About Doctoral School

Doctoral School of Humanities UW  was established in 2019 on the basis of many years of experience in educating doctoral students at the University of Warsaw. PhD students follow an interdisciplinary education program and gain knowledge, skills and competences that are the basis of their ongoing and future research work. The Doctoral School through its supervisors, supports doctoral students in the process of applying for a doctoral degree, which is the culmination of a four-year education cycle.

As a part of the education program, doctoral students participate in specialized classes (lectures, seminars) and courses shaping their scientific workshop and methodological competences. The Doctoral School  offers an interdisciplinary cooperation network, creating conditions for comprehensive scientific development.

Doctoral School of Humanities recruits in the following scientific disciplines:

• Archeology;
• Ethnology and Cultural Anthropology;
• Philosophy;
• History;
• Linguistics;
• Literary Studies;
• Culture and Religion Studies;
• Arts Studies.

Education

Education program

The education lasts 4 years. It includes obligatory classes (the whole period of education: 309 – 339 hours of mandatory courses (depending on the discipline) + 60 hours of optional courses) and the implementation of an individual research program, carried out under the supervision of a supervisor. 

Supervisor

PhD student works under a supervisor. The declaration of a planned supervisor shall be submitted to the IRK system by June 4, 2024. The dissertation supervisor can be a person with a degree of doktor habilitowany or the title of professor and must be:

1) an employee of the University,

2) an employee of the institution co-managing the School,

3) or a person having the status of a retired professor of the University.

Searching for supervisors is possible at: https://promotorzy.szkolydoktorskie.uw.edu.pl/search. 

Scholarships

During the four years of study, each PhD student receives a scholarship in the amount of 4242 zł gross (brutto) before the mid-term evaluation (the first two years of studies) and 5340,9 zł gross (brutto) after the mid-term evaluation.

The disability stipend for the entire duration of the School’s education is 1040.07 PLN gross.

Recruitment

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

• Registration in the Internet Recruitment of Candidates, referred to as “IRK”, submission of an application in the IRK for admission to the Doctoral School of Humanities: 29 April – 4 June, 2024;
• Recruitment procedure
  • 1st stage of the recruitment procedure: 18 June – 25 June, 2024;
  • publication of the results of the 1 st stage of the recruitment procedure: until 28 June, 2024;
  • publication of the interview schedule (2nd stage): until 28 June, 2024;
  • 2nd stage of the recruitment procedure: 8 July – 18 July, 2024;
  • publication of the ranking list: until 25 July, 2024;
  • reception of documents from qualified candidates: 1 August – 18 September, 2024;
  • announcement of the list of persons admitted to the School: 20 September 2024;
  • start of education: 1 October 2024.

Recruitment fee

200 PLN

Form of the selection procedure:

Form of the selection process and the number of points that can be obtained

Two-stage process:

• Stage I: evaluation of the description of the preliminary research project and scientific activities of the candidate;

• Stage II: interview. 

Maximum number of points that can be obtained in the selection procedure – 100 points:

• Stage I – 60 points (the number of points needed to qualify to stage II – 30 points).

• Stage II – 40 points (the number of points required for entry on the list of recommended for admission – 20 points)

Language of the enrolment procedure, including interviews: 

The interview shall be carried out in Polish with parts in English or fully in English – in accordance with the candidate’s preferences indicated in the IRK. 

Required documents:

 The candidate shall submit the application for admission to the School only in IRK. It shall include:

