Information on the course of the Ph.D. conferment procedure, including the role and duties of a reviewer in accordance with legal provisions in force in Poland
Provisions from the Act of 14 March 2003 on academic degrees and academic title and degrees and title in art (Journal of Laws No 65, item 595, as amended.)
Chapter 2. Academic title and title in art
Article 11. 1. A degree of doctor shall be awarded following a Ph.D. conferment procedure and a degree of doktor habilitowany[1]following the completion of habilitation proceedings initiated upon the request of a person applying for the award of the degree concerned.
2. The commencement of a Ph.D. conferment procedure shall be conditional upon meeting the following requirements: publication or acceptance for publication of a scientific work in a book form, or at least one scientific paper in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, as specified by the minister competent for science, pursuant to Article 44, section 2 of the act of 30 April 2010 on the rules of financing science (Journal of Laws no. 96, item 615, as amended 16) ), or a publication in peer-reviewed international post-conference collections or a public presentation of a work of art.
3. In the case of a person who is a beneficiary of the Diamond Grant (Diamentowy Grant) referred to in Article 187a of the act of July 27 2005 on higher education, who does not meet the requirements for the commencement of the Ph.D. conferment procedure stipulated in section 2, the commencement is conditional upon the provision of an opinion confirming high quality of the scientific research conducted by the beneficiary and significant progress of this research, issued by the scientific supervisor holding the degree of professor or doctor habilitatus or having qualifications equivalent to those of doctor habilitatus, gained in accordance with Article 21a.
Article 12. 1. A degree of doctor shall be awarded to a person who:
1)holds the degree of magister, magister inżynier or lekarz or an equivalent degree, or has been awarded a diploma referred to in Article 191a, section 3 and 4 of the act of July 27 2005 on higher education;
2)has successfully passed doctoral examinations whose scope is determined by the council of an organizational unit;
3)has submitted and defended a doctoral dissertation;
4)has passed an exam in a modern foreign language or holds a certificate that confirms the person’s linguistic abilities in a modern foreign language as stipulated in the regulations pursuant to Article 31, section 5.
2. Doctoral examinations shall be conducted in the following areas:
1)the basic discipline corresponding to the topic of the doctoral dissertation,
2)supplementary discipline;
3)a modern foreign language, if a candidate does not hold a language certificate mentioned in Article 12, section 10, subsection 4.
Article 13. 1. A doctoral dissertation prepared under the guidance of a supervisor or a supervisor and auxiliary supervisor, referred to in Article 20 section 7, should constitute an original solution to a scientific problem or an original artistic achievement and show evidence of the candidate’s general theoretical knowledge of a given scientific or art discipline as well as the ability to carry out independent scientific research or perform works of art.
2. A doctoral dissertation may take the form of a book manuscript, a published book or a thematically coherent series of chapters in published books, or a thematically coherent series of articles, either already published or accepted for publication by scientific journals specified by the minister competent for science, pursuant to the regulations on the financing of science, provided such work complies with the conditions laid down in section 1.
3. A doctoral dissertation may also take the form of a design, construction, technological or art project, provided that it complies with the requirements laid down in section 1.
4. A doctoral dissertation may also take the form of an independent and self-contained section of a collective work, provided it demonstrates the candidate’s individual contribution to the development of the fundamental concept, involvement in the experimental phase as well as to the drafting and interpreting of research results, in compliance with the requirements laid down in section 1.
5. A doctoral dissertation may be submitted in a language other than Polish, subject to the permission of the council of the unit conducting the Ph.D. conferment procedure.
6. A doctoral dissertation should include a summary in English, and a dissertation in a foreign language should also have a Polish summary. In cases when the dissertation is not submitted in a written form, it should be submitted together with an outline in both the Polish and English languages.
