Recruitment

We invite to read the information about the recruitment [LINK]

Schedule of the Doctoral School enrolment procedure - registration in IRK:

a) registration in the Internet Recruitment for Candidates, referred to as “IRK”, submitting an application to the IRK for admission to the Doctoral School of Exact and Natural Sciences:
from 8th of May to 19th of June 2023;
b) sending recommendation letters: until 30th of June 2023;
c) recruitment procedure:
– publication of the interview schedule: until 4th of July 2023;
– qualification procedure: from 4th of July to 21st of July 2023;
oral exams and interviews: 17, 18, 19 July 2023 in stationary mode
Place: room no. 102A (the first floor), Faculty of Biology of the University of Warsaw, I. Miecznikowa 1, (building A) 02-089 Warsaw
For 7 days prior to the scheduled interview, the candidates will receive a message via the system of IRK with information about the meeting time.
Schedule of the qualification proceedings 
– announcement of the ranking list: until 4th of August 2023;
– accepting documents from qualified candidates: from 7th of August to 21st of September 2023;
– announcement of the list of accepted candidates: until 30th of September 2023

Beginning of education - October, 2023. 

Supervisor

The first step in the application process is finding a candidate for PhD supervisor and obtaining her/his declaration about the willingness to be the candidate’s supervisor. The declaration is one of the required documents (see below).

List of supervisors in biological sciences

Please note that not all potential supervisors are on the list

Admission fee

200 PLN

Form of qualification proceedings and number of points to be awarded

One-stage proceedings

The maximum number of points to be obtained in the qualification proceedings – 100 points.

Language of qualification proceedings, including the interview

The interview shall be held in Polish or English, according to candidate’s preferences indicated in the IRK. If Polish is selected, a part of the interview may be held in English.

Required documents

The candidate shall submit a School admission application only through the IRK. The application shall include the following:

• indication of the selected discipline in which the candidate plans to pursue education. By submitting an application for admission to the Doctoral School is understood as submitting a completed and paid recruitment application via the Internet Recruitment of Candidates (IRK). Submission of an application via the IRK is tantamount to submitting an application for admission to the Doctoral School chosen by the candidate;

•         a scan of the graduation diploma of uniform master’s degree or postgraduate studies or an equivalent diploma obtained under separate regulations, or in the case of candidates pursuing education in the European Higher Education Area – a certificate of holding a master's degree or a statement that the diploma or certificate conforming the award of a master's degree will be delivered by 21st of September 2023, in the case of a diploma equivalent to a uniform master’s degree or postgraduate studies graduation diploma, a candidate shall justify such equivalence. In case the diploma was issued in a language other than Polish or English, the candidate shall attach its certified translation; 

• a description of the initial research project proposal in English; The description may not exceed four pages, font type: Times New Roman or equivalent, font size: at least 11 points, line spacing: 1, upper and lower margin: at least 1.5 cm, side margins: at least 2 cm, the references shall be include in the page limit;
• a resume or CV outlining the candidate’s scientific activity, including scholarly interests and achievements during the five calendar years preceding the application (if a candidate became a parent during this time, as evidenced by a scan of the child’s birth certificate attached to the application, this period shall be extended by two years for each child), including, but not limited to: publications, research and organizational work at student research groups, participation in scientific conferences, participation in research projects, awards and honorable mentions, research internships, research skills training programs completed, activities promoting science, activity in science movement representative bodies, average of their university grades, professional career, level of proficiency in foreign languages;
• scans of materials evidencing scientific activity mentioned in their CV and/or resume;
• a document confirming at least B2 proficiency level in English or a declaration of the level of proficiency in English allowing education at the School;
• the scan of a declaration by the planned supervisor, confirming their agreement to undertake the duties of a supervisor and of the number of doctoral students, for whom they perform the duties a designated supervisor, in accordance with the template constituting Appendix no.4 to the Resolution no. 17 of the Senate of the University of Warsaw of 20^th January 2021 on rules of admission to doctoral schools at the University of Warsaw (the University of Warsaw Monitor of 2023, item 43), the candidate may also attach a scan of their planned supervisor’s opinion and opinions of other academics about the candidate and their scientific activity and/or proposed research project;
• the photograph of a candidate’s face that allows for their identification;
• a declaration confirming whether the candidate was or is a doctoral student or a participant of doctoral studies or whether they have initiated a doctoral dissertation process or whether proceedings to award them a doctoral degree have been initiated – and if yes, the title of their doctoral dissertation or the research project prepared by a candidate, including the name and last name of the candidate’s tutor or supervisor;
• a declaration confirming that they have reviewed the Resolution no. 17 of the Senate of the University of Warsaw of 20th January 2021 on rules of admission to doctoral schools at the University of Warsaw (the University of Warsaw Monitor of 2023, item 43) and Articles 40 and 41 of the Code of Administrative Procedure;
• contact data of two persons who will send recommendation letters regarding the candidate. Authors of recommendation letters should send them directly in the electronic form to e-mail:

