Below are answers to the most frequent questions asked by current doctoral candidates. Already enrolled candidates, please check frequently asked questions for prospective doctoral candidates.
Abbreviations used:
· DSP = Doctoral Study Programme (or programmes)
· ISP = Individual Study Plan
· SIS = Study Information System
· OBD = University Research & Bibliographic Information System
· IGA = Internal Grant Agency
The points calculated in the E-doktorand system in SIS are a numerical expression of the evaluation of the doctoral candidate’s creative activities (e.g., articles or talks at conferences). Currently, the points are used to calculate the criteria for ranking the most active doctoral candidates, who may then be awarded the Emil Votoček Scholarship.
All scored results are evaluated only after they have been completed – e.g., a publication is evaluated only after it has been accepted, an internship only after it has been completed, and points for consulting on a final thesis only after it has been defended. In other words, points can be understood not only as a recognition of the activity itself, but also for its successful completion.
The results from previous studies will not be included in the calculation for prospective doctoral candidates, i.e., only results from the date of enrolment in the DSP will be included. The decision not to include results from previous periods is a logical step, as we are evaluating performance during doctoral studies.
The criterion specified in the E-doktorand system is calculated according to the formula SB/(n+1), where SB is the sum of points earned so far, and n is the current year in which the doctoral candidate is enrolled.
It is good to know that Annual Evaluation in filled in as a text, not as pdf, and that there is a character limit of 6000, including spaces. It is also possible to attach files. Once completed, the Annual Evaluation must be submitted.
If a doctoral candidate does not submit their evaluation on time, it will automatically be forfeited to their supervisor.
Teaching is voluntary under the law within the framework of doctoral studies and therefore is not subject to Annual Evaluation/scoring in SIS. The exception is consultations or supervision of final theses, which are scored. For more information, visit the Pedagogy website.
Please contact the relevant dean's office, which will further address the issue.
In order for a publication from the OBD to be transferred to the E-Doktorand system, two conditions must be simultaneously met: a) the year of enrolment from DPS ≤ the year of publication in the OBD, and b) the author-doctoral candidate must be selected from the UCT directory and must have their ORCID iD entered in OBD. Therefore, if it concerns a publication from a bachelor's/master's study or if the doctoral candidate is enrolled under their name but is not selected from the UCT directory, the publication will not be transferred by E-Doktorand. In the latter case mentioned, it is necessary to contact the "Owner" of the record and request a correction. If the record has been recently added, it's necessary to wait approximately a day until the synchronization between E-Doktorand and OBD takes place.
It might take some time to see the changes made in OBD in the SIS. You can force the synchronization manually through the "Synchronize" action at the bottom of the E-doktorand system. You can learn more about the E-doktorand in the manual. The synchronization is limited by the date till which you evaluation is due. If you don't see changes in SIS after the forced synchronization, wait 24 hrs from the change in OBD and force the synchronization in SIS again.
After the evaluation has been closed, Vice-Deans for Research and Development of the respective faculties can still force synchronization of SIS with other databases - get in touch with them if you, e.g. need to synchronize OBD with SIS after (e.g. you have a new article/conference proceedings that falls between your evaluation submission and the end of the academic year.
These outputs (referred to as D_conference-proceedings-paper) are not counted towards the evaluation.
In such a case, contact the Vice-Dean for Research and Development at your faculty and inform them of the situation. Points in the annual evaluation are awarded only to the presenting author. In the system, the first author is automatically considered the presenting author. The Vice-Dean will need to manually adjust the evaluation and allocate the corresponding points to the presenting colleague.
Points in the Annual Evaluation are awarded only to the presenting author, and in the system, the first author is automatically considered the presenting author. If you presented as a team, the Vice-Dean will need to manually adjust the evaluation and distribute the points among all the presenting authors. Contact the Vice-Dean for Research and Development of your faculty and communicate the information to them.
In the E-Doktorand system, only completed internships are displayed, i.e., if an international internship is entered in advance, it will start appearing only after its planned completion date.
International internships are newly awarded points if they last continuously for at least 3 months (90 days). This is intended as motivation for longer international experience, not as an obligation. A mandatory internship of 1 month (for both full-time and part-time study) is still required; this can be accumulated from shorter stays or, in exceptional cases, replaced by work in an international team documented by a publication indexed in WoS/Scopus. The scoring of longer internships is also justified by the fact that during extended work in laboratories at another institution, you will likely not produce as many publications, so this serves as a form of compensation for a potential decrease in point score. On the other hand, the internship will certainly pay off later, not only in publications but also in your CV.