7. The summary of the doctoral dissertation and its reviews shall be published on the website of the higher education institution or the organizational unit conducting the Ph.D. conferment procedure. The summary of the dissertation shall be published on the day the council of the unit adopts the resolution on the acceptance of the doctoral dissertation, and the reviews shall be published on the day of the delivery thereof by the reviewers. The summary and reviews shall be displayed on the website at least until the day the degree of doctoris conferred. The requirement to publish the summary of a doctoral dissertation and its reviews on a website shall not apply to any such dissertation whose subject matter falls under the provisions of laws on the protection of classified information.
8. The reviews and summaries of doctoral dissertations to be published on a website shall be forwarded immediately, upon their submission, to the Central Commission for the purpose of publication in the official Public Information Bulletin (Biuletyn Informacji Publicznej).
Article 13a. 1. In exceptional cases involving the highest quality of scientific achievements, the degree of doctor can be conferred upon a person:
1) who is a student and has completed the third year of a 5-year master’s degree studies or
2) who is a graduate of a first cycle degree program and holds the degree of licencjat, inżynier or an equivalent degree and is the recipient of the Diamond Grant (Diamentowy Grant) established by the minister competent for science, and who has fulfilled the requirements laid down in Article 12 section 1, subsections 2 to 4, and section 2 as well as in Article 13.
2. A beneficiary of the Diamond Grant, upon the conferment of the degree of doctor, obtains entitlements equivalent to those resulting from the completion of a second cycle degree program.
Article 14. 1. A Ph.D. conferment procedure shall be conducted and a degree of doctor shall be awarded:
1)in a higher education institution – by the faculty council or the council of another organizational unit of the institution;
2) in other organizational units – by their scientific councils.
2. Each stage of a Ph.D. conferment procedure shall be concluded with the adoption by the council of the organizational unit of a resolution on:
1)the commencement of a Ph.D. conferment procedure and appointment of a supervisor and auxiliary supervisor if the latter’s participation is required;
2)the appointment of reviewers;
3)the acceptance of a doctoral dissertation and its admission to a public defence;
4)the acceptance of the public defence of the doctoral dissertation;
5)the award of the academic degree of doktor.
3. A doctoral dissertation which has not been accepted may not constitute the basis for applying for the award of the degree of doctor in other organizational units.
4. If a person applying for the award of the degree of doctor fails to enter for doctoral examinations or to submit a doctoral dissertation within the specified period of time, the council of the unit may adopt a resolution on the closure of the Ph.D. conferment procedure.
5. The council of the organizational unit can delegate the power to adopt resolutions mentioned in section 2, subsection 2 and 3, to a committee appointed specifically for that purpose. If the defence of the doctoral dissertation takes place before the committee, the committee shall prepare a draft of the resolution on the award of the degree of doctor and submit it to the council of the organizational unit.
Article 14a. 1. Ph.D. conferment procedures which involve the preparation of:
1) a doctoral dissertation within a specified scientific discipline,
2) an interdisciplinary doctoral dissertation – may be conducted jointly within one or several scientific disciplines.
2. Joint Ph.D. conferment procedures are conducted, under an agreement, by the councils of the organizational units involved, including foreign units, if they are authorized to award a doctoral degree in the disciplines for which the Ph.D. conferment procedure is conducted.
3. In the case of a higher education institution, the party to the agreement referred to in section 2, is the higher education institution whose organizational units jointly conduct the Ph.D. conferment procedure.
4. If the Ph.D. conferment procedure is conducted jointly with another higher education institution or other organizational unit, including a foreign unit, the conferment activities referred to in Article 14, section 2, subsections 1, 2 and 5, shall be concluded with the adoption of resolutions in compliance with the procedure stipulated in the agreement, including Article 14, section 2, subsection 4.
5. In the case referred to in section 4, the power to adopt resolutions mentioned in Article 14, section 2, subsections 3 and 4, rests with a joint committee appointed by the councils of the units conducting the Ph.D. conferment procedure.
6. In the case of the Ph.D. conferment procedure mentioned in section 1, subsection 2, a joint committee prepares a draft of the resolution on the award of the degree of doctor in the leading discipline, to which the person applying to have the said degree awarded has made the greatest scientific contribution. The committee submits the draft resolution to the council of an organizational unit authorized to award the degree of doctor in the relevant discipline.
