A doktori felvételi jelentkezés benyújtására a következő online felületen van lehetőség: https://doktorifelveteli.elte.hu/

E-mail: doktoranduszugyek@ttk.elte.hu

A felvételi eljárás díja: 9 000 Ft
Jelentkezési időszak: 2022. április 1. - május 31.

A jelentkezéshez mellékelni kell:

• a jelentkező rövid szakmai önéletrajzát az eddigi szakmai tevékenység részletezésével (publikációs lista, kutatómunkában való részvétel,
• kéziratban lévő munkák jegyzéke, elnyert díjak, ösztöndíjak stb.), rövid kutatási tervet a jelentkező és a témavezető aláírásával,
• a leckekönyv fénymásolatát vagy kreditigazolást a teljesített tárgyakról, az oklevél másolatát, figyelemmel az alábbiakra:
• hazai egyetemen 2021. tavaszi szemeszterében végzős hallgatóknak 2021. július 5-ig hiánypótlással be kell nyújtani a záróvizsga eredményéről szóló igazolást; valamint a Neptunból kinyomtatható, elvégzett tárgyak listáját (nem a TO adja ki)
• legalább egy középfokú (B2) komplex (korábban C típusú) államilag elismert nyelvvizsgát igazoló nyelvvizsga-bizonyítvány másolatát, külföldön letett nyelvvizsga esetén annak – Oktatási Hivatal Nyelvvizsgáztatási Akkreditációs Központ általi – honosításáról szóló igazolást,
• önköltséges képzés esetén – amennyiben a kutatás intézményen kívül történik – írásos befogadó nyilatkozatot a kutatómunka költsége biztosításáról.

Külföldön szerzett oklevél esetén a következő dokumentumokat kell benyújtani a jelentkezési időszakban:

• az oklevél eredeti példányát és hiteles fordítását, továbbá ezek másolatát (Amennyiben az eredeti dokumentum bemutatása akadályba ütközik, az pótolható a beiratkozás alkalmával.)
• a külföldi oktatási intézmény által kiállított olyan okirat hiteles másolatát (pl. leckekönyv, ellenőrző könyv) amely hitelt érdemlően igazolja a tanulmányok időtartamát, és a bizonyítvány vagy oklevél megszerzése érdekében előírt tanulmányi követelmények (a hallgatott tárgyak, vizsgák, szakdolgozatok, államvizsgák stb.) sikeres teljesítését
• Kérelmet a külföldön szerzett MSc oklevél továbbtanulási céllal történő elismertetése céljából (a kérelem elérhető az oldal alján, a dokumentumok között)

A Biológia Doktori Iskola programjaiba jelentkezőkkel három-öttagú bizottság felvételi beszélgetést folytat. A felvételi eljárás során a bizottság értékeli a jelentkezők

• általános szakmai intelligenciáját,
• a választott tudományágban (a doktori iskola képzési programjának szakterületén) mutatott felkészültségét és jártasságát,
• oklevelét és az egyetemi tanulmányok során mutatott teljesítményét,
• tudományos diákköri munkáját, egyéb tudományos tevékenységét,
• kutatási tervének megvalósíthatóságát.

A jelentkezők teljesítményét pontozással értékelik. 

A Biológiai Doktori Iskola felvételi pontrendszerét a Működési Szabályzat 2. számú Függeléke tartalmazza. (kattints Tartalomjegyzék: Felvételi pontrendszer)

Before the PhD entrance exam

• Find a supervisor at least three months before May 31 
• Write a research proposal under your supervisor’s guidance. The proposal should be approximately three pages long and includes: 

1. A general introduction outlining the research topic and its significance: a brief review of previous research in the field, highlighting the gap in the literature and how your study will address it. 
2. A description of at least three planned studies, including: 
   1. A brief specific introduction
   2. Planned sample size 
   3. Methodology 
   4. Expected results 
3. A General Discussion section explaining how your research will contribute to the field and benefit society. 

• Check the ELTE PhD office website and collect all the required documents (https://bdi.elte.hu/en/content/admission.t.22487)
• Submit the application (including the research proposal) before May 31. 
• After submission, you will receive an email notification within a few weeks regarding the date and location of the entrance exam. 
• Prepare a ten-minute presentation summarizing your research proposal and practice it in advance. 

Entrance Exam 

• The exam lasts at least 20 minutes and is conducted by a committee of at least five members. 
• The structure of the exam: 
  • The applicant introduces themselves. 
  • The applicant presents their planned research. 
  • The committee asks questions about the research and the applicant’s previous research experience. 
• At the end of the exam, the committee will inform the applicant of their score.
• The applicant will receive an email notification about their acceptance into the PhD programme during the summer. 

