Doctoral procedure

To request a DOI ID number, please send the below data and 5 relevant keywords to drhabilcsop[at]ttk.elte.hu.

The required data:

• Name of the author:
• Title and subtitle of the doctoral thesis:
• Name of the doctoral school:
• Name of the doctoral programme within the doctoral school:
• Name and academic degree of the supervisor:
• MTMT ID:
• Year of submission:

- Checking and updating the NEPTUN data, checking the database at doktori.hu, and checking and defining the specialisation: based on Annex 1 of the ELTE Doctoral Rules&Regulations.

List of the specialisations available here.

• The Supervisor must fill in all relevant data in the doktori.hu (ODT) database. (TTKDSZ 5. §)

- Home defense (also known as: pre-defense, trial defense, research center or intitution disputation or defense)

• Prior to the submission of the doctoral dissertation, the department (institute) in charge of the relevant academic field shall organise an academic meeting (hereinafter: research centre disputation) to evaluate the dissertation. The department shall invite to the disputation the lecturers contributing to the doctoral programme, core members and topic supervisors researching the given topic at other universities and notable academic experts in the given field. A minutes shall be prepared of the research centre disputation. The detailed regulations of the research centre disputation shall be laid out in the faculty doctoral regulations specifying that the faculty doctoral regulations may prescribe other forms of evaluation pertaining to the doctoral dissertation prior to its submission, in place of the research centre disputation.  (EDSZ 61. §)
• For questions about the organisation and holding of the home defense, please contact the Doctoral School's Program Committee.
   

I. APPLICATION TO DOCTORAL PROCESS

IMPORTANT: The application should be submitted to the Office of Doctoral, Habilitational and International Affairs of the ELTE Dean's Office, Faculty of Science, via e-mail, sent to drhabilcsop[at]ttk.elte.hu as attachment, in .pdf format. The Faculty Doctoral Commitee shall only handle applications that meet the formal requirements.

Checklist on the documents to be submitted available.

Indication of the specialisation for each discipline (based on Annex 1 of the EDSZ). The request for the initiation of the doctoral procedure shall be submitted by filling out the relevant application form found on the link below.

• Attachments to the request shall include:
  • the pre-degree certificate verifying the completion of the doctoral programme (’absolutorium certificate’)
  • the doctoral dissertation and doctoral abstracts,
  • the minutes of the research centre disputation, in addition to a joint recommendation by the head of the research centre/doctoral programme and the topic supervisor for the initiation of the critique procedure.
  • proof of language proficiency,
  • a copy of the applicant’s curriculum vitae and bibliography of his/her academic publications. In the case of the latter, only publications that can be found in the HAS bibliographic database pursuant to the Rector’s Order on the register of the publications of the University can be taken into account,
  • declaration from the applicant that he/she has no pending doctoral procedure in the same academic discipline.
  • the “Declaration Form” specified in Section 62 (2)-(3).

Should the application be incomplete, the faculty office shall ask the applicant to submit the missing documents within 30 days. In the event that the applicant fails to submit the missing documents, the Chair of the Faculty Doctoral Commitee is to terminate the doctoral procedure. (EDSZ 65. §)