7. A person who has been awarded the degree of doctor in the relevant discipline upon conducting the Ph.D. conferment procedure, mentioned in section 1, subsection 1, is issued:
1)a joint diploma from the organizational units conducting the procedure or,
2)a diploma from one of the organizational units conducting the procedure, specified in the agreement.
8. A person who has been awarded the degree of doctor in the leading discipline, to which the person has made the greatest scientific contribution, upon conducting the Ph.D. conferment procedure, mentioned in section 1, subsection 2, is issued:
1)a joint diploma from the organizational units conducting the procedure or,
2)a diploma from one of the organizational units conducting the procedure, specified in the agreement and which is authorized to award the degree of doctor in the relevant discipline.
Article 15. 1. A resolution on the award of a degree of doctor shall become binding upon its adoption.
2. The resolution on the award of a degree of doctor adopted by the council of the organizational unit whose authority to award the degree of doctor has been limited in accordance with Article 9, section 2, subsection 1, shall become binding upon its approval by the Central Commission. The resolution, together with the records of the Ph.D. conferment procedure, shall be submitted to the Commission within one month of the date of its adoption. The Commission shall make a decision regarding the approval of the resolution within six months of the date of its receipt.
3. If the resolution on the award of a degree of doctor is not adopted, the council of the organizational unit or the person applying for the award of the degree may, within three months from the date of receipt of the decision, submit to the Central Commission a request for the decision to be reconsidered.
4. The Central Commission shall consider the request mentioned in section 3 within four months from the date of its receipt.
5. The consideration process mentioned in section 4 may involve reviewers appointed for a Ph.D. conferment procedure.
Article 20. 1. The resolutions referred to in Article 14 section 2 and Article 18a section 11 shall be adopted by secret ballot by an absolute majority of the votes cast, with at least half of the total number of the persons entitled to vote being present.
2. The members of the council of a competent organizational unit who hold the title of professoror the degree of doctor habilitatus or have obtained qualifications equivalent to those of doctor habilitatus, pursuant to Article 21a, shall be entitled to vote, as specified in section 1.
3. The entitlement, referred to in section 2, shall also apply to persons listed in Article 10, and during the Ph.D. conferment procedure this shall also apply to the reviewers and the supervisor of the doctoral dissertation.
4. In Ph.D. conferment procedures, conducted as part of international cooperation, a co-supervisor may be appointed, as stipulated in Article 14a, section 1.
4a. In the case of an interdisciplinary doctoral dissertation, a second supervisor may be appointed.
4b. Provisions on the supervisor shall be applicable accordingly to the co-supervisor and second supervisor, with the exception that the co-supervisor is not entitled to receive remuneration referred to in provisions laid down on the basis of Article 30, section 3.
5. In Ph.D. conferment procedures at least two reviewers shall be appointed who are staff members of a higher education institution or an organizational unit other than that where the applicant is employed and who are not members of the council of the organizational unit conducting the procedure.
6. A supervisor in a Ph.D. conferment procedure or a reviewer of a doctoral dissertation or a member of a habilitation commission may be a person holding the title of professor or a degree of doctor habilitatus in a given or related discipline of science or the arts or a person who has obtained qualifications equivalent to those of doctor habilitatus, pursuant to the provisions of Article 21a, and who continues to be involved in research or academic teaching in a given or related discipline of science or the arts.
7. An auxiliary supervisor in a Ph.D. conferment procedure who has the key role in the candidate’s guidance and research planning, as well as research implementation and evaluation of results, may be a person who holds the degree of doctor of a given or related discipline of science or the arts and who does not qualify to undertake the role of principal supervisor in a Ph.D. conferment procedure.
