To obtain the academic degree of Doctor (PhD), advance along the career ladder, and achieve professional development, researchers need to prepare and defend a doctoral dissertation. In this article, we will consider the key requirements for obtaining the academic degree of Doctor, as well as what publications are required for admission to the defence of the respective dissertation.
Procedure for awarding the doctoral degree
In accordance with Section V of the Law on Higher Education and Science of 20 July 2018, the following academic degrees and title are awarded in the higher education system of Poland:
- academic degree of Doctor
- academic degree of Doctor habilitated
- title of Professor
The awarding of the Doctor degree in Poland takes place in accordance with the above-mentioned Law. For the procedure to begin, the candidate must meet the basic requirements of the Law, namely:
- Hold a Master’s/Master of Engineering degree or an equivalent qualification.
- Confirm learning outcomes at level 8 of the Polish Qualifications Framework (PRK).
- Knowledge of a foreign language must be confirmed by a certificate/diploma at a level not lower than B2 (and in the absence of such a document, the institution may conduct an examination at level B2).
- Have in the scientific output at least one scientific result in the form of: an article in a journal or peer-reviewed materials of an international conference from the ministerial list for the year of publication, or a scientific monograph (or a chapter therein) in a publishing house from the ministerial list.
In addition, the candidate must submit and defend a doctoral dissertation and fulfil other requirements that may be established by the given entity (local institutional regulations may further detail admission).
Requirements for the doctoral dissertation
A doctoral dissertation must constitute an original solution to a scientific problem or the practical application of research results, confirm the candidate’s theoretical preparation, and demonstrate their ability to conduct independent scientific work. It may be presented as a monograph, as a thematically coherent cycle of published works, or as another research or project work depending on the discipline. Abstracts in Polish and English are attached to it.
After the initiation of the proceedings, the institution appoints a supervisor (promoter) and at least three reviewers who may not be affiliated with the candidate’s institution or the degree-awarding institution. The reviewers prepare written reviews within the statutory time limit. Before the defence, the dissertation is checked in the Unified Anti-Plagiarism System, and the procedure itself is public.
The text of the dissertation, abstracts, and reviews are published in the official information bulletin of the institution, and information on the date and place of the defence is published in advance. A candidate who has received at least two positive reviews and has fulfilled all established requirements is admitted to the public defence. After the defence, the authorised body of the institution decides on awarding or refusing to award the Doctor degree; in case of refusal, an appeal to the Council for Scientific Excellence (Rady Doskonałości Naukowej) is provided.
Publication requirements for the defence of a doctoral dissertation
The candidate must have in their scientific output at least one result in the form of a publication or scientific work, the form and status of which are clearly defined and may include:
- a scientific article published in a journal or in peer-reviewed materials of an international scientific conference included in the official list of the Minister of Science of Poland
- a scientific monograph or a chapter in a monograph published by a publishing house from the official ministerial list for the year of publication
Inclusion in the ministerial list, rather than indexation in international databases, is the normative criterion for compliance of a publication with the requirements for the academic degree of Doctor. The presence of such a publication is a mandatory condition for the initiation of proceedings and admission to further stages of the degree-awarding procedure.
Publication in Scopus and Web of Science journals
It should be considered that a significant number of journals from the ministerial list are indexed in the Scopus and/or Web of Science (WoS) databases. Dissemination of research results in such outlets has significant academic advantages despite the fact that this is not a mandatory condition for admission to the defence of a doctoral dissertation, unlike publication in journals from the ministerial list.
Publication in a Scopus or WoS journal is highly valued by the academic community and makes it possible to form the image of a researcher who is a specialist in their field and capable of conducting high-quality research. A strict peer-review process and careful selection of materials confirm the reliability of results and build trust in the researcher’s work.
However, from the perspective of the requirements for the Doctor degree in Poland, indexation in international databases is an additional advantage rather than an official requirement.
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