University of Silesia in Katowice

The Doctoral School admissions PhD students of all disciplines in which the University of Silesia is entitled to confer doctoral degrees. Admission takes place in the following areas:

1. the field of humanities, theology and the arts, comprising the following disciplines:
   • philosophy,
   • history,
   • linguistics,
   • literary studies,
   • culture and religion studies,
   • theology,
   • film and theatre,
   • fine arts and art conservation;
2. the field of science and natural sciences, and engineering and technology, comprising the following disciplines:
   • information and communication
     technology
   • materials engineering,
   • mathematics,
   • biological sciences,
   • chemical sciences,
   • physical sciences,
   • Earth and related environmental sciences;
3. the field of social sciences, comprising the following disciplines:
   • social and economic geography and spatial management
   • communication and media studies,
   • political science and public administration,
   • law,
   • sociology,
   • education,
   • psychology

In the admission procedure, a candidate indicates the discipline in which he or she wants to conduct scientific work. It is not possible to choose more than one discipline at the admission stage. In the case of projects that are interdisciplinary in nature, this aspect should be emphasized in the project description.

Humanities, theology and art – 25 vacancies.

Exact and natural sciences, as well as engineering and technical sciences – 25 vacancies.

Social sciences – 25 vacancies.

The specified limits are not internally divided into disciplines.

At the request of the admission committee, the rector may agree to admit more candidates than the limit.

1. June 13th 2022 — opening of the registration in the IT system
2. June 13th 2022 — the latest date on which examiners’ names are to be published on the Doctoral School website
3. July 24th 2022 — closing of the registration in the IT system and last term for uploading all documents except diploma
4. June 29th-July 5th 2022 — expert evaluation of draft research plans
5. July 8th 2022 — the announcement of the results of the first stage of the admission and timetable for qualification interview
6. July 12th-15th 2022 — qualification interviews (number of days depends on number of candidates)
7. July 26th 2022 until 12 p.m. — the deadline for delivering the diploma that confirms completion of studies or applying for an extension of the deadline for delivering a graduation diploma (must consist date, not later than September 13th)
8. July 19th 2022 — the announcement of the lists of candidates qualified for admission
9. July 20th-22nd 2022 — registering of candidates qualified for admission (22 July until 12:00); information about qualification for candidates from reserve list
10. July 26th 2022 until 2:30 p.m. – registering of candidates qualified for admission from reserve list
11. September 13th 2022 until 2.30 p.m.— the deadline for submitting the diploma of graduation in the IT system, for candidates who applied for an extension of the deadline for delivering a graduation diploma
12. September 13-14th 2022 until 12:30 p.m. — entries of the candidates referred to in point 11
13. September 15th 2022 — deadline for announcing the list of candidates admitted to the Doctoral School

Criterion 1

Research plan draft (up to 12,000 characters with spaces), not including bibliography (literature).

Three experts assess each project – researchers representing the scientific discipline in which the candidate wants to study

Number of points 0-20 (average of experts’ ratings)

Note – The research plan draft is assessed in the first stage of admission. If a candidate obtains 10 points or less from at least 2 of the 3 evaluators is not qualified for any further procedure.

 Assessment criteria

The project should include:

• scientific purpose of the project (scientific problem that the candidate undertakes, research questions and hypotheses) (up to 5 points)
• importance of the project for the discipline (justification for researching this area, novelty of the project) (up to 4 points)
• general research plan (initially indicated stages of the research procedure) (up to 5 points)
• research methodology (methods, techniques, research tools) (up to 5 points)
• literature (up to 30 most important bibliographic items that the candidate intends to use) (up to 1 point)
• if the candidate will be part of the research team, describe their contribution to the research project

Criterion 2

Admission talk

The candidate who qualifies for the second stage of the assessment participates in an interview with the area admission committee. The committee comprises two representatives of each scientific discipline belonging to the area (see – Scientific disciplines), one representative of doctoral students, a secretary, and a chairman. All committee members can participate in the interview and ask questions. During the interview, the candidate presents the planned project – the concept of the doctorate. The interview admission may concern the project itself and related issues and issues related to the candidate’s education and experience.

Number of points 0-50 (average of all members of the commission, excluding the secretary)

Note – a candidate who receives less than 30 points in this criterion will not be eligible for the Doctoral School, even if he has a sufficient number of points on the ranking list.