8. A supervisor in a Ph.D. conferment procedure or a reviewer of a doctoral dissertation or a member of a habilitation commission may be a person employed by a foreign higher education or scientific institution who does not meet the requirements stipulated in section 6, provided the council of the organizational unit conducting the Ph.D. conferment procedure, or in the case of habilitation proceedings, the council of the organizational unit referred to in Article 18a, section 2 or 3, or the Central Commission, recognizes such a person as an outstanding expert in the field which is the subject of the Ph.D. conferment procedure or habilitation proceedings.
Article 21. 1. A person applying for the award of the degree of doctor or doctor habilitatus may lodge an appeal, via a competent council, to the Central Commission against the resolutions referred to in Article 14, section 2, and Article 18a, section 11, on the refusal to award the degree within one month of delivery of the resolution and justification for the refusal. The council shall forward the appeal to the Commission, together with its own opinion and relevant documentation within three months of the date of the submission of the appeals.
2. Upon the consideration of the appeal, within a period not longer than six months, the Central Commission shall either uphold the appealed resolution, or if the resolution is repealed, the Central Commission shall forward the case for reconsideration by the council of the same or other organizational unit.
Chapter 4. General provisions
Article 30. Academic teachers and research staff members are required to accept the role of a supervisor, auxiliary supervisor, a member of an examination committee in the Ph.D. conferment procedure, a reviewer in Ph.D. conferment procedure or habilitation proceedings as well as in the proceedingsto award the title of professor, and to prepare opinions upon a request from the Central Commission.
2. An organizational unit conducting a Ph.D. conferment procedure or habilitation proceedings or the proceedingsto award the title of professor shall enter into an agreement with the reviewer, specifying, in particular, the time frame for preparing the review, not shorter than indicated in Article 18a, section 7, remuneration due and contractual penalties for breach of the agreement.
3. The minister competent for higher education shall, by virtue of a regulation, lay down the rate and terms of payment of the remuneration due to a supervisor as well as the remuneration for reviews and opinions referred to in section 1, in particular allowing for:
1) the rate of remuneration to be established in relation to the minimum rate of the base pay of profesor ordinarius, as stipulated in the provisions on the remuneration of academic teachers;
2) remuneration to be paid by the organizational unit conducting a Ph.D. conferment procedure or habilitation proceedings or the proceedingsto award the title of professor; but the unit employing the person applying for the award of the degree or title may take over the responsibility to pay remuneration to the supervisor and reviewers.
Article 32. 1. Outstanding doctoral dissertations and top quality scientific works which were the basis for the award of the degree of doctor habilitatus, as well as scientific, technological and artistic achievements, may receive recognition in the form of awards from the President of the Council of Ministers, henceforth “the awards‟.
Provisions from THE REGULATION OF THE MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND HIGHER EDUCATION of 3 October 2014 on the detailed course of action and requirements for conducting activities in the Ph.D. conferment procedure, habilitation proceedings and proceedings to award the title of professor (Journal of Laws, item 1383, 2014)
Chapter 1. Detailed course of conducting the Ph.D. conferment procedure
§ 1. 1. A person applying for the award of the degree of doctor, henceforth “the candidate” files an application to commence the Ph.D. conferment procedure with the head of an organizational unit.
2. A person filing the application to initiate the Ph.D. conferment procedure shall attach the following documents thereto:
1) a copy of a document (certified by an organizational unit) confirming that the candidate holds the professional degree referred to in Article 12, section 1, subsection 1, of the act of 14 March 2003, on academic degrees and academic title and degrees and title in art , henceforth “the act” , or holds a diploma referred to in Article 191a subsection 3 and 4 of the act of 27 July 2005 on higher education (Journal of Laws of 2012, item 572, as amended 3) );
2) a proposal of a research topic and the concept of the doctoral dissertation with an indication as to the area of science, discipline of science or art and scientific or artistic fields in which the Ph.D. conferment procedure is to be conducted, a proposal of a supervisor and supplementary discipline;
3) a list of scientific publications, creative professional works or artistic output with the record of works of art and documentation of their public presentation; information on achievements in science popularization;
4) information of the course of the Ph.D. conferment procedure if the candidate had applied for the award of the degree of doctor in the same scientific or art discipline.