Procedures for the Preparation and Defence of a Doctoral Dissertation
The Commission for Scientific and Research Work (KZRD) manages the procedures related to the preparation, approval, assessment and defence of doctoral dissertations.
All applications must be submitted exclusively in electronic form to phd@almamater.si
Applications are considered by the KZRD at its regular meetings.
If a particular decision requires the approval of the Senate of Alma Mater Europaea University, the KZRD forwards the matter to the Senate after its preliminary consideration. The student receives an official decision once the consideration has been completed and the competent body has adopted its decision.
Before submitting an application, students are advised to check that they are using the current forms and that all required attachments are included.
Doctoral candidate's field of research interest (Form D1)
The doctoral candidate must submit Form D1 - Doctoral Candidate's Research Area of Interest no later than the end of the first year of study.
The following must be attached to the form:
- a CV in Europass format,
- a professional bibliography.
Before submission, the form must be approved by the head of the doctoral study programme.
Based on the declared research area, the KZRD may advise the doctoral candidate on selecting an appropriate supervisor or on further developing the research area. If it identifies substantive or formal deficiencies, it may require the form to be supplemented or corrected. If it determines that the research area is not appropriate or does not allow for the preparation of an original doctoral dissertation, it may also reject the form.
An approved Form D1 is a prerequisite for initiating the procedure for submitting the doctoral dissertation proposal.
Submission of the doctoral dissertation proposal
The doctoral candidate may initiate the proposal submission procedure once Form D1 has been approved.
The proposal must be prepared using the prescribed template together with Form O1 - Application for the Final Thesis Proposal, signed by the supervisor and, where applicable, the co-supervisor.
Before the proposal is submitted to the KZRD for consideration, a technical review and plagiarism check must be completed (see below).
Technical Review of the Proposal
Before submitting the proposal to the KZRD, the doctoral candidate must complete a technical review and a text similarity check.
The application must be sent to: tehnicni.pregled@almamater.si
The following must be attached:
- the proposal in electronic form,
- signed Form O1.
If substantial substantive revisions to the proposal are required after consideration, a new technical review must be completed before resubmission. Revisions are considered substantial if they involve extensive additions to or reductions of the text that affect the content (as a rule, more than approximately 20-30% of the text), as well as changes that may affect the results of the text similarity check.
Submission of the Proposal to the KZRD
After successfully completing the technical review, the doctoral candidate submits the following to phd@almamater.si
- the proposal,
-
signed Form O1,
The proposal must be submitted no later than the end of the second year of doctoral study.
Submission of the proposal is a prerequisite for progression to the third year.
Before considering the proposal, the KZRD verifies:
- whether the candidate meets the requirements,
- the completeness of the documentation,
- whether the supervisor and, where applicable, the co-supervisor meet the requirements.
If the KZRD identifies deficiencies, it may require the proposal to be supplemented or corrected. Corrections must be submitted in a version showing the changes.
Ethics Approval
If the research involves more than minimal risk to research participants, the doctoral candidate must obtain approval from the competent ethics committee before the proposal is approved.
Ethics approval is a prerequisite for approval of the proposal. The application for ethics approval is submitted HERE.
Public Presentation of the Proposal
After the Proposal Assessment Committee has been appointed, the doctoral candidate publicly presents their research.
At the presentation, the doctoral candidate presents:
- the research problem,
- the research objectives,
- the methodology,
- the expected scientific contribution.
Following the public presentation, the members of the Committee prepare an expert assessment of the proposal, which is considered by the KZRD and the University Senate.
By decision of the Senate, the following are approved:
- the proposal,
- the title of the doctoral dissertation,
- the supervisor,
- the co-supervisor, where applicable.
An approved doctoral dissertation proposal is valid for two years from the date on which the Senate decision is adopted. No later than the expiry of the proposal's validity, and after successfully completing the technical review, the doctoral candidate must submit the doctoral dissertation, approved by the supervisor and any co-supervisor, to the Commission for Scientific and Research Work (KZRD) for assessment. The dissertation assessment and defence procedures may continue after the proposal has expired.
Preparation of the Doctoral Dissertation
Once the proposal has been approved, the doctoral candidate prepares the doctoral dissertation under the guidance of the supervisor and, where applicable, the co-supervisor. The doctoral dissertation must be prepared using the current doctoral dissertation template. The template serves as a technical aid for preparing the text, while the current Guidelines for the Preparation and Formatting of Scientific and Professional Texts are binding with regard to substantive, methodological and formatting requirements. In the event of any discrepancy between the template and the Guidelines, the provisions of the Guidelines apply.
The dissertation must be prepared in accordance with the current Guidelines for the Preparation and Formatting of Scientific and Professional Texts of Alma Mater Europaea University.
