Historical Sciences

Graduates are prepared to critically examine and interpret issues of complex national and state history and cultural manifestations in a Central European and global context. Based on interdisciplinary dialogue and consistent internationalization, scientific training is focused on creating the conditions for a successful career in academic and professionally oriented institutions, in state and public services, and in organizations specializing in the protection, documentation, and presentation of cultural heritage.

The doctoral study program emphasizes professionalism and the development of doctoral students' scientific and academic competencies. It is designed so that graduates are able to creatively apply and develop their theoretical and methodological knowledge. The doctoral study program culminates in a dissertation, which is understood as an independent research project based on an original critical treatment of a selected topic and the theoretical and methodological postulates of current research in the humanities.

Doctoral projects and partial research tasks solved during doctoral studies respect the scientific and research strategy of the training workplaces associated with the doctoral study program Historical Sciences and include the following fields:

1. History

2. Ethnology

3. Auxiliary historical sciences

4. Archiving

Doctoral students are guided toward independent scientific work based on knowledge of modern historical, auxiliary scientific, archival, and ethnological research methods and on interdisciplinary dialogue with the humanities, social sciences, law, and natural sciences. Knowledge is tested, applied, and demonstrated in dissertations and field activities (publications, active participation in conferences and scientific research projects).

The doctoral project is supervised by a supervisor, who may propose the appointment of a consultant to the doctoral board, and is based on an individual study plan (ISP). The ISP is approved by the doctoral board and its implementation is subject to review and approval by the supervisor, or the supervisor and consultant, and the doctoral board each semester. The establishment of a Theses Advisory Committee (TAC) appears to be superfluous, duplicating the work of the doctoral board and complicating the dialogue between the doctoral board and the supervisor and doctoral student.

Upon successful completion of the programme, the graduate is able to:

• carry out advanced independent creative and scientific work, which includes the ability to define key research topics;
• apply relevant research concepts, develop methodological procedures and critical work with information (historical sources and material artifacts, literature, knowledge gained through field research and participant observation);
• independent creative and scientific work, which includes the ability to define key research topics and critically work with historical sources and literature;
• be familiar with modern methodology and trends in historical and ethnological thinking;
• conduct interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary dialogue at the national and supranational levels;
• lecture and publish original scientific texts at home and abroad;
• prepare and conduct lectures and seminars for both academic and lay audiences;
• to document, catalog, protect, and present cultural heritage in its tangible and intangible forms;
• to implement modern approaches to the selection, processing, and accessibility of archival materials, collections, and other documentary resources in memory institutions.

Graduates of the Historical Sciences doctoral program can find employment as qualified experts in various areas of scientific and public life. As trained scientists authorized to conduct independent research, they can work at universities, scientific institutes, archives, museums, libraries, and other specialized workplaces, particularly those involved in memory and education, in the field of cultural heritage preservation.

Thanks to their broad outlook and ability to contextualize and critically interpret information, they can work in non-profit and non-governmental organizations, the media, and publishing houses, or even outside the field of historical sciences altogether, in management and public relations positions, as well as in various areas of public administration and the private sector.

The doctoral study program Historical Sciences includes both theoretical (History, Auxiliary Historical Sciences, Archival Science) and practical (Ethnology) fields.

Practical fields include professional practice, the scope and nature of which are determined by the ISP. Practice can also be planned in justified cases of theoretically focused projects. It may take the form of consultations and gaining experience in scientific and research institutions.

All doctoral students, without exception, must complete:

- a study stay abroad lasting at least one month (in the internal form of the doctoral study program continuously, in the combined form in total)

- courses and activities developing pedagogical competences (in the internal form of the doctoral study program at the training workplace, in the combined form, practice outside the training workplace can be recognized)

- courses developing academic and scientific competencies

- fulfill the conditions for creative activity (presentation of scientific research results at professional forums and platforms at home and abroad, publication activity according to the doctoral study program requirements)

A qualification thesis is understood to be a dissertation that summarizes the results of original scientific research.

A dissertation demonstrates the ability to conduct independent and original scientific work. This primarily involves formulating a research question, critically assessing the state of knowledge, theoretically grasping and generalizing the results of the research, defining the methodology, and determining the structure of the presentation, including the introduction, conclusion, and list of cited sources and literature.

A dissertation may include the results of partial research, including already published outputs or outputs accepted for publication.

The dissertation must demonstrate the ability and readiness to work independently in the field of research, or to engage in autonomous theoretical and creative work, and prove that the graduate is capable of expanding or advancing the boundaries of scientific knowledge.

The dissertation usually takes the form of a monograph (after discussion and approval by the doctoral board, a collection of studies may also be submitted) and must be at least 200,000 characters long, including spaces. It may be submitted in Czech or Slovak. It is also permissible and, in relation to the topic being addressed, desirable to submit dissertations in world languages (English, German, Russian, French), subject to agreement with the supervisor and after discussion and approval by the doctoral board.

The dissertation may be prepared in cooperation with another institution. In the event of publication, it is assumed that the publication will be dedicated to the supervising institution.

The text of the dissertation must also meet the relevant requirements in terms of grammar and style.

The dissertation must be written in accordance with the ethics of scientific work and must comply with the formal and content requirements of Masaryk University, the Faculty of Arts, and any relevant field standards.