Study plan

The student must successfully pass the state doctoral exam and defend the dissertation thesis. The State Doctoral Exam (SDE) consists of two topics linked to the courses with a common base in Media and Journalism Theory and the Methodology of Media and Journalism Studies. In the SDE, the student's task is to demonstrate relevant field knowledge of theories and methodologies that are related to the topic of their dissertation work. The student will be given a thematic topic with each of the exams in advance by the head of the committee, for which s/he must prepare by reading literature relevant to each topic. The student will provide a list of the literature that s/he proposes for the given topic in advance (the list must contain at least 20 sources per topic); the head of the committee approves the proposed list in advance and supplements it, if so requested by the members of the SDE committee and the supervisors and consultants. In the exam itself, the student's task is to persuade the committee of having sufficient knowledge of the theories and methodologies in both of the given topics and of their ability to apply them beyond the subject of the dissertation thesis, as well as to place it in the wider context of the field discussion. The doctoral dissertation thesis is defended in front of a committee, which has at least five members, of which two are external. The work is evaluated by two opponents, one of them being external. On the basis of the evaluations and defence of the student, the committee assesses the quality of the dissertation thesis.

The study program will include one study plan without specialization.
The program will be comprised of six course modules that take into account the different focus of the courses included, while at the same time make the whole program and its key accents concise. Students are required to receive 206 credits by completing 17 compulsory courses and 34 credits by completing compulsory elective courses.

1. Theoretical Module: Includes a common course of a theoretical nature constituting a shared professional background and the thematically-specialized theoretical seminars linked to the topic of the dissertation.
Module Courses: Theory of Media and Journalistic Studies, Doctoral Thesis Theory I, Doctoral Thesis Theory II

2. Methodological module: Includes a common course establishing a shared methodological basis and specialized methodological seminars.
Module Courses: Methodology of Media and Journalistic Studies, Data Analysis I, Data Analysis II

3. Dissertation module: Courses related to thesis work and dissertation work.
Module Courses: Dissertation project presentation, Dissertation project defence, Dissertation project results presentation, Doctoral theses

4. Science Results Communication Module: Includes the courses developing skills needed to successfully master communication within the domestic and international professional community.
Module Courses: Communication of Scientific Results, Conference Presentations, Presentation at International Conference, Publications I, Publications II

5. Application Module: Includes application-oriented courses developing competencies linked to non-academic practices, experience with team and project work, and pedagogical and dissemination skills.
Module Courses: Analytical practice, Dissemination of science, Participation in teaching, Participation in a research project, Pedagogical practice, Writing and project management

6. Module of Foreign Internships: Includes mandatory foreign residence and optional foreign academic and work placements and short-term stays.
Module Courses: Foreign study internship, Foreign trip, Foreign working internship

The program includes common courses and courses based on the individual work of the student and the supervisor. The goal of common courses is to ensure interaction and mutual feedback across the cohort of learners and to create a shared knowledge base. The aim of the individual courses is to deepen the knowledge and skills connected with extending the academic skills and the dissertation work.

Suggested dissertation topics:
Risks of digital technologies for children and adolescents (online addiction, cyberbullying ...)
Media education in schools
Analysis of online communication
Digital knowledge of children
Methodology of research conducted using digital media
Positive aspects of using digital technology (e.g., mHealth)
New media in everyday media audiences and technology users
New media and social and cultural inequalities
New media and change of reception of news content
Changing the relationship between current media audiences and media content producers
New Media and Changes in Production and Distribution Strategies
New media, supervision and hierarchical power: media technology in the service of the state and non-state economic agents
New media and political participation/civic engagement/activism
The role of mass media and online social networks in shaping the climate of opinion
The role of new media in the formation of consent and the production of shared knowledge
Cultural and social history of new media in central and eastern Europe
Media, technology and gaming subcultures in central and eastern Europe
Distrust in the journalistic field: untrustworthy and distrustful news media and their journalists
Quantitative analysis of predictors of increasing foundational distrust and its reception within the journalistic field
Specifics of local media
Transformation of journalistic practices in local media
Transforming media ownership as one of the key processes of transforming the media system

Defended dissertation works supervised by prof. Šmahel at MU (within the Ph.D. of Psychology Studies):
Online gaming addiction: The role of avatars and sociability of gamers
Coping Strategies by Cyberbullying Victims: The Role of Social Context
Children's and adolescents' interactions with online strangers
Communication via messenger: Perception of a person's personality and help in detecting lying
Bystanders' reactions to cyberbullying
Online sexuality and its relation to adolescents' offline world
Internet: From Excess to Addiction

Defended dissertation works supervised by dr. Volek at MU (within the Ph.D. of Sociology Studies):
Notes on New Media Studies
Regulation of public service broadcasting in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ireland
The Picture of Roma in TV News - An Example of the Media Design of Reality
Television and crisis of time experience
Technical images in the social sciences
Czech Journalism Students in the International Perspective: The Values and Attitudes of the Incoming Journalistic Generation
Selected aspects of the structural transformation of the Czech local and regional press after 1989