• the application for admission to the School stating the discipline in which the candidate plans to pursue education, PESEL number or passport number, citizenship, contact details, information whether the candidate consents to the delivery of administrative decisions by electronic means of communication, consent to the processing of personal data for the purposes of the recruitment procedure;
• scan of a diploma of completion of the long-cycle Master’s degree programme or second-cycle programme or an equivalent diploma obtained under separate regulations or in the case of candidates pursuing education within the European Higher Education Area – a certificate of obtaining a Master’s degree or a declaration that the diploma or certificate of obtaining a Master’s degree shall be provided by 18 September 2024. In case the diploma was issued in a language other than Polish or English, the candidate submits its certified translation;
• a description of the preliminary research project proposal, which comprises no more than 6,000 characters including spaces, together with a summary of the description of the preliminary research project proposal of no more than 1,000 characters with spaces; the description shall contain the bibliography that is not included in the character limit;
• a resumé or curriculum vitae containing information about scientific activities, including scientific interests and scientific achievements during five calendar years preceding the submission of the application; If the candidate becomes a parent during this period, which will be confirmed by enclosed scan of the child’s birth certificate in the application, this period is extended by two years for each child;
• scans of materials confirming scientific activities referred to in the resumé or CV; no more than two complete scans of articles or chapters in joint publications, considered the most important; other candidate’s publications shall be confirmed with scans of title pages;
• declaration about the command of English to the extent enabling the education in the School (at least at B2 level);
• a scan of the declaration of the supervisor candidate about their willingness to be the candidate’s supervisor and the number of doctoral students, for whom they are appointed as the supervisor; in addition, the candidate may attach a scan of the opinion of the planned supervisor and the opinions of other researchers about the candidate and his or her scientific activity or research project proposal;
• one photograph of the candidate’s face, allowing their identification;
• declaration whether the candidate is or was a doctoral student or participant of doctoral studies, has, or has had, a doctoral dissertation procedure or a procedure for awarding a doctoral degree initiated and if yes – title of doctoral dissertation or the research project prepared by the candidate, as well as first name and surname of the academic tutor or the supervisor;
• declaration on reviewing the content of the Resolution (link), as well as Article 40 and Article 41 of the Code of Administrative Procedure.

Additionally, the candidate shall be obliged to submit a translation of titles of scientific achievements. In justified instances, the Recruitment Coordinator or chairperson or the secretary of the selection team may request the candidate to submit a translation of other documents or materials included in the application within the time frame set.

The declaration of the planned supervisor may be submitted by a person who remains the designated supervisor for no more than five doctoral students or persons applying for the award of a doctoral degree. The indicated number of doctoral students should include individuals in doctoral schools and participants of doctoral studies. In special cases and upon the justified request of the planned supervisor, the Director may increase this limit for the purposes of the admissions procedure.

The limit is increased only for the purposes of the admissions procedure. This means that after the candidate is accepted, it is necessary to apply to the Director with another request to change the limit. Pursuant to the School Regulations, in special cases, upon a justified request of a candidate for a supervisor, the Director, upon consultation with the Board, increases the above-mentioned limit of five people. 

Detailed information on the required documents is to be found in the Resolution on the rules of recruitment for Doctoral Schools at the University of Warsaw.

Evaluation criteria and method:

• Evaluation of the description of the preliminary research project proposal (maximum number of points – 40)

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

– objective of the research (0-10 points);

– novelty and originality of the research project (0–10 points);

– methodology appropriate for the objective, consistency of argumentation, clarity of reasoning (0-10 points);

– state of the art and the bibliography relevant to achieving the research objective (0-10 points).

• Scientific activity of the candidate (maximum number of points – 20)

When evaluating scientific activity, the following elements, confirmed with scans, shall be taken into account:

– publications, including scientific articles, chapters in multi-author monographs, own monographs, publications in peer-reviewed international conference materials (0-8 points);

– speeches at national and international scientific conferences with the accepted paper (0-8 points);

– other elements of evaluation of the candidate’s experience and scientific achievements, such as awards, distinctions, certificates, professional experience, teaching experience, activities in students’ scientific societies, science popularisation, etc. (0-4 points).

• Interview (maximum number of points – 40)

The following shall be taken into account when evaluating the interview:

– the candidate’s competence important from the perspective of conducted research, including the relevant knowledge, e.g. most important publications on a given matter (0-20 points);

– ability to present the need for planned research and language competence, including in particular a command of the scientific language appropriate to the discipline of the research (0-20 points).

The interview shall be carried out in Polish with parts in English or fully in English – in accordance with the candidate’s preferences presented in IRK.

Condition of admission to the School    

 Obtaining at least 50 points in the whole selection process, including at least 30 points in stage I and at least 20 points in stage II of the qualification procedure.

Legal acts and document forms 

1. Recruitment resolution - link;
2. Ordinance on the enrolment schedule - link;
3. Ordinance on the enrolment fee - link;
4. Declaration by the planned supervisor - link;
5. Declaration on delivering the diploma at a later date -link.