Elementary Rights and Duties of Doctoral Study Programme Students at FSci USB in České Budějovice

The rights and duties of the students are based on Act No. 111/1998 on Institutions of Higher Education, the Study and Examination rules of University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice, and the Provisions of the Dean on the organisation of study in the Doctoral Study Programme FSci USB and on student scholarships in Doctoral Study Programmes. These regulations contain the full wording of all the rights and duties of the student.

The Doctoral student has the right:

1. to nominate their own supervisor;
2. to enroll in study within the set deadline on the basis of the notification of admission to study;
3. to receive a scholarship for the standard period of study in full-time form, the amount of which is determined by a provision of the Dean;
4. to request a change in the topic of their thesis, which is to be approved by the supervisor and the specialist board (SB);
5. to request a change in their individual study plan (ISP), which is to be approved by the supervisor and the SB;
6. to request the Dean for a transfer from one form of study to another form of study in which the study programme is also accredited;
7. to request the Dean for an interruption of their studies for up to two years;
8. to interrupt their studies due to maternity/parenthood (recognized parenthood is not to be included in the maximum interruption period) or, if they continue to study, to request an adjustment of their ISP;
9. to submit a reasoned request to the Dean with a statement from the SB on a change of supervisor, conditional upon the student's fulfillment of their study obligations. In the case of a request for a specific new supervisor, the consent of the proposed supervisor is required;
10. to request that the SB sets out the scope of requirements and focus of their State Final Examination (SFE);
11. to withdraw from the defense if they have not received the opinions of the opponents at least six days before the date of the defense;
12. to repeat a failed SFE and defense, if the maximum time for their completion has not expired (for the SFE by the end of the fifth year, for the defense by the end of the maximum study period);
13. and obligation to be in regular contact with their supervisor;

The doctoral student has a duty:

1. after receiving the letter of acceptance to the study to come to the Department of Study Affairs to enrol in the At the same time, they are to establish a faculty e-mail address and USB student identity card. Instructions for the first login can be found at www.prf.jcu.cz/en/faculty/other-facilities/it-office. Student is obligated to use the faculty e-mail address for communication with the faculty and for carrying out their study duties (Rector’s Ordinance R 436);
2. to submit their "Individual Study Plan" (ISP) to the SB (electronically through the Department of Student Affairs) within two months from the start of their study. The ISP must be developed with their supervisor on the basis of the conclusions of the admission procedure. The ISP consists obligatorily of a) the completed form, which is available on the website of the Faculty of Science; b) the analysis of the doctoral thesis assignment; the content, form, and scope of which are to be determined by the SB. Attached to the ISP is to be the Thesis Project Proposal, which the student used for the admission procedure. The plan approved by the SB is to be sent electronically to the Department of Student Affairs by the Chairman of the SB. This makes the ISP binding to the student;
3. to renew their student status in the form of electronic enrolment in the announced period before the beginning of each semester (beginning of June for the winter semester, mid-January for the summer semester), when they enrol in IS STAG upon the course "Doctoral Practice" and possibly other subjects, particularly the subjects specified in the ISP and language courses (enrolling in them gradually, semester by semester, for courses for which they wish to take the credit or examination). At the end of their first semester of study, at the end of their first year of study, and at the end of each academic year, the Department of Student Affairs is to check the fulfilment of study obligations according to IS STAG; it is in the student's interest to deliver the required documents to the guarantors of non-teaching courses (internships, conferences) in time and to check the assignment of credits and exam results by the course guarantors;
4. to work systematically on their dissertation project. The fulfilment of this obligation is to be confirmed by their supervisor every semester by granting a credit from the subject "Doctoral Practice";
5. to prepare a critical literary review on the issues of their thesis and to present the methodology and intentions of the thesis at a seminar, both during the first year of study. They have to submit an electronic form of the review approved by the supervisor to the Department of Student Affairs before the end of the 10^th month of their first year of study; the review is evaluated by the specialist board. Credits for the completion of the subjects Literary Review and Doctoral Seminar are awarded by the Chairman of the SB;
6. to present annually the progress and results of their work at a seminar approved by the SB. Credit for the completion of the Doctoral Seminar course is awarded by the Chairman of the SB;
7. to complete annually the "Annual Progress Report" form, in which they are to state the fulfillment of their duties and briefly describe the progress of their scientific work. The supervisor is to complete the annual report with their opinion on the student's progress on the thesis project and send it in electronic form by 31.10. to the Department of Student Affairs, which is to supplement it with completed courses specified in the ISP and forward it to the SB.
8. to perform, by the end of the standard study period a) pedagogical activity in the range of 42 hours during the study period (the obligation of pedagogical activities does not apply to students in the combined form of study and in English study programmes); b) the successful completion of specified courses, c) a presentation of their results at an international conference. By the end of the study, they must further publish at least part of the results of their Doctoral Thesis (in a journal with an IF of over 0.5 and to be the first author of at least one article) and complete an internship abroad (this can be completed as multiple stays of at least 14 days, the overall minimum length is one month, the recommended length is three months);
9. to register for the State Doctoral Examination during the fifth year of study at the latest, so that they complete it by the end of the fifth year of study. The student is to submit the thesis and other requisites for the defense of their thesis so that it does not exceed the maximum length of study, which is 6 years. The standard length of study in the doctoral study programme is 4 years. The overall length of study does not include the interruptions of study, which may be 2 years at the maximum;
10. to pay close attention to the ethics of scientific work, including the truthful publication of the obtained results. On all publications created in connection with the work on the PhD thesis and on possible other outputs, they are always to state their workplace as the Faculty of Science USB:

Přírodovědecká fakulta Jihočeské univerzity (PřF JU)
Branišovská 1760
370 05 České Budějovice

Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia (FSci USB)
Branišovská 1760
370 05 České Budějovice

Students with supervisors at FFPW USB are to list affiliation to FSci and FFPW USB.

This Provision stipulates the amount and method of payment for administrative acts associated with the provision of habilitation and professorship appointment procedures at FSci USB.

1. The amount of the fee for the administrative provision of the habilitation procedure is set at CZK 12,000.
2. The amount of the fee for the administrative provision of the professorship appointment procedure is set at CZK 16,000.
3. The fee is to be payed no later than 2 weeks before the set date of the public discussion of the habilitation or professorship appointment procedure before the Scientific Board of FSci USB.
4. The fee is to be payed in cash at the Cashier’s office of FSci USB or in the form of an invoice.
5. The applicant is to submit a copy of proof of payment no later than two weeks before the set date of the meeting of the Scientific Board of FSci USB to the Researdch Office of FSci USB.
6. The fee is non-refundable.
7. The Dean has the right to waive the administration fee for the habilitation procedure or professorship appointment procedure.
8. This Provision shall enter into force on 1.6.2021.
9. This Provision cancels the fees set by the Provision of the Dean No. 38 of 13.12.2016.

České Budějovice 1.6.2021

prof. Ing. Hana Šantrůčková, CSc.
Dean of the Faculty of Science USB

The aim of the support is to attract quality postdocs to FSci, bringing know-how from other workplaces. In contrast to the rectorate support, the support of FSci is aimed at minimizing the time between the submission of the application and its acceptance, and thus increasing the probability that a candidate of good quality will accept the offered position.

1) The conditions for the granting of the position of faculty postdoc are the quality of the applicant and the submission of an application for the position of a rectorate postdoc according to the rules of USB[1].

2) The management of FSci are to assess applications and forward a maximum of 3 to the management of USB as applications for rectorate positions. At the same time, they are to decide which of the applicants FSci is willing to offer a faculty position to according to the procedure described below.

3) The highest-ranking candidate from the circle of candidates selected for rectorate support (K) will be immediately[2] notified by the management of FSci of the offer of a postdoctoral position with the possibility of immediate entry (the rectorate position opens on 1 January of the following year).