In the E-Doktorand system, only such records of supervision or consultation of final theses are visible that are listed in SIS at the time the thesis is announced. If you were not listed as a supervisor or consultant in SIS, such activity unfortunately cannot be counted toward the Annual Evaluation. At the same time, it should be kept in mind that points for supervision or consultation of final theses are awarded only after the students have defended their theses. If the defence date is after the deadline for submitting the ISP evaluation by the doctoral candidate, synchronization (and thus the loading of points) can be carried out manually by the Vice-Dean for Research and Development upon the doctoral candidate’s request.
The doctoral candidate includes the information that they supervise or consult a final thesis at another university in the text of their evaluation and, by email with a link to the given thesis, asks the Vice-Dean for Research and Development of the faculty where they are enrolled in their DSP to award points. The Vice-Dean may adjust the total number of points and comment on the reason for this change.
A full description of study obligations, including a sample progression through the doctorate, can be foundhere.
Fundamental obligations include fulfilling the ISP, international experience, research and publication activity, and submitting an annual report at the end of each year. The annual report is submitted to the supervisor via the E-doktorand system in SIS, where the deadline is also stated. Study in a DSP is properly concluded with a public defence of the dissertation thesis. The conditions for admission to the defence and the application process are described for each faculty here.
A sample progression of study is provided here. Generally, it is expected that the doctoral candidate passes exams for all subjects in the ISP by the end of the 2nd year and completes the dissertation defence by the end of the 4th year.
Doctoral candidates starting after 1 September 2025 must also complete colloquia in the 1st year and at the end of the 2nd year. More information on colloquia is available here.
Just after starting, when the ISP has not yet been approved by the Doctoral Degree Board, you can ask your supervisor to return the ISP to you – they have a "Return to student" button in SIS for this. You then change the subjects and send it back to the supervisor. If the ISP has not yet been approved by the Dean, the Chair of the Doctoral Degree Board can still return it at the request of the student or supervisor.
If the ISP is already approved, the only way to change it is by a written request on the appropriate form, which you can obtain from your Dean's Office. After approval by all listed persons, the Dean's Office will enter the changes into SIS, and it will subsequently transfer to your E-doktorand. Unfortunately, there is currently no option for electronic editing of the ISP in E-doktorand.
Three compulsory subjects and Colloquium 2 must be selected with the supervisor and entered into the ISP upon entry into the study. The initial ISP proposal must be approved by the Doctoral Degree Board at the start of the study. Changes can be made, but they must always be approved by the Doctoral Degree Board as an ISP change. Do not enter optional subjects that are not required by the Doctoral Degree Board into the ISP. Optional subjects are enrolled as Life-long Learning (CŽV) courses.
In principle, it is possible. However, all subjects entered in the ISP become a study obligation, and "crossing out" a subject must be approved by the Doctoral Degree Board. It is therefore sensible to enter only 3 compulsory subjects into the ISP beforehand; if you successfully complete further optional subjects, they can be added to the ISP retroactively.
It is possible, but it is not automatic (there is no "entitlement"). The doctoral candidate must submit a request to cancel the subject and state a reason. The request must be signed by the supervisor, the head of the department, and the chair of the Doctoral Degree Board, and then submitted to the Dean's Office for the Dean's approval. It is therefore wise to choose subjects carefully and enter only the necessary minimum into the ISP, completing the rest on a voluntary basis.
No, Bachelor's/Master's subjects cannot be entered into the ISP. Only subjects designated as doctoral can be entered into the three compulsory subjects (+ colloquium) within the ISP. The categorisation of subjects into modules A or B is always based on the accreditation and rules of the faculty where the study takes place. Doctoral candidates are recommended to contact the subject guarantor or the study department of the university/faculty if they are unsure whether a subject is doctoral. However, within the DSP, any subject (including BSc./MSc./MEng.) can be attended after agreement with the lecturer, but it does not count towards study obligations.
Yes, it is possible to enrol in a subject taught at another university. Subjects proposed as compulsory-optional must meet several criteria: specifically, they must be doctoral-level, and the content should relate to the dissertation or the State Doctoral Examination (SDZ).
Yes, if it meets accreditation requirements (doctoral level and related to the dissertation/SDZ). In such a case, you can request the Doctoral Degree Board to add the subject via its chair. The location of the subject is not specified by accreditation; such subjects are entered by choosing "subject description" and providing a description and link. More information in the manuals here.
