APPLICATION AND DEFENSE OF THE DOCTORAL THESIS
RULES ON DOCTORAL STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LJUBLJANA
APPLICATION FOR THE TOPIC OF THE DOCTORAL DISSERTATION PRIJAVA TEME DOKTORSKE DISERTACIJE
Registration and approval of the doctoral dissertation proposal
Article 35
In agreement with the supervisor and potential co-supervisor the doctoral candidate shall register the doctoral dissertation proposal in accordance with the rules and regulations of the UL member leading the procedure for obtaining a PhD.
A doctoral candidate may register the proposal of their doctoral dissertation proposal no more than twice in the same field of the doctoral study programme prior to submitting their doctoral dissertation for assessment. On the second registration, the doctoral candidate may register either a new proposal of the dissertation or an updated proposal of the dissertation which was already considered by the senate of the UL member. A second registration of a rejected dissertation proposal shall not be permitted. If the senate of a UL member or the UL Senate rejects the doctoral dissertation proposal which the doctoral candidate is registering for the second time, the candidate may no longer complete the doctoral programme in that field.
Article 36
A doctoral candidate shall submit an application for approval of the doctoral dissertation proposal to the responsible body in accordance with the rules and regulations of the UL member.
The application shall contain information on the doctoral candidate and:
1. the doctoral dissertation proposal (3 to 7 pages of text and a list of the main references and sources), comprising:
• the title of the dissertation in Slovenian and English, or in another foreign language in the case of the study of a foreign language and literature;
• the research field of the doctoral dissertation;
• a research description, including:
- a brief overview of the specific research field and a presentation of the research done to date in the field of the dissertation, and the purpose of the research;
- clearly presented hypotheses or research questions or objectives with a brief explanation;
- the research concept and a description of the research methods;
- the definition of expected results and the original contribution to science;
- a list of relevant references from the field of the dissertation;
• a draft of the research data management plan in accordance with Article 50 of these Rules;
2. the proposal for supervision and potential co-supervision, the consent of the supervisor and potential co-supervisor and an indication of their 3 to 5 scientific references in the broader field of the doctoral dissertation;
3. the CV of the doctoral candidate and bibliography (list of main scientific, professional, project and other publications and works);
4. the approval of the Medical Ethics Committee of the Republic of Slovenia or another ethics committee or the permission of the Office of the Republic of Slovenia for Safe Food, Veterinary Medicine and Plant Protection to conduct tests on animals, where the nature of the proposed doctoral dissertation proposal requires it;
5. a possible request for approval of writing the doctoral dissertation in English, or in another language in the case of studying foreign languages in accordance with Article 44 of these Rules.
Upon registering the application for approval of the doctoral dissertation proposal the doctoral candidate shall also attach other required documents in accordance with the instructions of the UL member.
The application for approval of the doctoral dissertation proposal shall be written in Slovenian. If a candidate requests approval of writing the doctoral dissertation in English, they must also submit the proposal of the dissertation and their CV in English, in accordance with Article 44 of these Rules. If the doctoral candidate is a foreign national, the dissertation proposal and CV may be written only in English.
If the registration documentation is incomplete, the responsible body of the UL member shall call on the doctoral candidate to supplement it by a specific deadline that shall not exceed one year. If within this deadline the documentation is not supplemented, the application for approval of the dissertation proposal shall be discarded by a decision.
The doctoral candidate uses the VIS system to submit their dissertation proposal (End of study - theme application) by UPLOADING their disposition in a Word document format.
The supervising professor can access the submitted file in the 'Zaključna dela - Prijava diplomske teme' folder.
Procedure:
1. The doctoral candidate fills out the electronic application form.
2. The doctoral candidate uses the VIS system to submit their dissertation proposal by UPLOADING their disposition in a Word document format (the filename must not contain the following consonants: č, š, ž).
3. The doctoral candidate prints and signs the application form.
4. The supervising professor signs the application form.
5. The application form and dissertation proposal (disposition) must be sent by regular mail to the address of the Student Administration Office, email of the Student Administration Office, or delivered in person to the Student Administration Office within the Office working hours.
The doctoral candidate applies for the Preparation and Defence of the Doctoral Dissertation using the application form. The application is considered by the Development and Research Committee, which then appoints a three-member committee for the evaluation of the preparation and defence of the doctoral dissertation (the committee for the evaluation of the suitability of the doctoral candidate, dissertation topic, and supervisor/co-supervisor). This committee tends to consist of the same members as the as the Research Work Presentation Committee. The candidate’s supervisor is a member of the appointed committee. The date and time of the preparation and public defence of the doctoral dissertation is coordinated by the supervisor with the other two members of the committee and the doctoral candidate. The doctoral candidate delivers the presentation of the preparation and defence of the doctoral dissertation. The preparation and defence of the doctoral dissertation is assessed as successful or unsuccessful.
The doctoral candidate submits the Application Form for the Doctoral Dissertation Proposal in a Word format (typed, without signatures) and submits the same form, signed by the doctoral candidate and supervisor (and co-supervisor), to: referat@fpp.uni-lj.si.