Ref. No.: MU-IS/107382/2019/937119/PdF-1
Dean’s Directive No. 5/2019
Standard Requirements for Studies and the Results of Students in Doctoral
Degree Programmes at the Faculty of Education of Masaryk University
(in the version effective from 1 September 2019)
In accordance with Section 28(1) of Act No. 111/1998 Coll., On Higher Education Institutions and on
Modification and Amendment of Other Acts (Higher Education Act), as amended, I issue this directive:
Section 1
General Provisions
1) This directive specifies the requirements for studies and the results of students in doctoral degree
programmes at the Faculty of Education of Masaryk University.
2) Meeting the requirements is monitored through the Academic Records in the MU Information
System, where the doctoral student is obliged to enter all relevant data based on the Individual
Study Plan, and where the supervisor and programme guarantor express their opinions in
response.
3) In exceptional and justified cases, a lower number of activities/results in a certain category may be
compensated for by a higher number of activities/results in another category, so that the overall
professional level is not affected. In programmes where the final state examination precedes the
defence of the doctoral thesis, the student shall submit a proposal for any potential compensation,
together with the application for the final state examination. In programmes where the final state
examination and the defence of the doctoral thesis are held simultaneously, the proposal shall be
submitted one year before the planned application for the final state examination and the defence.
The guarantor of the doctoral programme concerned shall assess the proposal, write an opinion
on it, and refer the proposal for approval to the relevant vice-dean, who shall make a decision in
the matter within one month.
4) In cases where the doctoral board deems it necessary to make the provisions hereof more specific,
it may do so by negotiation without the prejudice to the overall level of requirements. The
specification of requirements by the doctoral board shall be published in the publicly accessible
part of the faculty website and shall only be valid for the programme concerned.
Section 2
Requirements for Publication of Doctoral Students
1) At least 4 publications are required during the period of studies, of which at least 1 study
published in a journal or proceedings indexed by the WoS or SCOPUS databases, and 1 study
in a peer-reviewed journal, are required; the rest may be in the form of specialized books,
chapters in a book, articles in journals, or papers published in proceedings.
a. Co-authored texts shall also be eligible; in such case, proof of the doctoral student’s
share (as a percentage) must be documented, and
b. A brief verbal description of their contribution as an author must also be given in order
to assess whether they had a majority share in the publication.
c. Inclusion of the article/journal/proceedings into a database (WoS, SCOPUS) at the time
of publishing the reported text is decisive for recognizing the presence of the result in
the database.
d. Printed works may only be reported if a written confirmation of publishing (from the
publisher of a book or the editor of proceedings, etc.) is attached.
Section 3
Requirements for Pedagogical Work during Studies
1) Doctoral studies include mandatory practice in the form of teaching at a higher educational
institution – typically at the Faculty of Education MU (in particular of seminars, courses,
practical training, etc.) or other pedagogical work (preparation of classes, tests, presentations,
syllabi, electronic study support, distance texts, evaluation of tests, etc.).
2) The maximum teaching volume within doctoral programmes is 150 lessons for the entire
period of studies, which shall be distributed into semesters by agreement among the doctoral
student, the supervisor, and the head of the unit, usually 2 to 4 hours per week each semester.
If the teaching load is higher, the students shall obtain remuneration (e.g. in the form of an
agreement to complete a job).
3) Student involvement in teaching depends on the exclusive approval of the supervisor and the
programme (course) guarantor. The programme (course) guarantor or supervisor shall inspect
the student’s preparations for classes during the first and second semester of teaching, and
consult them with the student and, as the case may be, attend classes in each semester at
their own discretion or upon a request of the student. They shall provide feedback to the
student based on the attendance of classes.
4) Pedagogical work may also include supervising or reviewing Bachelor’s and Master’s theses,
or theses written as part of lifelong education. The provision on the scope of supervising or
reviewing theses is part of the agreement to complete a job or the agreement to perform work,
and is not a standard duty of doctoral students. The supervision and reviewing of theses are
performed under the supervisor’s guidance.
Section 4
Requirements for Presentation Skills and Internationalization
1) At least 4 lectures/presentations at conferences are required during the period of studies, of
which at least 2 shall be at conferences held in the Czech Republic (or Slovakia) and at least 2
at conferences held outside the Czech Republic in a conference language other than Czech.
