Psychology

The doctoral program in psychology prepares researchers and scholars in the field of psychology, focusing on social, developmental, clinical, general, educational, and occupational psychology. The emphasis is on deepening theoretical knowledge in these psychological disciplines that can be used in scientific research and in solving problems of professional practice. Students will learn the latest theoretical approaches, acquire a critical perspective on theoretical concepts and empirical research, and become familiar with methods of data analysis of both a quantitative and qualitative nature. They will develop the skills and abilities necessary for independent scientific psychological reflection and at the same time the ability for team research collaboration, whether disciplinary or interdisciplinary.

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

• work  in psychological science individually and independently
• conduct unaided analytical work on the basis of their knowledge of theory
• interpret and explain evidence from research
• formulate innovative research problems and their solutions
• gain the methods, techniques and skills in psychological research
• publish and communicate the results of scienfitic work

The qualification gained by the graduates of this programme can be put to use in academia and in research institutes. However, graduating from this Doctoral Programme does not qualify one to enter the psychology profession; it is not a substitute for obtaining a Master’s Degree in psychology.

The structure and the study plan of individual students depends on their specialization in the discipline of psychology, on the topic of their Doctoral Thesis and the relevant requirements of their supervisor. Students are expected to take all the compulsory předměty for all doctoral students of Psychology at the Faculty of Social Studies. Students can also choose from other “předměty” on offer. The study plan contains, among others, the following requirements:

1) partaking in research projects according to the focus of the student’s Doctoral Thesis;

2) partaking in teaching psychology students;

3) publishing independently or as a part of a research team in an impacted journal and publishing at least one article in either a Czech or foreign journal.

During one's studies, it is compulsory to complete a three-month-long stay at an academic institution or at an institution concerned with applied research abroad. Another required work experience is partaking in teaching psychology students and in research projects at the Department and other academic institutions

The dissertation must contain original results, either already published or accepted for publication.

The dissertation is written entirely in one language - English (recommended) or Czech, or for native speakers in Slovak. The thesis may be submitted in another language only with the approval of the thesis committee.

The length of the dissertation is roughly 180 000 - 216 000 characters including spaces. However, the length of the text is only an indicative indicator of the quality of the thesis; it depends primarily on the content of the thesis. Citations and references cited in the thesis must conform to the APA style standard

The dissertation must be accompanied by a statement from the supervisor confirming the student's authorship of the marked parts of the dissertation and evaluating the student's contribution.

The dissertation may take a variety of forms, including:

(a) a collection of previously published work,

b) a professional monograph

c) a theoretical-methodological work

The preferred form of a dissertation is a collection of papers accompanied by an introduction and a summary discussion and general conclusions. The preface of the dissertation should outline the structure of the thesis and should also include a detailed description of the student's contribution to each paper. This should be no less than 50% for two of the three minimum required papers (chapters) and no less than 30% for the third paper. It is also important that the author's contribution should relate to substantial parts of the paper. It is also expected that the author of the dissertation will be the first author of at least two papers.

The collection of essays should consist of at least three articles (or chapters from an edited monograph). At least two of these three papers should have already been published or at least accepted for publication, the others should have already been submitted for publication. The articles are included in the dissertation in their original form (in terms of content) as published, but the format follows the uniform style of the dissertation (single language, formatting, APA style citations).

The final discussion (general discussion) summarizes all the findings and integrates them into the theoretical framework. Basically, it answers the question of what is our theoretical understanding of the phenomenon under study, being aware of the knowledge gained and the shifts in the subject area that have occurred during the time of the dissertation.

A professional monograph, theoretical-methodological work and other forms of dissertation must always have the parameters of a scientific publication, a substantial part of which has already been published or accepted for publication in some form. In the case of a monograph, it is typically a publication in a renowned publishing house (including MUNIPRESS), or a monograph that is based on own published articles but is a new text.