If the dissertation is written in a foreign language, it must, in addition to a brief abstract, include an appropriate extended summary in Slovenian in accordance with the current guidelines.
Technical Review of the Doctoral Dissertation
Before submitting the doctoral dissertation for assessment, the doctoral candidate must complete:
- a language review/proofreading of the doctoral dissertation,
- a technical review,
- a text similarity check.
The language review must be carried out by a suitably qualified person, as evidenced by Form O6 - Proofreading Certificate.
The doctoral candidate must send the following to tehnicni.pregled@almamater.si:
- the doctoral dissertation in electronic form,
- signed Form O3 - Application for the Final Thesis,
- Form O15,
Completed and signed Form O6 - Proofreading Certificate and Form O7 - Declaration of Authorship must be included in the doctoral dissertation as integral parts thereof.
By signing the Declaration of Authorship, the doctoral candidate confirms that the doctoral dissertation is the result of their independent work, that the sources and literature used are properly cited, and that the rules of academic integrity and copyright protection were observed in preparing the dissertation.
If the Doctoral Dissertation Assessment Committee requires substantial substantive revisions, the doctoral candidate must complete another technical review and text similarity check before resubmitting the dissertation. As a rule, revisions are considered substantial if they involve additions or reductions amounting to more than approximately 20% of the text, or changes that may affect the results of the similarity check.
If the revisions also affect the linguistic quality of the text, the doctoral candidate must arrange for a further language review of the amended or supplemented parts of the dissertation.
Submission of the Doctoral Dissertation
After successfully completing the technical review, the doctoral candidate submits the following to phd@almamater.si
- the doctoral dissertation in DOC and PDF formats,
- signed Form O3,
The KZRD proposes the members of the Doctoral Dissertation Assessment Committee, which is approved by the Senate.
The Committee prepares expert assessments of the doctoral dissertation and submits them to the KZRD.
Publication of a Scientific Article
Before proceeding to the doctoral dissertation defence, the doctoral candidate must satisfy the requirement concerning the publication of a scientific article. Articles meeting the following conditions are taken into account:
- the article must be substantively related to the topic of the doctoral dissertation;
- the article must be published in a journal indexed in SCI, SSCI, SCOPUS or A&HCI, or must be accepted for publication, as evidenced by confirmation from the editorial office;
- original scientific articles classified as type 1.01 under the COBISS typology are taken into account;
- the doctoral candidate must be the first or sole author of the article;
- Alma Mater Europaea University must be stated as the affiliation;
- an individual article may be counted for only one doctoral candidate;
- articles published or accepted for publication within the five years preceding the date of the doctoral dissertation defence are taken into account;
The suitability of the article is assessed by the Commission for Scientific and Research Work (KZRD) on the basis of Form O11 - Certificate of Publication of an Original Scientific Article.
Doctoral Dissertation Defence
Following a positive assessment of the doctoral dissertation, the Senate appoints the Defence Committee.
The Student Affairs Office determines the date of the defence in cooperation with the Committee and the doctoral candidate.
Before the defence, the doctoral candidate must submit:
- an electronic version of the dissertation in PDF format,
- three hard-bound copies of the doctoral dissertation,
- a short CV for presentation at the defence.
The defence is public.
The doctoral candidate presents their research and answers the Committee's questions. After the discussion has concluded, the Committee decides whether the defence has been successful.
After successfully completing the defence and fulfilling all study requirements, the doctoral candidate is awarded the academic title of Doctor of Science.
Mentorship
The doctoral dissertation supervisor must meet the requirements laid down in the Rules on the Implementation of Doctoral Studies. Among other requirements, the supervisor must:
- be a higher education teacher holding at least the academic title of Assistant Professor;
- demonstrate appropriate research references in the field of the doctoral dissertation;
- meet the requirements regarding scientific activity (as a rule, at least 150 SICRIS points (Z1 + Z2) in the previous five years, or meet other requirements laid down in the Rules);
- have prior supervisory experience (at least one completed doctoral supervision or three master's thesis supervisions, or meet other requirements laid down in the Rules);
- provide regular supervisory support and monitor the preparation of the doctoral dissertation throughout all stages of its development;
- not be related to, or have another relationship with, the doctoral candidate that could constitute a conflict of interest.
In addition:
- if the supervisor is not a member of the Academic Assembly of Alma Mater Europaea University, the doctoral candidate is also assigned a co-supervisor who is a member of the University's Academic Assembly;
- for a supervisor undertaking doctoral supervision for the first time, the appointment of an experienced co-supervisor is mandatory;
- an individual supervisor may simultaneously supervise no more than five doctoral candidates with approved proposals who have not yet defended their doctorates, or no more than four if the supervisor also supervises at other higher education institutions, except in cases specified in the Rules;
- the co-supervisor must also meet the requirements concerning research references and supervisory competence laid down in the Rules.
