Admission Procedure in PhD Programmes, 2018 – 2019

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Admission Procedure

Information on the Admission Procedure

The admission procedure commences with the submission of an application form. To apply for one of our doctoral study programmes you must hold or be working towards a master's diploma and have the necessary abilities for research. The latter consists mainly of the knowledge of the chosen field, English language, and the ability of independent creative work as well as teamwork. The assessment of these abilities is based on the documents submitted with your application and on the entrance examination, if the latter is not waived (see below). The entrance examination has two parts – examination in the expertise in the field and examination in the English language.

Deadlines

• English language proficiency must be demonstrated till April 30, 2018, in exceptional cases till September 30, 2018
• A document certifying completion of a university education at Master's level needs to be delivered as soon as possible after the application submission, and in any case no later than September 30, 2018; for students graduating between September 1, 2018 and September 30, 2018, the deadline is extended till October 22, 2018.

Waiver conditions of the subject entrance examination

The subject entrance examination may be waived for applicants for whom at least one of the following conditions applies:

1. Their work has been recognized in the SVOČ competition in computer science, mathematics, or teaching of mathematics (for study programmes Computer Science and Mathematics);
2. their work has been recognized at the Czech-Slovak Student Conference on Physics (for study programme Physics);
3. their original scientific work on a relevant topic has been published, or has been accepted for publication, in a reviewed medium indexed by MathSciNet, SCOPUS or ISI Web of Knowledge databases;
4. they have finished a master's study programme in Physics, Computer Science, or Mathematics in the academic year 2017/2018, and their grade in each part of the state final examination is „excellent“ or „very good“ (for study programmes Physics, Computer Science, and Mathematics);
5. they have gained at least 120 credits in the master's study programme Physics, Computer Science, or Mathematics in academic years 2016/17 and 2017/18, and their average study grade (according to the Code of Study and Examination, Art. 8, Par. 13) is at most 1.5, where 1=„excellent“, 2=„very good“, and 3=„satisfactory“ (for study programmes Physics, Computer Science, and Mathematics);
6. they have achieved other remarkable results testifying to your ability for doctoral studies.

It is necessary to apply for the waiver and prove that the applicant satisfies some of the above conditions, by no later than May 31, 2018 in case of points 1,2,3,5 and 6, and by June 20 in case of point 4.

Invitation to subject entrance examination

The invitation to the subject entrance examination will be sent to those applicants, who

• submitted a complete application together with its obligatory attachments 2,3 and 4 before the deadline,
• paid the application fee,
• did not obtain the confirmation of the waiver of the subject entrance examination before mid-May 2018.The invitation to an entrance examination is delivered through the University Electronic Information System. In mid-May all applicants without a waiver receive an invitation to take the entrance examination from the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics. If the Faculty approves the waiver, the invitation ceases to apply.

Subject entrance examination

The subject entrance examination takes the form of a discussion about the chosen study programme. The committee judges the applicant's interest in the field, motivation, expertise, and overall readiness for doctoral studies. The level of knowledge expected is that required for passing the state final examination of the corresponding master's study programme and branch at Charles University. The applicant must demonstrate his/her insight into the basic areas of science relevant to the chosen field of study. The committee also takes into account documents submitted with the application, namely the recommendation letters, CV, and the letter of motivation, and the committee shall establish an order of the applicants for each of the study branches.

Language entrance examination

The language entrance examination verifies that the applicant has an adequate command of the English language, i.e. at least at level B2 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

Conditions for a language examination waiver

The language examination will be waived if the applicant fulfills at least one of the following waiver conditions:

A. The applicant spent at least two years of his/her previous education at secondary or university level with English as the sole language of instruction in one of the following countries: Australia, Canada, Ireland, Malta, New Zealand, South Africa, UK or USA. B. The applicant does not need to take the language examination of English if (s)he has already passed one of the following exams (in some cases we recognize the exam only with a minimum score or level):

• General State Language Examination in English in the Czech Republic
• examination in English at Charles University, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics
• TOEFL (paper) – 550 points
• TOEFL (computer) – 213 points
• TOEFL (internet) – 80 points
• IELTS – 6.5 points
• Cambridge ESOL CPE
• Cambridge ESOL CAE
• Cambridge ESOL FCE – (Grade A, B, C)
• City & Guilds International ESOL IESOL and ISESOL, expert level
• TELC (The European Language Certificates) – TELC English level C1
• UNIcert – level C1
• Melab – 77 points
• Examination for the Certificate of Proficiency in English (ECPE)
• Test of English for International Communication (TOEIC) – 605 points
• International ESOL and Spoken ESOL – Expert LanguageCert and Mastery LanguageCert

The language examination waiver and the compliance with one of the conditions mentioned above must be requested before April 30, 2018 (or, in exceptional cases, before September 30, 2018).

Admission for studies

Admission for studies will be granted to the applicants, who

• Submitted a complete application form together with all obligatory attachments before the deadline,
• they were granted an entrance examination waiver or they successfully passed the entrance examination,
• they successfully passed the language examination or they got a waiver of it
• and if an advisor in the required study programme is available.

Application Form Requisites

APPLICATION SUBMISSION

Applications are to be submitted electronically via the Student Information System of Charles University at https://is.cuni.cz/studium/eng/prijimacky/. You need to fill in the application form, confirm it, and submit it in the system. Electronically submitted applications do not need to be sent in paper form. After the completion and submission of an electronic application, the information system generates a 6-digit ID number for each applicant; this ID should be given in any subsequent correspondence about the application with the Department of Student Affairs. In the application the applicant chooses a study programme and branch, and states an expected doctoral thesis topic (from those offered by the branch of study), and chooses an advisor. We recommend discussing these at the department concerned before submitting the application.

ATTACHMENTS TO THE APPLICATION

A. Obligatory

1. a document proving the completion of a master's study programme; A document certifying the completion of a university education at Master's level needs to be delivered as soon as possible after the application submission, and in any case no later than September 30, 2018.; for students graduating between September 1, 2018 and September 30, 2018, the deadline is extended till October 22, 2018. This is not required from students and graduates of the Charles University, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics. 2. two letters of recommendation 3. a brief CV 4. a letter of motivation B. Optional

• An application for a waiver of the subject or language entrance examination and its attachments

APPLICATION FEE

An application fee must be paid for each application. The amount of fee is set by Art. 1, Par. 2 of Appendix 2 of the Constitution of Charles University – Fees for Study.The fee is to be paid by the application submission deadline to the bank account below with the 6-digit ID applicant number as a `specific symbol'. The fee can either be paid in EUR or in CZK. The application fee is non-refundable. The fee can be paid by postal order or by bank transfer. When paying by bank transfer, the applicants are obliged to pay any additional fees charged by the banks (esp. when paying from abroad).

Bank details for the application fee: Bank: Komercni banka Account number: 21210277/0100 IBAN: CZ49 0100 0000 0000 2121 0277 SWIFT: KOMB CZ PP Variable symbol: 1 Constant symbol: bank transfer 0308, postal order 0179 Specific symbol: generated by the Student Information System

If the application is not completed and confirmed, or the application fee is not fully paid in due time, and the deficiencies are not corrected in the additional time permitted, the faculty will officially terminate the admission procedure.