Article 1 Introductory Provisions

1. The rules for the state doctoral examination (hereinafter referred to as "SDE"), the dissertation defence (hereinafter referred to as "DD") and for appeals against decisions are set out in the Code of study and examination of Charles University (hereinafter referred to as "CSE CU").

2. The form of the SDE is determined by the curriculum of the accredited study programme. The regular and corrective dates of the SDE and DD are set by the dean. Each of these dates shall be published at least two weeks in advance in the public section of the faculty's website with the exact timing. If a student fails to appear for an SDE or DD for which he/she is registered without a proper excuse, he/she shall not be classified and the date of the SDZ or ODP shall be forfeited. The dean decides on the appropriateness of the excuse.

3. If all the reviews do not recommend the dissertation for defence, the student may withdraw from the defence before the defence takes place. The SDE deadline is forfeited.

4. A student may take the SDE and DD no more than twice, i.e. he/she is entitled to one make-up term. If a student fails to take the SDE or DD even on the make-up date, he/she has not met the requirement set forth in these regulations and will be terminated from the program.

5. The student will graduate with honours if he/she fulfils the conditions set out in Article 9(13) of the CSE CU; a further condition is the proper completion of studies within a period not exceeding the standard period of study by more than one year.¹

Čl. 2 Přihlášení k SDZ a ODP

1. Applications for the SDE and DD are submitted by the deadlines set by the academic year schedule. Applications are accepted during the office hours of the Science Department, at the Faculty's office or by mail. Candidates will receive confirmation of their application by e-mail.

2. The application for the SDE must be submitted on a prescribed and signed form accompanied by the mandatory annexes, which are:

   • a professional CV

   • a summary report on activities during the doctoral studies,

   • study credit book (index)

   • declaration of readiness for the examination.

3. The application to the DD must be submitted on a prescribed and signed form, accompanied by the mandatory annexes listed in paragraph 2 and the following:

   • an autoreferral according to the specifications set by the disciplinary board in a minimum of three paper copies and one electronic copy on CD,

   • the dissertation (including abstract, appendices and other requisites) in three paper copies, of which at least one is bound in hardcover, and at most two in a ring binder,

   • a statement of readiness to defence of the dissertation.

4. A condition for the validity of the DD application is the entry of the dissertation in electronic form into the Student Information System (hereinafter referred to as "SIS"), unless its nature precludes it.² Sthe student also enters an abstract in Czech and English into the SIS, which must be identical in content to the abstract in the dissertation.

5. Staff of the department of science will check whether the applicant has fulfilled the prerequisites for the DD and SDE. If the application form is not properly completed, the faculty will invite the applicant to remedy the deficiencies and set a reasonable time limit for doing so. If the deficiencies are not remedied within this time limit, the application shall not be considered.

6. by submitting the dissertation to SIS, the student confirms the correctness and completeness of the uploaded files and their consistency with the submitted documentary form of the dissertation. The student is responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the submitted dissertation.

   The student is responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the submitted dissertation.

7. The rules concerning the format and size of the files of the electronic form of the dissertation, the mandatory dissertation data and the control of the uploaded files are laid down in Articles 5 and 6 of Rector's Directive No. 72/2017

8. Matters related to checking the similarity of a dissertation entered into the SIS with other dissertations using the anti-plagiarism system are regulated by the Rector's measure.³

9. The SIS automatically records the date of submission of the electronic form of the dissertation. The date of submission of the paper version of the dissertation is recorded in the SIS by an authorised employee of the department of scientifice, who at the same time checks the details of the submitted dissertation and records the result of this check in the SIS.

10. After submitting the dissertation, neither the text of the dissertation nor the embedded files can be further modified; only selected data can be changed in the descriptive data about the dissertation, the modification of which is allowed by the faculty through settings in the system.

11. The names and surnames of candidates who have submitted their dissertations for defence, the titles of the dissertations and the dates of the ODP are published in the public part of the Faculty's website.