Enrollment (Beiratkozás) 

• Several documents are required for enrolment. You should also receive an email with the required documents from the administrator of the Dean’s office - Faculty of Science. These documents can be submitted in person (Northern building, ground floor, 0.130).
• The applicant will receive access to Neptun, the university platform for course registration. 
• Each student must complete eight courses in the first four semesters, ideally two per semester, with a minimum of one.
• Note that the time period for taking courses in Neptun. (It is longer than for the grad students.) If you miss the deadline, write to the office (TO).
• Even if a course does not have an exam, students must register for the exam in Neptun, or the lecturer cannot assign a grade.
• You should obtain a student card. The sticker on the student card is renewed every semester (expiration date of the card). If you have any questions regarding the student card/Neptun access, you can contact the Quaestura Office of Student Services. They also have a desk in the Northern building, 1st floor, at the beginning of each semester.

Tips for international students

• International students for whom English is not their mother tongue need to provide a copy of a language examination certificate attesting a state-recognised language examination of at least intermediate level (B2) in English or, if the language examination was taken abroad, a certificate of its accreditation by the Language Examination Accreditation Centre of the Education Office if available.
• If you need help/guidance/support navigating your studies at ELTE, you can contact a PhD student from the International Student Advisory Committee. They also have office hours during which you can meet with someone in person to discuss your issues.
• To receive the PhD scholarship from ELTE, you will need a Hungarian bank account; foreign accounts (including Revolut/Wise…) are not accepted.

Complex exam

• At the end of the 4th active semester (must always fall within the exam period), students must take a complex exam. The function of this exam is to decide whether the student and their supervisor wish to continue the journey toward the Diploma or stop here. Therefore, if, by the 3rd semester, it is evident that the student is unlikely to progress successfully and the supervisor wishes to help them, it is advisable not to start the 4th semester but instead take a leave of absence (passivization). The student should be informed that they need to improve their performance, or they will be dismissed from the comprehensive exam.
• The student has to have earned 32 academic credits and 86-90 research credits in order to be eligible to attempt the exam.
• As preparation for the exam, the PhD student must prepare a written report at a length of 9,000-12,000 characters (with spaces but without the list of references) summarising their research results over the first two years of the programme and outlining their research plans for the following two years. The document must be sent to the chair of the examination committee and the programme leader two weeks ahead of the comprehensive examination upon approval by the supervisor.
• The student must officially register for the complex exam (March 31st in spring semester, October 31st in autumn semester). An e-mail will be sent by the administrator with the registration details, including the deadline for application and the requested documents (i.e., application form, evaluation by the supervisor (the supervisor sends it to the applicant), declaration of choice of exam subjects). These can be submitted in person to the administrator of the Dean’s office (Northern building, ground floor, 0.130) or via email.
• The administration office notifies the programme leader about students registered for the comprehensive exam that semester and asks them to fill out a table with recommendations for the examination committee. He asks for the supervisor’s assistance in selecting three committee members based on the below criteria. It is also advisable to tentatively discuss the exam date at this stage to check availability.
• Examination committees consist of three members:
  • The chair must be an ELTE employee, a professor or a habilitated associate professor
  • There must be two additional members, one of whom must be external and hold a PhD.
  • Two of the three members act as examiners: one for the main subject and one for the secondary subject.
  • Committee members must not have any accepted joint publications with the student, and the supervisor cannot be part of the committee.
• A main and a secondary subject have to be selected from the listed option.
• According to regulations, the student should not contact potential committee members regarding their appointment or the exam date—the administration office does not approve of this. However, once the examiners are confirmed, the student should reach out to them to clarify the exam requirements and study materials.
• In addition to the two oral subject exams, the main component of the comprehensive exam is a PowerPoint presentation covering the four completed semesters. The student must convince the committee that they have everything necessary to successfully complete the PhD within four years. This presentation should be no longer than 30 minutes.
• At the start of the exam, the supervisor is asked by the committee to provide an evaluation of the student’s progress.
• The exam must be conducted in person. Online exams are only possible with a strong justification and require approval from Vice Dean Prof. László Túri.