Yes, international experience is mandatory. The minimum duration is 30 days. This period does not have to be continuous and can be completed by a combination of multiple international conferences or fulfilled by a series of shorter professional stays. This obligation can also be met through direct participation in an international project or work in an international research group, provided results are published in an international journal or presented to the professional public abroad. All international stays must be recorded in the Internship Evidence module in SIS.
Many! Start by visiting the Active People and Societies at UCT Prague page, which lists activities ranging from the student part of the academic senate to cultural and artistic societies. In case you miss an association related to your interest, you can can register your own via aktivni.vscht.cz.
The National Library of Technology (NTK) organises free webinars every semester focusing on writing articles and dissertations, searching for sources, or using AI. Webinars are recorded and available on NTK's Moodle; more info is in the NTK presentation in the "Downloads" section.
By law, teaching activity within doctoral studies is voluntary. More information is on the Teaching website.
Candidates who started before 1 September 2025 must complete the SDZ consisting of a basic part (theoretical examination) and a dissertation defence.
Candidates starting after 1 September 2025 still undergo the SDZ, but it consists only of the dissertation defence. Discussion takes place during doctoral colloquia (Kv1 and Kv2). More information on SDZ and colloquia is here.
The procedure (including printing requirements) varies by faculty and is described here.
Doctoral graduations take place once a year, usually in the second half of June at the Bethlehem Chapel (Prague 1). Unless stated otherwise, the number of guests is not limited. More info here.
To be included, the defence must take place by the end of the previous month (e.g., if graduations are in June, those who defended by the end of May are included).
Normally, the diploma is presented at graduations in the Bethlehem Chapel, typically around June. If you cannot attend or need it earlier, see below.
Between the defence and graduation, the Diploma Supplement and the Decision on the Award of the Title (issued by the Dean) usually suffice as proof. If these are insufficient or for other serious reasons, you can request earlier issuance and pick it up in the PhD Office (contact: Mgr. Veronika Popová).
It is part of the exit sheet, so it should be required. Contact the Dean's Office if unsure.
The university should report it, but it is better to verify this with the insurer. If you were already employed during your doctorate, no action is needed.
No, it is linked to active study. Arrange mail forwarding to a personal email before finishing. Exceptions for system access can be requested by the supervisor via OK Base. Access remains if an employment relationship with UCT Prague continues.
UCT Prague has an Alumni Club for its graduates.
Yes, the Career Counselling Center career counselling is available to graduates as well. More info here.
You have student status throughout your studies, but ISIC can only be extended during full-time study (usually 4 years). Many benefits (e.g. transport) are capped at age 26. Always verify with the provider.
Since 2018, health insurance for doctoral candidates in their first full-time DSP is covered by the state. This applies only if you do not have a work contract; if you do, it is paid from that. If you are over 26, you must report to your insurer that the state pays your insurance due to doctoral study. If you terminate a contract at UCT Prague (or elsewhere), you must report this to the insurer to resume state coverage. Social insurance is not mandatory unless you have a work contract (though you can pay it voluntarily).
Yes, you retain student status and can live in the student dormitories at a discounted price.
All full-time doctoral candidates at UCT Prague must receive at least 1.2 times the minimum wage. In 2025, this is 24,960 CZK/month (net). This can be composed of salary, scholarship, or both. IGA scholarships are extra and do not count towards this guarantee. More information on the site Financing.
Beyond the guaranteed income, you can apply for grants (especially IGA), participate in other grants, or engage in teaching. Income from these activities does not count towards the guaranteed income.
If primary sources (like a grant) end, the school will still ensure the guaranteed income (1.2x minimum wage) and resolve the situation with the supervisor.
If the income is related to the work on the dissertation (e.g. at the Czech Academy of Sciences or Zentiva), it counts. If it is unrelated (e.g. unrelated grant, part-time job), it does not count.
Working hours are 40 hours per week, with 30 days of "holidays". Hours can be adjusted with your supervisor. If you have a contract for work on the dissertation, its volume counts towards these hours.
The competition takes place annually. It is announced at the end of November by the Rector's Decree "Announcement of the Internal Grant Competition of UCT Prague" (hereinafter referred to as the IGA Announcement) for a specific year. The start of the application period is usually at the beginning of December, and the deadlines for submitting grant applications are typically in mid-January. Exact dates are determined by the current Rector's Decree.
