Current thesis topic proposals of The Jewish Theological Seminary – University of Jewish Studies, Budapest (click below)
Hungarian Doctoral Council
Current thesis topic proposals of The Jewish Theological Seminary – University of Jewish Studies, Budapest Current thesis topic proposals of The Jewish Theological Seminary – University of Jewish Studies, Budapest thesis supervisor research topic deadline for application location of studies (in Hungarian)
Submission of the doctoral dissertation
The Time, Prerequisite and Procedure of the Submission of the Doctoral Dissertation
In the case of a three-year course, the Doctoral Candidate shall submit the dissertation simultaneously with or within two years from the date of the enrollment following a public disputation arranged at the institute where the research has been conducted. The Candidate shall submit the minutes taken at the public disputation, the assessment reports of the Opponents, and the attendance list to the University Doctoral Council. The public disputation shall be arranged by the Supervisor of the Candidate. The Chair shall be a university professor from among the Doctoral School’s Core Members.
In the case of a four-year course, the Doctoral Candidate shall submit the dissertation within three years from the date of the comprehensive examination after receiving the doctoral absolutorium, following the public disputation, together with the publications required by the Doctoral School. The public disputation shall be arranged by the Supervisor of the Doctoral Candidate. The Chair shall be a university professor from among the Doctoral School’s Core Members. The minutes are taken at the public disputation, the assessment reports of the Opponents and the attendance list must be submitted to the University Doctoral Council.
The format of the dissertation is checked by the secretary of the Doctoral Office, and in the case of any missing documents, candidates are required to submit them by a fixed deadline.
The dissertation’s content, the form of which has been found appropriate, shall be examined by the University Doctoral Council. If based on the documents submitted by the Doctoral Candidate it can be stated that the dissertation complies with the requirements necessary for the defence, the University Doctoral Council – following the recommendation of the Supervisor – makes a decision concerning the Chair and Members of the Comprehensive Examination Board which consists of the Chair, the Minutes Secretary and the Opponents.
The Doctoral Candidate must attach his/her declaration stating that
- the dissertation is his/her own work,
- he/she did not use any other sources besides the ones listed in the dissertation,
- he/she used proper citations when referring to the works written by other authors.
Decrees and requirements regarding the Doctoral Dissertations
The dissertation is a comprehensive piece of writing, in which the candidate summarizes his/her research objectives, the status quaestionis, his/her hypotheses, research methods, and results, original ideas and new scientific findings.
The Dissertation shall contain the following information:
- the names of the Doctoral Candidate and his/her Supervisor(s), as well as their academic degrees and titles,
- the title and subtitle of the Dissertation,
- the description of the academic inquiry of the Candidate,
- the hypotheses,
- the research objectives and methods,
- the conclusions,
- the succinct description of the new achievements,
- the list of works cited,
- the list of publications relating to the topic of the Candidate’s Dissertation.
Further requirements concerning the dissertation:
- it shall comply with the requirements regarding the form and content of academic publications,
- it shall contain new insights,
- it shall prove that the candidate is capable of conducting independent research, and has a profound knowledge in the field relating to his dissertation,
- the Doctoral Candidate shall have the ability to express his/her ideas in a well-structured, logical manner using up-to-date methodology, to summarize and evaluate the relevant publications written in the field of the dissertation,
- he/she shall be capable of identifying his/her research objectives, present his/her own hypotheses, research methods, findings, conclusions, and the new results of his/her inquiry.
Formal requirements of the Dissertation:
- the supplements and the appendix attached to it shall be in accordance with the topic of the given research,
- it shall contain a table of contents, a list of works cited, the necessary charts, figures, illustrations, and the list of publications written by the candidate in the given field,
- it shall display the name of the university and the Doctoral School, the title of the Dissertation, the names of the Candidate and the Supervisor(s), their academic titles, professional status, the year and place the dissertation was written,
- the Candidate shall provide the references to his/her sources in detail at the end of the Dissertation, by giving a clear reference to the sources within the text each time they are cited,
- generally, the dissertation shall be written in Hungarian, on one side of the paper, in Times New Roman, so-called French renaissance–antique, using 12-point font, numbered pages, 1.5 type space; three identical hard copies and two wire-bound copies must be prepared and submitted + one copy on an electronic device,
- upon the decision of the University Doctoral Council, the thesis may be written in a language other than Hungarian,
- the candidate shall submit a digital version of the dissertation (in ODF and PDF) simultaneously with the printed version, which shall be identical both in content and format,
- the minimum length of the Doctoral Dissertation including the notes, but excluding the supplements using the page format stipulated above shall be 150, the maximum length shall be 200 pages. In case the length of the dissertation exceeds 200 pages by 10%, the candidate shall pay 200 per cent of the procedural fee.
Further conditions regarding the submission of the Doctoral Dissertation: the Doctoral Candidate shall not have any pending doctoral procedure in the same discipline, or shall not have had an unsuccessful doctoral defence for 2 years. He/she is obliged to make a declaration on the aforementioned criteria in writing when submitting the dissertation.
The secretary of the Doctoral Office shall send the properly submitted dissertation to the Opponents, who shall prepare a written assessment on the dissertation and the theses within two months in the given semester.
