General principles
The Doctoral School of Education is subject to the general regulations of the University of Szeged. The key principles are as follows:
- “The PhD/DLA student shall prove his/her independent scientific work through published articles in journals and books approved by the particular academic field and/or through patents that have been submitted and approved. Academic standards regarding the journals, the length and number of the articles shall be determined by the Doctoral School Council […].”
- “If the publications mentioned in the previous Section have co-authors, […] the thesis shall have a section where, as regards the specific research topic and the publications, the co-authors (or the lead author, if that is not the PhD/DLA student) shall declare in writing which specific scientific conclusions are the ones – from the co-authored scientific achievements – that were reached through the candidate’s absolutely vital work[…]. Co-authors shall also declare that the abovementioned conclusions have not been used by them for the awarding of an academic degree and that they shall not make any attempt to obtain a degree relying on these conclusions in the future. The declaration shall be signed by the co-authors (or the lead author). The procedure to be followed in the case of foreign or deceased co-authors shall be stipulated in the regulations of the Doctoral School Councils.”
- “The thesis is a comprehensive piece of work that demonstrates the candidate’s goals, his/her new academic achievements, his/her insights into the scientific literature and his/her research methodology.”
- “Generally, the thesis shall be written in Hungarian or in English, but following the decision of the relevant Doctoral School Council and being granted their exclusive permission, the thesis may be written in a language other than Hungarian should this be scientifically reasonable. Foreign national candidates whose native language is not Hungarian may write their thesis in a language that is predetermined by the Doctoral School Council.”
- “A detailed summary shall be appended to the thesis in the language of the thesis in printed and electronic format. In the case of a summary not written in Hungarian, the thesis and the summary booklet shall contain a Hungarian-language abstract of no more than 2000 characters; in the case of a summary written in Hungarian, the thesis and the summary booklet shall contain an abstract of the same length in English.”
Requirements regarding publications the Doctoral School of Education (cf. Clause1 above)
The publication requirements can be fulfilled in seven different ways, as detailed below. (In this context, 'publication' refers to works classified as scientific publications in the MTMT database and categorized as I-IV.) For a study-based dissertation, the candidate must have at least three publications before the defence (as per option ‘a’ below: three Q1/Q2 publications). For a monograph-based dissertation, the candidate must have at least: either 3 publications (according to points ‘a–c’), or 4 publications (according to point ‘d’), or 5 publications (according to points ‘e–g’) classified in the MTMT database in categories I-IV, each containing original scientific findings. International recognition is becoming an increasingly important factor in defining quality expectations.
a) 3 Q1/Q2 publications.
b) 1 D1 publication (with the candidate as first author) and 2 additional publications.
c) 1 Q1 publication (with the candidate as first author), plus 1 English-language publication and 1 additional publication.
d) 2 Q2 publications (with the candidate as first author) and 2 additional publications.
e) 1 Q2 publication, plus 2 English-language publications and 2 additional publications.
f) 1 Q3 publication, plus 3 English-language publications and 1 additional publication.
g) 5 publications, at least one of which must be published in English in a peer-reviewed journal or by an international/national publisher.
The candidate may choose which doctoral pathway (study-based or monograph-based) to follow. A publication may only be used in a single defence process. At least half of the considered publications must list the candidate as the first author. The eligible publications must be relevant to the topic of the dissertation. In addition to the above, publications must also meet the prevailing university and disciplinary requirements.
Language Requirements of the Doctoral School of Education
In accordance with the University Regulations Governing the Doctoral Training Programmes and the Awarding of the Doctoral Degree, in order to be admitted to the programme, the candidate must have at least one intermediate level (B2 in CEFR, oral and written) proof of proficiency issued by an exam board recognized by the Hungarian state. A further requirement of the Doctoral School of Education that
The candidates must have a command of English appropriate for reading the literature and understanding conference presentations when they begin their studies. The PhD student can only begin their second year of studies if they have passed the intermediate level oral and written exam in English. In the case of applicants for Hungarian state scholarship, only ones with the English proficiency exam can be admitted.
As regards the requirement of the second foreign language, any proficiency exam of a second foreign language is acceptable, or the knowledge of any foreign language is acceptable if the PhD student has studied it for at least one year (two semesters) in formal schooling and provides official proof of this.
The credit system of the Doctoral School
University regulations
The Doctoral School is subject to the general rules of the University (Regulations Governing the Doctoral Training Programmes and the Awarding of the Doctoral Degree, Appendix 4.)
“MANAGING CREDIT POINTS IN THE DOCTORAL TRAINING PROGRAMME
- During the doctoral training all learning outcomes shall be measured in credits (study credit points). Credits shall be granted for only those study activities that are graded on a 3-level or 5- level grading scale system. During the 48-month-long training period – divided into 8 examination periods – a total of 240 credit points shall be earned to be eligible for a completion of studies certificate.
- At least 20 and at most 45 credit points shall be collected during each examination period.