 Assessment elements:

• “defense” of a research project – answers to questions concerning the project presented by the candidate
• knowledge of the research area
• knowledge of the English language
• predisposition to conduct research and present its results.

 Criterion 3

Science achievements

The points obtained in this criterion are counted for the candidate’s final evaluation and announced to the candidates only after the end of the procedure.

Number of points 0-22

Items assessed:

• conference presentations (domestic conference – 1 point, foreign conference, i.e. held abroad – 3 points; max. 3 points) [1]
• authorship or co-authorship of publications in publishing houses and magazines from ministerial lists (monograph – 10 pts, chapter in a monograph – 2 pts, article in a journal – 5 pts; max. 12 pts)[2]
• implementation of a research project financed from external funds (manager – 4 points, contractor – 2 points; max. 4 points)[3]
• inne osiągnięcia naukowe lub artystyczne (maks. 3 pkt)

Criterion 4

International experience

Points received in this criteria are counted for the candidate’s final evaluation and announced to the candidates only after passing the procedure.

Number of points 0-8

Assessed elements

• participant in the Erasmus program or other international exchange (max. 3 points),
• projects with foreign research scientists, including internships and foreign scholarships (max. 5 points)

Obligatory method of confirming achievements

[1] Confirmation of active participation by the conference organizer.

[2] In the case of the text accepted for publication – confirmation of acceptance for printing (an e-mail from the publishing house or DOI number is sufficient), in the case of a published text – the first page of the article and the table contents with the author’s name.

[3] Project number and financing institution.

The Rector of the University of Silesia in Katowice appointed admission committees whose task is to conduct the admission procedure to the Doctoral School for the academic year 2022/2023.

Information about the committees is available here: https://us.edu.pl/szkola-doktorska/en/rekrutacja-na-rok-akademicki-2022-2023/komisje-rekrutacyjne-szkola-doktorska-2022-2023/

The admission procedure is carried out electronically. All documents and information are accepted only this way, through the university’s ICT system. The system is open from June 13, 2022, 12:00 to June 24, 2022, 23:59.

Link to the system: https://irk2.us.edu.pl/en-gb/

Download applicable document forms (project of the research plan, scientific achievements)

List of necessary documents to be prepared and placed in the IRK system:

1. a copy of the diploma confirming the qualifications referred to in § 1 (note: document may be delivered up to July 18, and in case of later finishing of studies – even up to September 13; more: Participation in admission before finishing master’s studies),

•  in the absence of a diploma – a certificate of awarding the professional title issued by the institution which awarded the title; in the case of admission of a candidate to the Doctoral School, a copy of the diploma should be provided immediately after its receipt,
•  in the case of graduating from a university abroad, it is required to certify a diploma or other document in the form of legalization or apostille and a sworn translation of the document into Polish or English (if the document was issued in a language other than the languages mentioned above);

2. draft research plan (max. 12 thousand characters with spaces, not including bibliography) – valid form – link above;
3. written opinion of the scientific employee of the University of Silesia in Katowice who performs the role of a scientific supervisor of the candidate with the consent for being the doctoral student’s supervisor or auxiliary supervisor; the opinion should refer to the candidate’s former performance and their suitability for academic work;
4. written opinion of an additional academic or researcher with at least a doctoral degree;
5. list of the candidate’s scientific achievements – valid form – link above;
6. documents confirming scientific achievements (information in the form).
   • scientific conferences – confirmation of active participation by the conference organizer
   • published texts – the first page of an article and the table of content with author’s name
   • texts accepted for print – confirmation of acceptance for print (an e-mail from the publishing house or DOI no. will suffice)

Also, during the procedure, the candidate is required to set up an account in the university’s IT system and then:

1. to consent to the processing of personal data to the extent necessary to conduct recruitment;
2. submit a declaration of not completing education at another doctoral school and of unemployment as an academic teacher from October 1, 2022;
3. post an electronic photo following the requirements for issuing ID cards;
4. Fill out the registration form with all required details and information, including:
   • personal and correspondence data of the candidate,
   • correspondence data of the candidate’s, including the e-mail address through which communication with the candidate will take place,
   • information about the scientific discipline in which the candidate intends to prepare a doctoral dissertation,
   • the title of the project that the candidate wants to implement as part of work on the doctoral dissertation,
   • information about the candidate’s research supervisor (name and surname, academic degree or title, affiliation, business e-mail address),
   • the candidate’s ORCID number
5. pay the application fee in the amount of PLN 240;