 - sd.nsp.biol@uw.edu.pl for biological sciences, 

It is the candidate's responsibility to ensure that the person who makes the recommendation sends the letter. Failure to receive the recommendation letters does not mean that the application for admission to the School is incomplete; the letters may be taken into consideration when evaluating the candidate’s scientific potential;

• scanned transcripts of records of the graduate and postgraduate studies or the uniform Master's degree studies, or equivalent documents (e.g. diploma supplement);
• abstract of the master’s thesis or master’s project in English (up to 3,000 characters with spaces).

  All required documents (except photo) shall be attached as PDF files.

Assessment criteria and method

Initial research project proposal (maximum number of points – 5)

When evaluating the initial research project proposal, the following shall be taken into account:

1) the feasibility of the project in the context of documented competencies of the candidate;

2) the academic importance of the project;

3) anticipated added value for the scientific community of the academic discipline.

Scientific activity of the candidate (maximum number of points – 15)

When evaluating scientific activity, the following elements, confirmed by means of scanned documents, shall be taken into account:

1) scientific publications (a scan of the front page is required; in the case of multi-author achievements, the percentage share of the candidate’s participation in the achievement must be defined);

2) confirmed participation in student competitions;

3) confirmed participation in research projects (a scan of the certificate issued by the project coordinator is required);

4) presentations delivered or seminar and conference messages (a scan confirming presentation delivery is required);

5) documented research internships;

6) achievements within students’ research groups (a scan of the certificate signed by the chairperson of the group is required).

Qualification examination (maximum number of points – 40)

Verifying the candidate’s knowledge and skills within the particular academic discipline in oral form.

Interview (maximum number of points – 40)

The interview entails an assessment of the candidate’s scientific potential. The interview may comprise the following elements:

1) discussion of the candidate’s Master’s thesis (understanding of the subject, research hypotheses, their implementation, results obtained and conclusions);

2) questions about the academic record and the course of the graduate and postgraduate studies or the uniform Master's degree studies, including subjects related to the doctoral dissertation;

3) questions pertaining to information included in letters of recommendations, including the nature and results of cooperation of the candidate with the authors of these letters;

4) questions pertaining to the doctoral project and other information included in the documentation submitted by the candidate.

Condition of admission to the School 

The requirement for admission to a School shall be a place on the Ranking list that is within the limit of places and getting no less than 50 points from the entire qualification proceedings.

Recruitment Legislation and Acts to Know

• Resolution no. 17 of the Senate of the University of Warsaw of 20 January 2021 on rules of admission to doctoral schools at the University of Warsaw (the University of Warsaw Monitor of 2023, item 43);

•  Ordinance no. 44 of the Rector of the University of Warsaw of 15 March 2023 on the establishment of an admissions schedule and rules for registering candidates to doctoral schools in the academic year 2023/2024 (the University of Warsaw Monitor of 2023, item 87)

• Resolution no. 7 of the Rector of the University of Warsaw of 31 March 2023 on the admission procedure fee for carrying out the qualification procedure to the doctoral school at the University of Warsaw (the University of Warsaw Monitor of 2023, item 126)