The Rector's Decree "Announcement of IGA" is published annually, containing all deadlines and necessary information for the given competition year. The IGA tender documentation further consists of the internal regulations "Principles of the Student Grant Competition for Support of Specific University Research Projects at UCT Prague" and the "Grant Regulations of the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague". Both documents are always available on the website here. Each faculty also issues its own adjustments to the limits that must be observed in the project proposal. These are published along with other practical guides directly with the given competition; a doctoral candidate sees them in the first step when selecting a competition to create a new project, and subsequently under the "Rules" (Agenda call) button at the top right in the details of the created project. More information can be found on the faculty IGA pages.
The criterion specified in the E-Doktorand system is calculated according to the formula SP/(n + 1), where SP is the sum of points obtained so far and n is the year for which the doctoral candidate reported the results (the last completed year). Although the IGA Announcement specifies a decisive date of 30 November of the given year, this does not mean that results are recorded continuously until this date and taken from unclosed evaluations. It applies that the value of the criterion is always determined at the end of the academic year. Thereafter, during the year (i.e., throughout the following year of study) it remains unchanged. As of 30 November of the given year, checked and closed annual evaluations for the completed year of study are available for the majority of doctoral candidates. The year for most doctoral candidates ends on 31 August, after which the check takes place. In exceptional cases, the year ends a few weeks later for some doctoral candidates; if their annual evaluation for the completed year of study is checked and closed by 30 November, their criterion can also be used for the subject area project from January. Publications entered into OBD after the end of the year are automatically loaded from OBD into E-Doktorand for the new annual evaluation for the next year of study once the system "reopens".
Results are published according to the date in the IGA Announcement, standardly by the end of February. Supported projects are subsequently visible on this page; after granting consent to the contractual terms of project resolution and signing the contract, the grant (fund) number from which they are allowed to draw financial resources for the project will be displayed for the researchers after a delay of approximately one week. They will find this grant number in the project detail on the "Budget" tab. Proposers of unsuccessful projects will find feedback on why the project was not supported directly at the submitted project in the information system.
Yes, but according to Art. 8 of the Grant Regulations, only a student in the full-time form of study may submit an application, possibly also from another research workplace (a contractual institute according to the valid DSP accreditation). A condition for the student's participation is a commitment to publish the results of the project resolution with an affiliation to UCT Prague.
The supervisor of the main researcher is the only case where an external person without a contract at UCT Prague may be included in the research team.
The number will be made visible on the "Budget" tab in the project detail in EPZ a few days after the conclusion of the Contract.
Yes, they can, if they are a student of UCT Prague in the full-time form of study and meet the conditions of Art. 8 of the Grant Regulations, the VIGA Principles, and the valid IGA Announcement.
Yes, they can, if they are a student of UCT Prague in the full-time form of study and meet the conditions of Art. 8 of the Grant Regulations, the VIGA Principles, and the valid IGA Announcement.
When submitting an inter-faculty application, the project is assessed according to the rules of both faculties. But how is it in the case of limits on the maximum amount of financial resources? Should the project funding then be governed by the limits of the faculty that has them lower, or is the funding assessed from the perspective of the main researcher's faculty? The main researcher submits the project at their faculty so that it meets all its limits. The doctoral candidate is obliged to familiarise themselves with the binding amendment of regulations at both faculties and follow them. Specifically, it is necessary to follow the instructions for planning scholarships and wage costs according to the regulations of the respective researchers' faculties. Other items must be planned according to the regulations of the proposer's faculty. Before submitting the application, the proposer is obliged to inform the chairs of the faculty grant commissions of all participating faculties, send them the planned project costs, and request their written consent to the submission of the inter-faculty project.
Is it possible to write the project description for a student research project in English? If so, in what language should the annotation be written? In the IGA Announcement, in the article concerning Category A projects – student research projects, it is specified that the project application, along with the project description, is submitted by the proposer electronically in Czech, Slovak, or English. The annotation is part of the application, therefore it is in the same language as everything else.
The submission of a project by a doctoral candidate in the 4th year is excluded. Unless modified otherwise by faculty limits, a doctoral candidate in the 4th year may be a co-researcher, and either finances are planned only for the duration of their remaining full-time study, or a doctoral candidate/student must be designated in the project description to take over their role as co-researcher. In such a case, the annual finances are divided proportionally.