4) By the decision of the management of USB on granting a rectorate postdoctoral position to a candidate from FSci[3], two possibilities may subsequently arise:

4a) The management of USB will award the rectorate position to candidate K. If K is already at FSci at that time, he/she will be assigned funding from university resources (from which he/she may be supported for the maximum period specified in the application, i.e., the total stay may be extended by the period of employment as a faculty postdoc).

4b) The USB management will select another candidate from FSci. Then the positions of faculty and rectorate postdoc are independent, K is fully funded by the Faculty and the rectorate postdoc is funded by USB, both for the period specified in the applications.

5) If K does not accept the position or moves to the position of rectorate postdoc, the management of FSci may offer the faculty position to another of the candidates in order according to point 2), if more excellent postdocs apply in the given year.

6) Postdocs (financed by FSci or the Rectorate) who have applied for the maximum length of the position may request the Dean of FSci to extend the position for a maximum period of 3 years. The application is to be assessed in the light of results up to that time as well as contribution to the Faculty.

This Dean´s Provision replaces the Dean´s Provision from 14^th of November 2019.

In Českých Budějovicích on the 16^th of August 2023

prof. RNDr. František Vácha, Ph.D.
Dean of the Faculty of Science USB

[1] According to the current rules, applications are accepted at the faculty until 6 September 2023 using this form:

https://www.prf.jcu.cz/cz/veda-a-vyzkum/podpora-vedy-na-prf-ju

[2] According to current rules, until 11 September 2023

[3] Now, most often, in the second half of November, but the granting of the position may occur much later in the case of rejection of the offer by more highly asessed candidates.

The aim of the support is to attract quality postdocs to FSci, bringing know-how from other workplaces. In contrast to the rectorate support, the support of FSci is aimed at minimizing the time between the submission of the application and its acceptance, and thus increasing the probability that a candidate of good quality will accept the offered position.

1. The conditions for the granting of the position of faculty postdoc are the quality of the applicant and the submission of an application for the position of a rectorate postdoc according to the rules of USB[1].
2. The management of FSci are to assess applications and forward a maximum of 3 to the management of USB as applications for rectorate positions. At the same time, they are to decide which of the applicants FSci is willing to offer a faculty position to according to the procedure described below.
3. The highest-ranking candidate from the circle of candidates selected for rectorate support (K) will be immediately[2] notified by the management of FSci of the offer of a postdoctoral position with the possibility of immediate entry (the rectorate position opens on 1 January of the following year).
4. By the decision of the management of USB on granting a rectorate postdoctoral position to a candidate from FSci[3], two possibilities may subsequently arise:
   1. The management of USB will award the rectorate position to candidate K. If K is already at FSci at that time, he/she will be assigned funding from university resources (from which he/she may be supported for the maximum period specified in the application, i.e., the total stay may be extended by the period of employment as a faculty postdoc).
   2. The USB management will select another candidate from FSci. Then the positions of faculty and rectorate postdoc are independent, K is fully funded by the Faculty and the rectorate postdoc is funded by USB, both for the period specified in the applications.
5. If K does not accept the position or moves to the position of rectorate postdoc, the management of FSci may offer the faculty position to another of the candidates in order according to point 2), if more excellent postdocs apply in the given year.
6. Postdocs (financed by FSci or the Rectorate) who have applied for the maximum length of the position may request the Dean of FSci to extend the position for a maximum period of 3 years. The application is to be assessed in the light of results up to that time as well as contribution to the Faculty.

Českých Budějovicích 14 November 2019

prof. Ing. Hana Šantrůčková, CSc.
Dean of the Faculty of Science USB

[1] According to the current rules, applications are accepted at the faculty until 31 August using this form: The form can be downloaded HERE.
[2] According to current rules, until 15.9.
[3] Now, most often, in the second half of November, but the granting of the position may occur much later in the case of rejection of the offer by more highly asessed candidates.

Provision of the Dean No. 89
on the recording of study results at FSci USB

from 30 October 2018
as amended on 1 October 2019

Beginning in the academic year of 2019/2020 the obligation to write results in the student record book (index) is cancelled, the STAG information system (hereinafter STAG) alone will be used for course enrolment, credit and examination result registration, and study checks.