2) The international dimension of a doctoral student’s work is defined by the requirement to
participate on an internship abroad (typically with an academic/research organization) in the
standard duration of one semester (3 months), however not less than seven weeks.
a. The scope, content and outcomes of the internship shall be agreed in advance by the
doctoral student, the supervisor, and a representative of the organization where the
internship takes place, and shall be entered in the Academic Records of the MU
Information System, where they shall be subsequently evaluated by the supervisor.
b. Funds for the internship (up to 3 months) may be obtained from the MU Scholarship
Fund within the announced scholarship programmes; the necessity to travel with a
family member may be a fact worthy of special consideration in the process of
assessing the application by the relevant Scholarship Boards.
c. In justified cases (e.g. if the doctoral student has children or is taking care of elderly
relatives), the mandatory duration of the internship may be divided into shorter
periods (which shall be added together) or reduced.
Section 5
Requirements for Research
1) The duties of doctoral students may include participation in research projects implemented
at the unit, outside of their own research conducted as part of the doctoral thesis.
2) The involvement of students in research projects beyond the scope of their doctoral thesis
shall be based on an agreement to complete a job or an agreement to perform work, or shall
be remunerated in another way.
Section 6
Requirements for a Doctoral Thesis
1) Original scientific – theoretical and methodological – works and works of empirical research
or a combination thereof shall be accepted as doctoral theses.
a. Theoretical works deal with selected theoretical approaches to issues of the given
field, demonstrating a high degree of abstract and analytical thought and insight.
b. Methodological works analyse (new) research approaches, methods and techniques,
or instruments, and evaluate their strengths and weaknesses.
c. Works of empirical research provide concrete factual findings obtained through
specific research methods, whereby research findings are based on conducted
empirical research, and are interpreted, discussed, and incorporated within the
framework of theoretical approaches and the current state of knowledge.
2) A set of works dealing with a given topic that has been published or accepted for publishing in
print or by some other method, to which the student has attached a comprehensive
introduction and commentary on the issue, may also be acknowledged as a doctoral thesis.
3) Doctoral theses typically include:
a. a definition of the investigated issues, key terms, concepts and theories that are
relevant for the topic of the thesis and which reflect the international standard of
current knowledge as presented in Czech and in the international specialized
literature;
b. the current state of knowledge in the national and international context (in particular
a consideration of international and national research, theoretical studies, etc.);
c. a definition of and rationale for the objectives, questions, and methodological
procedures of the conducted research;
d. a presentation of research results, incl. an interpretation and discussion of the findings
at the general level;
e. a discussion of the work as such and its contribution, incl. the contribution of its own
findings to existing knowledge in the national and international context.
4) Doctoral theses contain original results, either published or accepted for publishing.
5) Doctoral theses clearly demonstrate the author’s own research contribution (contain the
author’s own theoretical, empirical, or other research); they must not merely replicate other
authors’ approaches.
6) Bibliographic citations and references to literature in doctoral theses are governed by the APA
format or a citation standard common in the field of doctoral studies, and are based on highquality
specialized sources of Czech and foreign origin.
7) Other specific requirements for the preparation and form of doctoral theses may be defined
by the doctoral board of the doctoral programme concerned (according to the procedure
under Section 1(4) hereof).
8) To the application for the final state examination shall be attached a thesis abstract, which
shall summarize the main information, which shall be structured in a manner reflecting the
structure of the thesis.
9) If determined by the doctoral board of the doctoral programme concerned, to the application
for the final state examination shall be attached the main propositions of the thesis in
accordance with guidelines of the relevant doctoral board, published on the faculty website,
section doctoral studies.
Section 10
Final Provisions
1. Related documents
N/A
2. List of records
N/A
3. List of appendices
N/A
4. Compliance with this directive shall be inspected and its provisions shall be interpreted by
the Vice-Dean for Research and Academic Affairs.
5. History of changes
N/A
6. This directive shall enter into force on the day of its publication.
7. This directive shall enter into effect on 1 September 2019.
In Brno, on 15 May 2019 doc. PhDr Jiří Němec, Ph.D.
Dean