• The doctoral dissertation cannot be written in co-authorship.
• The content and formal requirements of the doctoral dissertation are determined by the faculty doctoral regulations. A dissertation that has already been submitted may not be supplemented or modified during the doctoral procedure. (EDSZ 60. §)
• The rules of the submission of the doctoral dissertation and its abstracts (number of copies to be submitted, the submission of a printed or electronic version) shall be determined by the faculty doctoral regulations, however, the submission of a printed version and an electronic version is compulsory. The electronic version shall be submitted in PDF/A format. The printed and electronic versions of the dissertation must be identical. Whenever possible, the Digital Object Identifier (hereinafter referred to as: DOI ID) of the referenced document should be included in the bibliography of the doctoral dissertation (and in the abstracts if there are any). When submitting the doctoral dissertation, the student shall declare the completeness of the indication of the DOI IDs on the “Declaration Form” specified in paragraph (2). (EDSZ 62. §)
• The doctoral dissertation is a comprehensive work summarising the goals, new scientific accomplishments, lexical knowledge and research methods of the Doctoral Student. The doctoral dissertation shall be written in English. The dissertation may only be submitted with the approval of the topic supervisor and the head of the doctoral educational programme. In accordance with Section 61 of the EDSZ, a written opinion, recommendation of the dissertation by the topic supervisor may serve as the preliminary scientific assessment of the dissertation instead of a research centre disputation. At the time of the submission of the dissertation, the topic supervisor must submit a written statement on the publication history of the Doctoral Student. The detailed conditions of the acceptance of co-authored publications are regulated by the doctoral school. (4) The abstracts submitted simultaneously with the dissertation shall contain the main goals, scientific results and research methods of the dissertation along with the Doctoral Student’s publications in the given topic. (5) The publicity of the material of the dissertation submitted electronically as prescribed by the University Doctoral Regulations shall be handled by our Office. (TTKDSZ 13.§)
• The formal requirements of the dissertation are available in the document: available here.
• Doctoral procedures can be held between 1 September and 30 June at the University. Based on a special justification as laid out in the faculty doctoral regulations, public disputations may be held in July or between 21 and 31 August if the Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT) initiated the doctoral procedure prior to 30 June.

II. DOCTORAL SCHOOL CHECKS THE DOCUMENTS AND PROPOSES A REVIEW COMMITTEE

• The Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT) shall decide on the members of the Review  Committee and the official opponents based on the recommendation of the head of the doctoral school, simultaneously to the approval of the request.
• In the case of a form of international cooperation as specified, decisions on the appointments of bodies contributing to the doctoral procedure shall be applied in harmony with the provisions of the international agreements.
• The Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT) shall reject the initiation of the doctoral procedure if any of the conditions necessary for the initiation of the procedure are not met. The Committee shall include a justification of its decision in its resolution on the rejection of the initiation of the procedure. (EDSZ 66. § (3))

III. THE FACULTY'S DOCTORAL COMMITTEE (’TDT’) DECIDES ON THE INITIATION OF THE DOCTORAL PROCEDURE

• The decision on request for the initiation of the doctoral procedure shall be taken by the The Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT). This authority may not be transferred to the Chair of the The Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT) or the head of the doctoral school. The The Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT)  shall only handle applications that meet the formal requirements. (EDSZ 66. § (1)

Recommendation by the head of the doctoral programme and the topic supervisor for the initiation of the critique procedure may also cover nominations for members of the Review Committee and the official opponents,

IV. REVIEW

Requesting the official Reviewers to prepare the review on the doctoral student’s dissertation.

The official Reviewers are appointed by the Chair of the Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT), based on the decision of the Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT).

• At the request of the Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT), the two official Reviewers shall, within 60 calendar days, prepare a written evaluation of the dissertation, stating whether the conditions to aquire a PhD degree have been met and whether they recommend that the dissertation to be submitted for public debate.
• The two-month period shall not include the months of July and August. After the two-month period for the review, if the review has not been sent, our Office will ask the Reviewer to make a statement in order to decide whether the review is expected to be completed within a further month.
• If, after two months, the invited official Reviewer does not submit the evaluation and states that it is not expected to be ready within a further month, the Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT), shall withdraw the mandate and assign the doctoral thesis to a new Reviewer.
• If a new Reviewer is requested, the Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT), may set a shorter deadline for the preparation of the thesis. If the proposal of one of the Reviewer is negative, the Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT), shall invite a third examiner. If the thesis has received two negative proposals from the Reviewer, the doctoral procedure shall be terminated by the Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT). (EDSZ 68. §)

V. PUBLIC DEBATE OF THE DOCTORAL PROCEDURE (’DEFENSE’)

All doctoral events must be organised by the Office of Doctoral, Habilitational and International Affairs, yet Supervisors could also help but the Students are forbidden to get in touch with the Review Committee.

• The Doctoral Candidate shall defend the doctoral dissertation in a public disputation in front of a Review Committee. (EDSZ 67. §)

• The Chair of the Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT)shall refer the doctoral dissertation to a public debate within no less than 15 but no more than 60 days of its receipt of two supporting reviews. The period specified in this paragraph shall exclude the months of July and August.