The Minutes Secretary of the Doctoral Council shall promptly send the Opponents’ assessments to the candidate, who is obliged to reply in writing within one month in the given semester.
The Doctoral Dissertation shall only be posted on the website of the Doctoral School or in the database of the National Doctoral Council on their website (www.doktori.hu) if both Opponents’ assessments are supportive and if the candidate’s response has been accepted.
If one of the Opponents does not recommend the dissertation for defence, the Doctoral Council shall call upon a third Opponent.
If neither the assessments of the two Opponents or the assessment of the third Opponent recommend the dissertation for defence, a new dissertation may be written, which can be submitted no sooner than one calendar year following the date of the failed defense.
The dissertation shall only be recommended for defence on meeting the criteria mentioned above.
Decrees regarding the thesis booklet
The length of the thesis booklet shall not exceed twenty pages, and it shall be written in both Hungarian and English.
The thesis booklet shall contain
- the names of the Doctoral Candidate and the Supervisor,
- the title of the Dissertation,
- the description of the inquiry,
- the hypotheses,
- the research objectives and methods,
- the conclusions of the research,
- the new insights,
- the list of academic publications written by the Doctoral Candidate relating to the topic of the Dissertation,
- the Curriculum Vitae of the Candidate.
The thesis booklet of the dissertation shall include a brief summary of the results of the independent research written in a logical, well-structured manner, providing the list of the research findings built on the publications of the candidate.
It is the candidate’s task to prepare and distribute copies of the thesis booklet at the public defence of the dissertation among the participants.
The defence procedure
The Candidate shall defend the Dissertation at a public defence within one year from the date of the submission of the dissertation held in the presence of a designated Board of Assessors (defence procedure).
The Board of Assessors consists of experts in the research field of the dissertation with an academic degree (CSc, or PhD degree), one-third of whom shall have no contractual relationship with the university.
The Board of Assessors consists of
- the Chair who is a professor, a habilitated associate professor, or habilitated associate lecturer who has no contractual relationship with the university, neither is a Professor Emeritus/Emerita of the University,
- the other Members: the alternate Chair complying with the same requirements as the Chair; the Opponents; university lecturers and researchers; the Minutes Secretary (an associate professor or associate lecturer who has a contractual relationship with the university).
Members shall not include
- the Supervisor,
- those who have jointly published with the Doctoral Candidate in the topic of the dissertation,
- any other person in a dependent status with the candidate,
- relatives of the Doctoral Candidate,
- anyone from whom unbiased judgement may not be expected.
The date of the public disputation shall be arranged by the Candidate’s Supervisor ensuring that it shall take place at least two weeks after the announcement. The date shall be set by secretary of the Doctoral School by informing the internal forum of the University, as well as the experts in the field at least two weeks before the disputation.
The Doctoral Dissertation shall be defended in Hungarian by the Doctoral Candidate whose mother tongue is Hungarian. On request of the Supervisor, the defence may also be carried out in a foreign language with the permission of the University Doctoral Council. If the dissertation is written in a foreign language, and the defence is conducted in a foreign language, the assessment shall also be written in a foreign language. The administration and the costs of the defense conducted in a foreign language shall be arranged and paid by the Supervisor.
The Members of the Board of Assessors shall be called on by the University Doctoral Council.
The defence procedure
Prior to the public disputation, the Board of Assessors shall have a meeting for discussing questions and making decisions. The public disputation shall be opened and chaired by the chair of the board. The Minutes Secretary shall read aloud the Curriculum Vitae of the Doctoral candidate. The Doctoral Candidate shall present his/her theses in 30 minutes. The Opponents shall make their assessment public; the assessment of the Opponent, who is not present shall be read by the Minutes Secretary. The doctoral candidate shall reply to the assessment, as well to the questions and comments that may arise from the Board Members, the official Opponents and the public. Following the defence, the Board of Assessors shall decide by secret vote on the acceptance or rejection of the dissertation. The Chair shall make the result of the secret vote public, and the Minutes Secretary shall read aloud the opinion of the Board of Assessors regarding the new insights of the dissertation.
The procedure shall be conducted if the Chair or the Vice-Chair, at least one Opponent, at least two Members and the Minutes Secretary are present at the time and date announced. If the Opponent rejecting the dissertation is part of the defence, without his/her presence the disputation cannot be held.
The Board of Assessors shall assign points to the lecture and dissertation of the Doctoral Candidate on a scale from 1 to 5. The average shall be counted on the basis of the sum of the points. The result shall be determined on the basis of the average points as below:
- summa cum laude: 4.51-5.00,
- cum laude: 3.71-4.50,
- rite: 3.17-3.7,
- insufficcienter: 1.00-3.16.
The defence procedure shall be minuted.
Qualification of the doctoral degree
In the three-year doctoral program, the qualification of the doctoral degree shall be set on the basis of the comprehensive examination and the average points of the defence as follows.
- summa cum laude: 4.51-5.00,
- cum laude: 3.71-4.50,
- rite: 3.17-3.7.
The qualification of the doctoral degree in the eight-semester program is identical with the one described in the section about the defence procedure.
Following the award of the doctoral degree, the secretary of the Doctoral School shall send one printed copy of the dissertation to the library of the university; its electronic version and the theses shall be uploaded to the website of the database of the National Doctoral Council and to the website of the Doctoral School.