A reduction of the limit does not follow from the university-wide IGA Announcement. However, it is necessary to familiarise oneself with the faculty rules, where a reduction is usually set for students in the 2nd year of Master's studies. The project proposer must familiarise themselves with these faculty rules and proceed in accordance with them, as they are binding according to the IGA Announcement. It should be remembered, however, that a follow-on Master's student can be a member of the team only for the duration of their study – in the case of (un)successful completion of study, they can no longer be a team member or receive a scholarship. It is also not possible to anticipate their continuation in a DSP.
Manuals for researchers are available here (Czech only). Principles of financial management and necessary forms, or even presentations from the Finance Department with all details regarding IGA projects, are available in the "Management" section on this page (Czech only). Instructions for creating and submitting a project, as well as the tender documentation and faculty limits, are also in EPZ, either at the top right in the project detail under the "Rules" (Agenda call) button or when creating an application on the home page.
If the main researcher decides for any reason to terminate their participation in the project, it is necessary to submit a request for a change in the project directly in EPZ using the "Request a change" button in the project detail. You describe the proposal for the change/termination/replacement of the researcher in the text field that is generated, or you also describe the division of the remaining finances here, and by sending it, you move the request/proposal to the Faculty Grant Commission for approval. A change of the main researcher or any other change in the project can be requested by submitting a unified request for a project change directly in MIS – EPZ. Follow the instructions from slide 31. In the case of an approved change of the main researcher, inform the contact persons of the Department for Science and Transfer of Technology (Mgr. Veronika Popová). If you, as a doctoral candidate, enter results into OBD and terminate your activities at UCT Prague, transfer ownership of the results in OBD to your supervisor so that they can complete/correct any unfinished reporting.
According to the IGA Announcement, the main researcher has an obligation to ensure the project resolution throughout the specified duration of 1 year. The project can therefore be terminated prematurely only in completely unpredictable exceptional cases. If the project must be terminated prematurely, the main researcher is obliged to request approval from the FGK and subsequently submit a final project report. A change can be requested by submitting a request for a project change directly in MIS – EPZ. Follow the instructions from slide 31.
Make the change by submitting a request for a project change to the chair of the FGK directly in MIS – EPZ. Follow the instructions from slide 31. Only in the case of a change of the main researcher is it necessary to inform the contact persons of the Department for Research and Transfer of Technology (Mgr. Veronika Popová).
No, while maintaining the total sum for operations, it is not necessary to request approval for changes in the distribution of expenditure between individual sub-components of operating costs. A description of the drawdown and an overview is part of the final project report, where there is space for justifying the change.
The scholarship for research team members is paid by the dean's office respective to the given team member on the basis of a request (submitted by the main researcher), which must be delivered by the 25th day of the month preceding the month of the scholarship payment (e.g., for a scholarship for June, the request must be delivered by 25 May). The entire amount cannot be paid at once. Usually, the amount is divided into 3 instalments. The last scholarship payment should take place in November (delivery of documents to the dean's office by 25 October), as all resources from IGA must be exhausted by the end of the calendar year.
The drawing of travel costs differs depending on whether an employee of the school (having a labour-law relationship with UCT Prague) is travelling, or exclusively as a student. Everything is described in detail in the Rules of Management and further here. The necessary forms are available here.
The deadline is set in the IGA Announcement, and the requirements are set in the internal regulation "Principles of the Student Grant Competition for Support of Specific University Research Projects" (Art. 7) and also in the ZZ form, which is adapted to the requirements. More in the internal instruction for submitting final reports published on the website in the section "Manuals for Researchers".
Dedicate the results in this way:
CZ: „Tento výstup vznikl v rámci projektu Specifického vysokoškolského výzkumu – projekt č. [doplňte číslo přihlášky Vašeho projektu z aplikace IGA] (např. A2_FCHT_2021_123)“.
ENG: „This work was supported from the grant of Specific university research – grant No [fill in the project application number from IGA] (e.g. A2_FCHT_2020_123)“.
Dedications are also on the website here. Dedication for PIGA and SIGA projects is not required.
When reporting results created within IGA projects, it is necessary to assign a specific type S (Specific Research) funding project to the given output in OBD. If you do not find your project in the OBD project list, insert general S funding and record the project dedication in the funding description. This way, the result will be linked to the project in EPZ and will also be visible in the ZZ template.
The support provider is the MŠMT.
Work-in-progress and incomplete records in OBD must be handed over to another researcher in the case of planned termination of study.
If you, as a doctoral candidate, enter results into OBD and terminate your activities at UCT Prague, transfer ownership of the results in OBD (edit access) to your supervisor so that they can complete/correct any unfinished reporting.