• After setting the date of the public disputation, the faculty office shall ensure that the dissertation is accessible to the public – in line with the methods prescribed by the faculty doctoral regulations – except in the case of closed disputations.

• The Doctoral Candidate, the Chair and members of the Review Committee and the official opponents must be present at the debate in person. In the event that no substitute members are named or if they are named but unavailable, the Chair of the Review Committee can make a decision to hold the disputation in exceptionally justified cases if one of the opponents or one of the members of the Review Committee are not present. If the public debate cannot be held due to an absence, the Chair of the Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT) shall schedule the next public debate for no less than 15 days later.

• If, at the appointed time and place, the Doctoral Candidate or one or more members of the Review Committee are unable to appear in person, in professionally justified cases, with the permission of the Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT) or the Chair of the Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT), the public debate can also be held in hybrid or in exceptional cases fully online form. In doing so, the Doctoral Candidate may be required to present their ID, which must be recorded in the minutes.

• The Doctoral Candidate shall receive the critiques at least 15 days prior to the public disputation. The Doctoral Candidate shall prepare a written response to the critiques before the public debate and shall also provide a verbal response in the public disputation during the defence of the dissertation.

• The Doctoral Candidate may present his/her work on the public debate, proceed to respond to the questions and comments of the Reviewers, members of the Review Committee Committee and others participating at the pubic debate. The debate must also verify that the results of the dissertation are credible and the Student’s own.

• After closing the debate, the Review Committee shall decide on the evaluation of the dissertation by secret ballot in a closed session. Following the vote the Chair of the Review Committee shall announce the result of the defence and alo give the final resut of the entire doctoral process publicly. The review Committee may opt to hear the Supervisor prior to its closed session. A secret ballot must also be made possible in the case of a hybrid or online disputation.

• The performance of the Doctoral Candidate shall be evaluated by each member of the Review Committee on a five-grade scale. The defense is deemed successful if the candidate acquires 60% of the total number of points. The qualification (“summa cum laude”, “cum laude”, “rite”) of the successful defence is defined by the Faculty’s doctoral regulations. A minutes shall be prepared of the defense. At the request of the Doctoral Candidate, the Chair of the Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT)shall issue a verification of the qualification of the defense.

• The doctoral procedure shall be concluded within one year of the submission of the doctoral dissertation. (EDSZ 69.§)

• The dissertation must be discussed and defended on a public debate within two months of the date of receipt of the two supporting reviews.

• The author of the doctoral dissertation shall receive the reviews in advance and shall reply to them in writing before the defense and also orally during the public debate. In the public debate, the dissertation author shall present the theses of his/her work and reply to the comments and questions of those present.

• At the request of the author of the doctoral thesis, and on the basis of a favourable opinion of the Review Committee and with the approval of the Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT), a closed debate may be held if the doctoral thesis contains data which are patentable or classified for reasons of national security.

• After the debate, the Review Committee shall decide on the aevauation of the thesis by secret ballot in a closed session. The Chair shall then announce the results publicly. Minutes shall be taken of the debate and of the Review Committee's decision. The Chair of the Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT) shall, on request, issue a certificate of the result of the examination, stating that the certificate does not constitute the award of a doctorate.

• In the case of two negative reviews or unsuccessful theses, a new doctoral thesis on the same doctoral topic may be submitted at the earliest after two years, but not more than once.

• ThePhD degree may be withdrawn by decision of the Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT) if it is established that the conditions for the award of the PhD have not been fulfilled. (R. 16. §)