- If a PhD student participates in a partial study at a foreign or other Hungarian university, the relevant Doctoral School Council may grant exemption from the above- mentioned requirements. The credit point value of the courses that had been completed at a foreign or other Hungarian university shall be judged by the relevant Doctoral School Council.
- With research work such as bibliography, library and archives research, follow- up on journal articles, conference participation – where the PhD student presents a poster or holds a lecture – and publishing articles in journals a total of at least 130 credit points shall be achieved.
- The credit point value of the theoretical course with two lessons per week (14 weeks/semester) shall be 3-6 points. The credit point value shall change in proportion with the change in the total number of lessons i.e. taking an intensive course with an external lecturer.
- For the pre-degree certificate that states that all courses have been covered at least 15 credits points shall be achieved from the theoretical courses.
- The credit point value of the weekly one lesson per week (for 14 weeks) practical session (seminar) shall be 1-2 credit points. With teaching activities 48 credit points shall be achieved at the most; 8 credit points per semester at the most. No credit points shall be granted for lessons that the PhD/DLA student is paid for.
- Should the school set it as a requirement that, at certain intervals, during departmental or research group seminars, the PhD/DLA student shall give an account of his research activities then one such report may worth 3-5 credit points. It is recommended to require at least one such report (in the sixth examination period, for example). The Doctoral School Council shall determine the number of reports to be recognised with credit points.
- PhD/DLA students may be granted credit points for journal articles and active conference participation with lectures and posters if they are published in the conference publications. The credit point value of the above-mentioned activities shall depend on the students’ level of contribution to the achieved outcomes. With the consent of the relevant Disciplinary Doctoral Council and Doctoral Council of the relevant Branch of Science, such credits shall be determined by the relevant Doctoral School Council.
- With the consent of the relevant DDC, recognition of credit points – in pursuant of the Government Decree – shall be decided by the Doctoral School Council. Such recognition shall only be possible with PhD/DLA students in the organised training programme.
- The credit points recognised on the basis of the previous section shall be confirmed by the head of the Doctoral School, and the acquisition of the training credit points shall be confirmed by the lecturer of the theoretical course. The Doctoral School Council shall determine the credit points to be confirmed by the head of the training/research programme. The supervisor shall be responsible for the confirmation of the remainder of the credit points.
- The completion of each study period shall be certified by the Dean of the Faculty within which the Doctoral School is operating.”
Credits in the Doctoral School of Education
The different training and research activities enable PhD students to earn the following credits (min.-max.).
- By completing courses, 50–90 credits can be earned (10–18 courses). Each course is uniformly worth five credits.
- By teaching, altogether 0–40 credits can be earned, and at most eight credits per semester.
- By publications, 60–100 credits can be earned.
Publications in the mother tongue are worth 5-10 credits.
International publications are worth 10-20 credits.
A publication referred in Web of Science is worth 25 credits.
When publishing with co-authors, the share of the authors is presumed equal. The credit value for the PhD student author is established by dividing the credit value of the publication by the number of authors. Decimals are rounded up. Exceptions are papers published in SCI/SSCI referred journals and papers published with one’s supervisor. If a multiauthor paper is published in a journal with an impact factor, the credits due to the PhD student author are calculated according to this author’s place in the order of the authors. The share of the credits given for the publication equals the total number of credits divided by the number of the place the PhD student occupies in the order of authors. The supervisor does not count as a co-author when calculating the credit value for the publication.
Participation at a peer-reviewed conference can be converted to publication credits if at least the abstract of the paper has been published in the conference book or on the homepage of the conference. The credit value depends on the contribution of the doctoral student to the result achieved. If the doctoral student is a first or second author, the maximum number of credits is listed below:
- poster in Hungarian 1
- Foreign language poster 2
- Hungarian-language presentation 3
- foreign language presentation 5
Publication credits can be given only for material already published, or officially documented to have been accepted for publication. The credit value of individual publications is defined by the Doctoral School Council, based on the status of the journal or publisher. - Altogether 30 to 40 credits can be earned by presenting reports on current research outcomes in the Research Seminar. One report is worth 5 credits, and one report can be given by semester. The topics of the reports in the first two semesters are defined by the Doctoral School. In the first semester, a detailed research plan must be written, and in the second semester a literature review. These reports can become parts of the dissertation after the necessary revisions and additions. These reports are evaluated and accepted by the supervisor in collaboration with the research seminar leader(s). The reports must be presented at the seminar of the Doctoral School, where the reports are discussed.
- Altogether 60-80 credits can be accumulated in Research Work. Activities counted towards these credits include those listed in Appendix 4, section 5 of the USZ regulation of PhD studies, with the exception of publications. Furthermore, eligible activities include the development of instruments, field work for research (data collection, etc.), and similar activities. In one semester, 10 research credits can be earned.
The transfer of work completed in a different Doctoral School, as well as the credit value of such work, is decided on by the Doctoral School Council.