PhD THESIS DEFENCE

A PhD candidate may submit an application for permission to undertake the PhD thesis defence to the Dean of the Faculty, provided that the following conditions are met:

a) Credit requirement

• a minimum of 210 credits
  (within a 4-year full-time or 5-year part-time form of study)

b) Publication activity

• authorship or co-authorship of at least three full-length scientific papers (in extenso)
• published in internationally recognised journals indexed in:
  • Web of Science
  • Medline
  • Scopus
• in at least one of these papers, the PhD candidate is the first author

Further details are available in the information sheets – here.

c) Compliance with the deadline

The application must be submitted sufficiently in advance to ensure that the PhD thesis defence can take place no later than the final day of the standard duration of doctoral study.

Recommended deadline for submission of the required documents - by 31 March

The required documents for the submission of an application for permission to undertake the PhD thesis defence are recommended to be submitted by 31 March.

Full-time PhD candidates are reminded that, by the date of the PhD thesis defence, all financial obligations towards the Faculty and Comenius University must be settled, including the completion of the Comenius University Grant and submission of the final report with a financial statement of the allocated funds.

We recommend that all requirements related to the submission are consulted in advance with the Office for Doctoral Studies.

✔ 1. Application for permission to undertake the PhD thesis defence 

• 2 copies – [Download application form - will be added in due course]
  
  

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS:

✔ 2. PhD thesis

• submitted electronically via the AIS2 system
• in three hardbound copies
• copy of the title page of the PhD thesis (not the book cover)
• length: 80–120 standard pages from the introduction, excluding references, in accordance with Rector’s Directive No. 32/2023, Article 7(3)
• guidelines for uploading the electronic version via the Academic Library web interface – [View instructions]
  
  

✔ 3. PhD thesis assignment

• the original assignment forms an integral part of the printed version of the thesis
• the electronic and printed versions must be identical, except for the assignment, which is submitted without signatures in the electronic version (valid from 3 October 2023) – output from AIS2
• the assignment (title, abstract and keywords in Slovak/English) is uploaded into AIS2 by the Office for Doctoral Studies

Abstract:
A brief description of the thesis in a few sentences. It is a concise text characterising the content of the document. It may have an explanatory or indicative nature. In the case of a PhD thesis, it provides a short summary of the research topic, including the content, methodology and results (in brief). The abstract should be consulted with the supervisor.

Note:
Before generating the assignment from AIS, please contact the Office for Doctoral Studies.

✔ 4. PhD thesis assignment – number of copies

• 6 copies generated from AIS2, of which:
  • 3 copies signed by the programme guarantor, supervisor and PhD candidate (in plastic sleeves)
  • 3 unsigned copies inserted into the PhD thesis
    
    

✔ 5. List of publications and conference activities

• 2 copies – [View template - will be added in due course]
• the final page must be signed
• to be requested from the Academic Library and Audiovisual Centre (AKAS), JFMED CU
• contact person: Ms Jana Mazáková (jana.mazakova@uniba.sk)
  
  

✔ 6. Curriculum Vitae

• 2 copies (signed)
  
  

✔ 7. Supervisor’s report

• 2 copies
• must include:
  • statement on the result of the originality check
  • final evaluation: passed / failed
    
    

✔ 8. Originality report of the thesis

• 1 copy (valid from 1 September 2010)
• output from AIS2
  
  

✔ 9. Proposal of three opponents submitted by the supervisor (will be added in due course)

✔ 10. Annual evaluation (will be added in due course)

• valid as of the date of the PhD thesis defence

Presentation at the PhD thesis defence:

• format: PowerPoint
• duration: approximately 10 minutes

Contact person:

Eva Andrisová
email: eva.Andrisova@uniba.sk
telephone: +421 43 263 3326

Awarding of diplomas upon completion of third-cycle (doctoral) higher education – NOTICE - in slovak

Rector’s Directive No. 32/2023 – on the basic requirements for final theses, originality checking, archiving and access

• replaces Internal Regulation No. 12/2013
• effective from 3 October 2023
• annexes: Annex

Rector’s Directive No. 22/2023 – Study Regulations of Comenius University (as amended by Amendments No. 1 and 2)

• issued on 1 June 2023
• annexes: Annexes

Internal Regulation No. 21/2023 – Study Regulations of the Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University

• replaces Internal Regulation No. 13/2020
• effective from 1 September 2023

Internal Regulation No. 29/2025 – Principles of credit evaluation

• valid from 16 September 2025, effective from 18 December 2025

Rector’s Directive No. 2/2024 – on the use of artificial intelligence tools

• effective from 22 February 2024
• annex: Annex (in slovak) - Recommended ways of citing artificial intelligence