Article 3 Proceedings of the SDE and DD

1. Průběh a vyhlášení výsledků SDE jsou veřejné. DD je veřejná.

2. The SDE is held before the state doctoral examination committee and the DD before the dissertation defence committee. The chair and other members of the committee are appointed by the Dean of the Faculty from among professors, associate professors and experts. The experts must be approved by the Faculty's Scientific Council. Several committees may be established for one study programme. The appointed committee must always have an odd number of members. The function of the chair of the committee is incompatible with the function of supervisor, consultant and opponent. The chairperson is a member of the committee, and the supervisor is usually also a member. At least one member must not be a member of the academic staff of the Faculty. Other members of the committee may be appointed by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. The chairman of the committee is responsible for the activities of the committee, and in the event of an emergency, the chairman may be replaced in all his/her powers by a member agreed by the committee. The publication of the names of the chairperson and members of the committee and the dates of the SDE and the DD shall be made by invitation and on the public part of the Faculty's website.

3. The DD Committee will appoint opponents who will make an assessment of the submitted dissertation. Discussions on the appointment of the opponents may be conducted electronically and are chaired by the Chair of the DD Committee.⁴

4. As a rule, one month before the defence, the opponents are acquainted with the paper or, if circumstances require, electronic form of the dissertation. The electronic form of the submitted dissertation report is uploaded to the SIS at least ten working days before the defence. The signed paper form of the report shall be submitted by the opponents to the Department of Science.

5. The number of Panel members present at the SDE and DD shall not be less than three. Pass and fail grades shall be assigned to the SDE and DD. The classification shall be decided by a vote by show of hands in closed session after deliberation; if any member of the Board so requests, the vote shall be taken by secret ballot. Provided that the Board so decides, persons whose participation in the deliberations may be useful may be present at a closed meeting of the Board. These persons shall include, in particular, the supervisor and the opponent(s), if not a member of the committee, and, where appropriate, the recorder. If such persons are present in closed session, the classification shall be voted on by secret ballot.

6. The chairman of the commission shall preside over the vote. Members of the Commission present may not abstain from voting. The committee decides by majority vote; in the event of a tie or failure to achieve a majority vote, the student is classified with the classification more favourable to him/her.

7. If the ODP committee has determined a "fail" classification, it will determine whether the thesis needs to be revised or completed; a re-defense is possible in six months at the earliest.

8. Protocols are drawn up in SIS about the proceedings of the SDZ and ODP and the voting, the paper form of which is subsequently signed by the chair and at least one other member of the committee.The Scientific Department files the paper form of the protocol in the student's file.

9. The hard copy of the submitted dissertation is made available for public inspection via the subject database at least five working days before the defence and for five working days after the defence at the scientific department during valid office hours. In assessing whether there is an obstacle preventing the thesis or part of the thesis from being published (Section 47b(3) of the Higher Education Act), the requirements for the protection of classified information, the protection of personal data, the protection of trade secrets and the protection of intellectual property rights are taken into account. It is possible to make extracts, copies or reproductions of the dissertation made available to the public at one's own expense. The person consulting the dissertation must be informed that the information obtained may not be used for profit or passed off as the study, research or other creative activity of a person other than the author. The details shall be governed by the legal provisions.⁵ Dissertations that have been published by means other than the repository are not published.⁶

10. The procedure after the defence of the thesis is regulated by Dean's Measure No. 22/2018, Recording and making available the electronic form of final and habilitation theses.

Article 4 Final provisions

1. Dean's Measure No. 21/2018, Holding of the State Doctoral Examination and Dissertation Defence, is hereby repealed.

2. This measure shall enter into force and take effect on 1 January 2020.

prof. PhLic. Vojtěch Novotný, Th.D.

Dean

^{1 Article. 7 paragraph. 3} Rules of Study at CTF

^{2 Article 3} Rector's Directive No. 72/2017 72/2017: Making the Electronic Database of Final Theses Accessible

^{3 Opatření rektora č. 8/2011, Porovnávání textů závěrečných prací a jejich ukládání, v platném znění.}

^{4 Čl. 9 Pravidel pro organizaci studia na Katolické teologické fakultě Univerzity Karlovy.}

^{5 § 38 zákona č. 500/2004 Sb., správní řád, ve znění pozdějších předpisů.}

^{6 § 47b odst. 1 zákona č. 111/1998 Sb., o vysokých školách a o změně a doplnění dalších zákonů (zákon o vysokých školách), ve znění pozdějších předpisů.}