The doctoral procedure, doctoral dissertation and publication requirements

• The prerequisite for the submission of the dissertation is that the doctoral candidate has at least two papers - of which at least one the candidate is the first author (shared first author) - published in an English-language peer-reviewed scientific journal related to the topic of the dissertation. The two publications must appear in a journal rated Q1 or Q2 (based on SCImago SJR, taking into account the journal's highest value). One paper can be used in only one dissertation.
• A thesis-like paper prepared by concatenating articles (thesis-like dissertation) can be supported if the candidate has published at least five scientific publications, of which at least three were first authored and all were published in Q1-classified journals. Co-first-authored dissertations must include a Co-author Statement documenting co-authorship signed by the first authors (Appendix 3). A Co-author Statement is also to be attached to the dissertation if the given article is used by other PhD students in their own doctoral procedures.
• The dissertation should be submitted within 3 academic years following the complex exam (in cases deserving special consideration, the deadline may be extended by a maximum of one year/academic year). New webpage, with correct information: https://ttk.elte.hu/en/content/doctoral-procedure.t.7929
• The application to the doctoral process should be submitted via e-mail, sent to Éva Mercz (drhabilcsop@ttk.elte.hu) with all the documents. Before applying for the doctoral procedure, it is also possible to request a preliminary control of the documents to be submitted (Éva Mercz, drhabilcsop@ttk.elte.hu)
• Tasks before applying to the doctoral process:
  1. Request for a certificate of good conduct (can take 2 weeks to arrive through post)
  2. Request for absolutorium certificate from Zsuzsa Buvári (doktoranduszugyek@ttk.elte.hu)
  3. Request a DOI ID number via email from Éva Mercz (drhabilcsop@ttk.elte.hu) - details here: https://ttk.elte.hu/en/content/doctoral-procedure.t.7929
  4. Supervisor's statement of support for submission of doctoral dissertation in English (if necessary) - This should be sent to László Nyitray (laszlo.nyitray@ttk.elte.hu)
  5. Request for submission of doctoral dissertation in English (if necessary) - This should be sent to the Head of the Doctoral School with the supervisor support statement
• At least 17 documents should be sent to Éva Mercz (drhabilcsop@ttk.elte.hu) for applying to the doctoral process

           (details here: https://ttk.elte.hu/en/content/doctoral-procedure.t.7929):

1. Application form to doctoral procedure
2. Absolutorium certificate
3. Certification of language knowledge
4. Professional CV
5. BSc degree
6. MSc degree
7. DOI ID declaration
8. Certificate of good conduct
9. MTMT publication list
10. Two publications
11. One-page-long summary (English and Hungarian)
12. Declaration of the candidate
13. Declaration of the supervisor(s) and program director
14. Supervisor’s assessment
15. Doctoral dissertation
16. Thesis booklet (English and Hungarian)
17. Permission to submit a dissertation in English from Nyitray (if relevant) - permission to have the defence in English needs another permission

• After application, Éva Mercz has 21 days to check whether everything is correct
• When Éva Mercz approved the application, she send an empty “committee form” to the head of the PhD Programme
• The head of the Programme asks the Supervisor to fill in the form, i.e. the Supervisor has to contact potential members and ask them whether they accept the role. Committee members mustn’t have a joint publication with the candidate. Members: two opponents, at least one of whom is not employed by the University. At least one should be present during the defence. Other 4 members: the head of the committee should be an ELTE Professor / ELTE Professor Emeritus / habilitated docent; secretary, three members and one alternate member. At least one should not be employed by the university.
• The head of the Programme sends the committee form to Éva Mercz
• Éva Mercz sends the PhD to the opponents. They have 6 weeks(?) to write their evaluation and send it to Éva Mercz and Péter
• Usually, the supervisor sends the PhD thesis to the two opponents asap, so they can start to work on the evaluation before the official procedures - this speeds up the process.
• When the evaluations are ready, the supervisor can start to organize the time and place of the PhD meeting with the committee members. At least 15 days are needed to officially advertise the meeting, so a minimum 30 days delay is required (i.e., if the supervisor receives the opponents’ evaluation on 1/Feb, the defence should be in March and not earlier).
• When the committee agrees on the day and place, the supervisor sends the details to the applicant, who then sends the details to Éva Mercz (!)
• Éva Mercz makes the official “Invitation” (“Meghívó”)
• The 6 physical things should be submitted when the procedure starts, but 15 days before the defence, at the latest:
  1. 2 hardbound copies
  2. 2 thesis booklets (English and Hungarian)
  3. 2 electronic data carriers with all the files

Before the defence

• The candidate has to send written answers to Éva Mercz 15 days before the defence.
• The supervisor is advised to send a reminder to the committee members 1-2 days before the defence, as some may otherwise forget to attend.

Defence

• The committee meets half an hour before the defence and works on the report
• Protocol of the defence: intro of the committee by the head, CV of the applicant by the secretary, lecture (20 min), reviews+answers, questions of the committee, questions of the audience
• The audience leaves the room. The committee invites the supervisor to share their thoughts about the work of the applicant, and then the committee writes the report
• The audience can come back to the room, the secretary of the committee announces the results, the head closes the defence
• Congratulations, first given by the committee members and then from the audience.