State Doctoral Examination

The State Doctoral Exam (SDE) takes place after fulfilling the study part of the Individual Study Plan, i.e. after completing all required subject examinations and submitting the specialised (see Study for the Dissertation Thesis), which should typically be completed within two years of commencing the studies. The proceedings of the SDE may be combined with the expert discussion; if the discussion of the dissertation thesis has not taken place on the day before the SDE, the SDE may follow immediately after the discussion. During the State Doctoral Exam, the doctoral student must demonstrate an overview of theoretical expertise, scientific work methods, the ability to acquire new scientific knowledge, and to apply it creatively.

The Application for the State Doctoral Examination form is submitted to the Science and Research Department together with the doctoral student’s list of publications (projects), including any citations or responses. The rules for selecting the subjects are governed by the relevant department board.

If the State Doctoral Exam is not passed, it may be repeated once.

State Doctoral Examination (Article 29 of the full text of the Study and examination regulations for ctu students)

  1. The aim of the State Doctoral Examination (hereinafter “SDE”) is to verify the breadth and quality of the doctoral student’s knowledge, their ability to acquire new knowledge, evaluate it, and use it creatively in relation to the chosen field of the doctoral study programme and the topic of the dissertation thesis. The SDE also includes a discussion of the dissertation topic. A precondition for taking the SDE is the successful completion of the study block. The SDE may immediately follow the discussion of the dissertation thesis.
  2. The SDE is taken before an SDE examination committee, which is appointed by the Dean on the basis of a proposal from the head of the doctoral training unit or a member of the programme board, after approval by the programme board, including appointment of the chair. If multiple proposals for the committee composition exist, the programme board reviews all proposals. The examination committee must have at least five members. The supervisor and specialist supervisor are not members of the committee. At least two members of the committee must not be CTU employees. The examination committee for a given field may be permanent or may be proposed individually for each SDE.
  3. Members of the SDE examination committee are professors, associate professors, and distinguished experts from practice. Experts who are not professors or associate professors must be approved as possible members of the committee by the relevant Scientific Board. Only a professor or associate professor may serve as chair of the committee.
  4. The date of the SDE must be published at least two weeks in advance on the public section of the faculty website.
  5. The doctoral student submits a written request to take the SDE on the prescribed form to the Science and Research Department. The request must include the student’s list of publications (projects), including any citations or responses. The supervisor and the head of the doctoral training unit provide a statement on the request, and the holding of the SDE is approved by the chair of the programme board. The date of the SDE is set by the Dean in agreement with the chair of the examination committee.
  6. The proceedings of the SDE and the announcement of the results are public. The evaluation of the SDE proceedings is not public. The overall result of the SDE is graded as: “passed with honours”, “passed”, or “failed”.
  7. In the non-public part of the assessment, the examination committee decides by vote with at least two-thirds of its members present. First, the committee votes between “passed” and “failed”. To achieve the result “passed”, more than half of the members present must vote for this outcome; otherwise, the result is “failed”. If the result is “failed”, the committee adopts a statement giving the reasons for its decision. If the result is “passed”, the committee then votes between “passed with honours” and “passed”. To achieve “passed with honours”, more than half of the members present must vote for this outcome; otherwise, the result is “passed”.
  8. If the examination committee awards the result “failed”, the doctoral student may repeat the SDE at most once, and no earlier than three months after the unsuccessful examination. In the case of a repeated result of “failed”, the study is terminated under Section 56 Paragraph 1 Letter b) of the Act and Article 34 Paragraph 7 Letter b). The decision-making process in this matter is governed by Section 68 of the Act. In the case of a repeated attempt, the result “passed with honours” cannot be awarded.
  9. A record of the SDE proceedings and its outcome is made, signed by the chair of the SDE examination committee. A protocol of the vote, signed by the chair of the committee and all members present, is also prepared. The record is archived at the relevant department of the Science and Research Department.