Dear PhD students, Dear doctoral candidates,
The degree conferment procedure is a lengthy process which requires intense focus and awareness on the part of all candidates. The primary prerequisite for this is a thorough knowledge of the Doctoral Regulations of the University (hereinafter DRU) and the Doctoral Regulations of Humanities (hereinafter DRH).The Doctoral School of History and Ethnology believes that it is important to provide guidance and assistance for the students.Thus, we have gathered the most frequently asked questions regarding the degree conferment procedure, thereby helping orientation in the procedure.
What is the degree conferment procedure exactly?
The degree conferment procedure is a process which may be commenced by the PhD student following the completion of the doctoral training and the obtainment of the absolutorium. Regarding the prerequisites of the application for degree conferment procedure, the following documents apply:
- In case of 2+2 year-long training and individual preparation that started after 1 September 2016: http://btkphd.unideb.hu/forms_documents.html
How shall the procedure be initiated?
Students who obtained their absolutoriumin the old type (3 year-long) training before 1 September 2016, must apply for the degree conferment procedure separately.The details of the application can be found in the above prospectus. Students who participate in the current (2+2 year-long) training after 1 September 2016 must take a complex examination at the end of the 4th semester. Provided that the student passed the examination successfully, earned the required number of credits by the end of the 4th semester, and registered for the 5th semester, the second phase of his/her training officially starts. Regarding the degree conferment procedurethis is particularly important because, with the initiation of the second phase of the training, the degree conferment procedure also begins automatically.
It is essential to underline thatdoctoral student is required to submit the final version of the doctoral dissertation(as revised after the preliminary defence) within three years after the complex examination! If this does not happen in time, the submission will not be possible later. This means that if the dissertation is not completed on time, the research work done during the four-year-longtraining will be wasted, as the student will no longer be able to submit his/her dissertation on the same topic neither at the same nor at another doctoral school. Furthermore, the student cannot apply to the training of another doctoral school with the same subject.
What is the preliminary defence?
The preliminary defence is an important stage of the degree conferment procedure. It isorganized in a highly regulated manner. The guide is available on the following page: Preliminary defence.
How is the comprehensive examination carried out?
The comprehensive examination is another crucial point of the degree conferment procedure, where the candidate shall give an account of his/her theoretical knowledge and professional competence.The candidate shall take examinations in at leasttwo subjects/topics, one being the main and the other being the subsidiary topic. More information is available at the following link: list of the subjects/topics of the complex examination and the comprehensive examination.
Comprehensive examination shall be organized by those candidates whose doctoral education orindividual preparation commenced before 1 September 2016. In case of those students whose doctoral education orindividual preparation commenced after 1 September 2016, the comprehensive examination is replaced by the complex examination.
How is the board of examination formed?
The board of examination must be submitted to the Council of the Doctoral School of History and Ethnology in consultation with the head of the Doctoral School. The composition of the board is as follows: “The board of examination shall consist of at least three members who hold an academic degree.The chairperson of the board of examination may be a full professor or professor emeritus of the university having the necessary professional competence. One member of the shall be an external member not in the employment of the university (a professor emeritus or retired faculty member of the university shall not qualify as external members). The supervisor of the candidate may not be a member of the board of examination.” (BDTSz, 5.3.§ (4.)) The composition of the board of examination must be voted upon by the doctoral council of the disciplinary area, in this case the Arts and Humanities Doctoral Council, after approval by the Council of the Doctoral School of History and Ethnology.
How is the defence committee formed?
The same statement applies to the defence committee, meaning that its composition shall be voted upon by the doctoral council of the disciplinary area, in this case the Arts and Humanities Doctoral Council. The defencecommittee shall consist of the chairperson, the official opponents and two to four additionalmembers.The chairperson of the committee may be a full professor or professor emeritus ofthe university having the necessary professional competence, and each member of thecommittee shall have an academic degree. At least one-third of the members of thecommittee, and within that at least one of the opponents shall be an external member not inthe employment of the university (a professor emeritus or retired faculty member of theuniversity shall not qualify as external members). It also holds true in case of the defence committee that the supervisor of thecandidate, as well as any person who is a co-author of the publication(s) serving as the basisof the dissertation may not be a member of the committee. (BDTSz, 18.1.§ (29.))
What should be done when submitting a dissertation? What documents shall be attached?
Following thesuccessful preliminary defence, the candidate shall finalize his/her dissertation and submit it officially. However, it should be borne in mind that many other documents need to be enclosed when submitting a dissertation (thesis booklet, IDEA certification, documents of language examination, andother documents).Therefore, we would like to draw special attention to the following publications, which contain not only the list of documents required for the submission of the dissertation but also the conditions of the doctoral dissertation and the formal requirements of the dissertation, the use and knowledge of which is essential for the candidates.
- In case of 2+2 year-long training and individual preparation that started after 1 September 2016: http://btkphd.unideb.hu/letoltesek/fokozattajek2017utan.pdf
What is the IDEA certification and how can it be requested?
In order to submit a dissertation, the candidate needs a certified publication list, which is issued by the University and National Library of the University of Debrecen (hereinafter UNLUD). To request the certification, the student must upload his/her publications to the iDEaScholarspace, which is also maintained by the UNLUD, and accessible through the following link: https://tudoster.idea.unideb.hu Logon is done by using the network ID and password used for the Neptun system. Afterwards, the data of the publications can be uploaded individually. Indicating which publication(s) form and which do not form the basis of the dissertation is crucial. This is essential because,on the bases of the uploaded data, the certified publication listissued by the UNLUD contains works on the subject of the dissertation and works on other topics separately. In order to submit the dissertation, the candidate must have at least four publications in the subject of the dissertation. Students are asked to pay special attention to this! Information on the IDEA certification can be found at the link below:http://btkphd.unideb.hu/letoltesek/iDEa.pdf
How long does it take to evaluate the dissertation?
The opponents have two months to evaluate the officially sent dissertation.
How to proceed after the opponents’ reports have been received?
After the official evaluations have been received by the Secretary of the Arts and Humanities Doctoral Council, he/she will forward them to the head of the doctoral school, the director of the doctoral program, the supervisor, and the candidate. Subsequently, the candidate must prepare a response to the referees’ reportsand return eight copies to the Secretary of the Doctoral Council of the disciplinary area within a maximum of one month.
When can the defence be announced?
The defence shall be announced after sending out the official responses to the referees’ reports. A one-month period shall elapse between the receipt of the official response and the date of the defence. For example, if the candidate submits the official response and the invitation on 5 March, the defence may be held on 5 April at the earliest.
How to prepare the invitation?
There is a separate template for the invitation to the public defence, which can be found at the following below: http://btkphd.unideb.hu/letoltesek/fokozatdok.html
How does the degree conferment procedure conclude after a successful defence? How do I proceed?
Following the public defence, the candidate has no further tasks. The result of the defence, as well as the documentation of the candidate, shall be brought before the University Doctoral and Habilitation Council, which shall make a decision on the conferment of the doctoral (PhD) degree and its qualification. The doctoral degree conferment procedure shall conclude with this phase. There is only one task at hand after the successful degree-conferment: the ceremonial reception of the PhD degree.
If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at: toth.orsolya@arts.unideb.hu