrate his/her interest in the dissertation thesis topic and the knowledge in the field related to the topic. The paper shall obligatory contain the basic summary of the current situation in knowledge, future dissertation thesis purpose specifications and an outline of intended methods of solution. · An English test. 2.5 DDP Entrance Examination in Finance · The special test shall take an oral form. It checks the knowledge of finance in the extent as required for FSE. · The discussion shall relate to the special paper (in the extent of 8 –12 pages) produced by the applicant to show his/her interest in the dissertation thesis topic and the knowledge in the field related to the topic. The paper shall obligatory contain the basic summary of the current situation in knowledge, future dissertation thesis purpose specifications and an outline of intended methods of solution. · An English test 3. English Language Test Passing the English language entrance test is an inevitable condition for acceptance to a DDP. The test takes a written form lasting 45 minutes. Applicants are tasked to produce a reflection essay on the defined issue of approximately 20 lines. The text may be evaluated with 0 – 10 points while the lower threshold of passing the English test is 5 points. The produced text shall be evaluated by the appointed personnel of MU Language Centre. 3.1 Entrance English Test Acknowledgement: Terms and Conditions The applicants who had taken an English course corresponding at least to C1 level (experienced user) as a part of his/her university undergraduate studies or the holders of an equivalent internationally accepted language certificate may apply for crediting the examination. In case the applicant comes from the Czech or Slovak Republics and applies for crediting English language examination, the following shall be presented: · if the applicant is a graduate from an FEA MU Bachelor or a five-year Master degree studies, a statement of studied subjects from IS MU[4] · if the applicant is not a graduate from an FEA MU Bachelor or a five-year Master degree studies, an authorised certificate of attending a language course at least of C1 level: - an authentic copy of examination records or diploma or a certificate issued by the Office for Studies of the appropriate higher education institution or a unit of it; in addition to the above mentioned documents, it is necessary to present course/subject syllabus, reading required for the course/subject and the examination form and content confirmed by the Office for Studies of the appropriate higher education institution or a unit of it - an authentic copy of an acknowledged international certificate of passing an English test that proves passing an English test at the minimum level of C1. In case the applicant comes from other country than the Czech or Slovak Republics and applies for crediting English language examination, the following shall be presented: · an authentic copy of an acknowledged international certificate of passing an English test that proves passing an English test at the minimum level of C1. The presented documents shall be verified by the appointed personnel of MU Language Centre. In Brno on 6 September 2012 ________________________________ [1] see http://www.muni.cz/study/recognition/countries_with_bilateral_agreements [2] see http://www.muni.cz/study/recognition/general [3] As in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages. [4] The appropriate level corresponds to FEA MU course of BPJ_JI4A