VI. THE FACULTY'S DOCTORAL COMMITTEE DECIDES ON THE PHD DEGREE AND ITS EVALUATION

• Following the public defence, the Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT) shall examine the doctoral procedure of the Doctoral Candidate.
• In the event that the council uncovers irregularities in the procedure, it shall act on the remedial of said irregularities.
• Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT), on the basis of the critique procedure conducted in accordance with the regulations, shall recommend the conferment and qualification of the doctoral degree, provided that the qualifications of the doctoral dissertation and the performance of the Doctoral Candidate in the public disputation are not “insufficienter”.
• Pursuant to the regulations on the evaluation and scoring of the degree, the qualification of the degree can be “summa cum laude”, “cum laude” or “rite”.
• The faculty doctoral regulations may prescribe that the result of the comprehensive examination be included in the qualification of the degree in case the doctoral training was startd after 1^st Spetember 2019. In this case, the weight of the result of the comprehensive examination may not exceed 30% of the maximum score that can be given as part of the evaluation.
• In the event that the qualification of the doctoral dissertation or the performance of the Doctoral Candidate in the public disputation is deemed “insufficienter”, the Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT) can opt to terminate the doctoral procedure.(EDSZ 71.§)

VII. THE FINAL DECISION ON THE PHD DEGREE IS MADE BY THE ELTE UNIVERSITY'S DOCTORAL COMMITTEE (’EDT’)

• The decision on the conferment of the doctoral degree shall be taken by the ELTE University’s Doctoral Committee (EDT) at the initiative of the Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT).
• Should the ELTE University’s Doctoral Committee (EDT) uncover any violation of the rules during the procedure which prevents a decision on the conferment of the doctoral degree, it shall return the recommendation of the conferment to the Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT) for action, obligating it to:
  • remedy the deficiency in the procedure,
  • adequately repeat the part of the procedure that was conducted improperly.
• The ELTE University’s Doctoral Committee (EDT) shall rule on the conferment of the doctoral degree in its first session following the submission of the Faculty’s Doctoral Committee’s (TDT) recommendation and the full documentation of the doctoral procedure, but no later than within four months of the submission of the recommendation for conferment.
• The ELTE University’s Doctoral Committee (EDT) must provide justification should it rule to reject the conferment of the doctoral degree. (EDSZ 72.§)
•  The decision of the ELTE University’s Doctoral Committee (EDT)  cannot be appealed unless it is found to be in violation of legislation or the university or faculty doctoral regulations. (EDSZ 72.§)

VIII. CEREMONY

 Doctoral degree award ceremony:

• Doctoral Candidates who have obtained the doctoral degree shall be awarded the title of doctor in by the Rector and the heads (and representatives) of the faculties in a graduation ceremony. The Candidates shall be present at the doctoral conferment ceremony in person where they shall take an oath defiened in Annex 3. Only persons who have taken the oath shall be allowed to use the title of doctor/PhD. The doctoral conferment ceremony shall be set by the Directory of Educational Affairs of the ELTE for a date falling no later than within six months of the issuance of the decision conferring the title of doctor. In special cases at individual request, the Rector may approve an individual conferment ceremony (EDSZ 84. §)
• The details of the applicants to the doctoral programme shall be handled by the doctoral school and the Faculty’s Doctoral Committee (TDT)
• The faculty register of Doctoral Students, which contains every event of the Doctoral Student’s training, shall be managed by the faculty offices through the Electronic Registration System. The university register of doctors (official register of doctors), which contains details of all events of the doctoral procedure, shall be managed by the Directorate of Educational Affairs (EDSZ 86.§)

• Whenever possible, the Digital Object Identifier (hereinafter referred to as: DOI ID) of the referenced document should be included in the bibliography of the doctoral dissertation (and in the abstracts if there are any). When submitting the doctoral dissertation, the student shall declare the completeness of the indication of the DOI IDs on the “Declaration Form”.

• The absence of this, or other formal errors in the thesis, can be corrected by submitting a list of errors no later than the date of acceptance of the thesis. (EDSZ 62/2§)

• The dissertation must not include a signed document or any declaration.  (GDPR)

• Documents and media submitted on paper/physically will be sent to the Faculty’s and Central Library for archiving and none of the above will be returned to the candidate. (EDSZ 76§)

• Pursuant to the amendment of the Doctoral Regulations by Sen. no. CCV/2021 (XII. 15.), the bibliography of doctoral dissertation to be submitted after 1^st September 2022 must also include the DOI ID No of the cited documents in all cases. This must be fulfilled in order to comply with the requirements of the CrossRef agency providing the DOI ID No of the dissertation from the above date. (EDSZ TTK 20, 21§)