After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

• master methodology and research procedures needed for a complex analysis of psychological problems of both individuals and social and work groups, and also problematic situations
• create concepts, programmes, projects, and analyses in these fields
• after acquiring necessary experience coordinate research and conceptual and analytical work of experts from various fields
• employ the latest theoretical knowledge from developmental psychology

The graduates can apply their doctoral degree qualifications in research institutes and centres, as university teachers, and others. If the students have not completed the study programme in Psychology during their undergraduate studies, then the completion of the doctoral degree programme in Psychology prepares them only for the research work in the area of the doctoral degree programme, but not for the profession of a psychologist.

The standard duration of studies is eight semesters. The students must obtain a total of 240 ECTS credits for required courses. All courses in a study plan are required with the exception of courses with a movable credit value.

The students in the full-time study mode are required to engage in the research activities of the training institute and also their thesis topic should be related to the research aims of the institute. Furthermore, students are expected to participate in the organisational and educational activities of the training institute in the extent that does not undermine the fulfilment of their work on the thesis.

The defence of the doctoral thesis and the final state examination are allowed only after fulfilling all the prescribed requirements. The studies are completed by the defence of a doctoral thesis the length of which must be between 120 and 200 pages. The doctoral thesis should be conceived as a comprehensive analysis and/or complex solution of the problem in the selected area, or a complex analysis of the existing solutions (theoretical work). The thesis quality should meet the criteria for the publication in the peer-reviewed journals.

The doctoral state examination will check: a) doctoral students' ability to evaluate various problems in the selected area and also in the interdisciplinary context and b) doctoral students' ability to consider whether psychology is able to respond adequately to the problems and propose relevant solutions for the psychological practice. The doctoral students will be given two to three areas of psychological topics and will be required to read the relevant literature including the current empirical studies or meta-analyses. During the state examination the students will answer questions concerning a) the methodological issues of relevant research topics (i.e. students should critically evaluate how the issue was dealt with in the historical perspective; they should be able to discuss the new approaches in research of a specific phenomenon); b) students should be able to describe and understand the recent theories related to their theme, and they should be able to compare them with previous concepts; and c) students will critically evaluate a potential controversy in the concept of the given topic.