Each course teacher is obliged to record the results of tests and exams in STAG and the recording of test and examination results in STAG is to be performed three days after the test/examination takes place at the latest[1] . It is necessary to record even grade 4 (failed), or “excused”, or “did not attend”, the column must not remain empty. The secretary of the department/institute (hereinafter workplace) under which the evaluation of the subject falls is to record such results for external teachers.

In the event of a written examination, the student must have the option of inspecting the corrected examination paper no later than four days after the result has been entered in the STAG.

The student is to have the following seven days to check their results as recorded in STAG (to ascertain whether the recorded result is in accordance with that which they were informed of during the examination or during their inspection of the corrected test paper corrected in their absence). In the case of the result in STAG being different to that which they were informed of, the student is to inform the appropriate member of the teaching staff without delay, who (as long as the result was wrongly entered) is to correct the result in STAG immediately. If the student does not comment on the given result at the given time, he/she is deemed to have agreed with the assessment.

Regarding the second retake examination (which is to be entered in STAG as the second retake examination), which is to take place at the end of the examination period (less than a week before the end of the examination period) the course teacher is obliged to record the result of the examination the day following the examination; in the event of the examination taking place on the last day of the examination period, the results are to be recorded in STAG on the day of the examination.      

In the event of the student not attending the second retake examination without excusing themselves, they are to receive grade 4. A brief protocol is to be written about the second retake examination detailing the date the examination took place, the results of those who attended, and the names of those who failed to attend. This protocol is to be submitted to the workplace secretary, a copy is to be kept by the course teacher.

In the event of the incorrect recording of the result of a second retake examination taking place at the end of the examination period being ascertained within a three-day period, the student is to request (in writing, without fee) the Study Vice-Dean for its correction. On the basis of this request the Study Vice-Dean (or their authorised representative) is to instruct the departmental secretary to submit the original protocol of the second retake examination. In accordance with this material, the grade in the STAG information system will be corrected at the Department of Student Affairs ².

Teaching staff are obliged to archive all documentation regarding the awarding of grades or credits at minimum until one month after the end of study result checking for the academic year in which the course took place, i.e. for examinations in the winter and summer semesters at least until the end of October in the following academic year.

Teaching staff may entrust the recording of grades in STAG to the workplace secretary.

To ascertain the current overview of all external teaching staff in every semester at the given department, the Dean’s officer responsible for the preparation of agreements of teaching work activity is, always during the preparation of agreements of work activity, to record the following information in the shared tables: the name and surname of the external teacher, subject taught, and contact information of the teacher.

The student enrolls in the subjects Bachelor’s Diploma Dissertation, Bachelor’s Diploma Practice, Master’s Diploma Thesis, and Master’s Diploma Practice according to the workplace they are assigned to (the workplace guaranteeing the study program, or the workplace of the supervisor for work undertaken in biological fields) and where they will work on and defend them.

Credits for Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral practice are not to be entered in STAG by individual supervisors, but by the workplace secretaries. Supervisors are responsible for the submission of information in written form (by email) for entry by the secretary of the workplace two weeks before the end of each examination period at the latest[2]. In the case of an external supervisor (contact information entered in the employment protocol, one copy of the employment protocol is to remain at the workplace) the secretary is to request the external supervisor for this information at the same time. An overview of all qualification work at the department/institute is to be found on STAG (Browse – Dissertation/Thesis – chosen workplace – Dissertation/Thesis status, DBPOO, or DBUO).

Credits for the Doctoral study subjects Literary Research and Doctoral Seminars are recorded in STAG by the chair of the Field Board [3].

Two weeks before the end of each examination period, the secretaries of the departments are to check whether the fulfilment or non-fulfilment of the credits for Bachelor's, Master's, and Doctoral qualificational practice for the for the previous semester have been entered or not. If this credit record is missing, they are to ascertain from the supervisor (the supervisor appears in the list of work in progress in Browsing in STAG) whether or not the student is entitled to obtain the credit and the result of fulfilled/not fulfilled regarding the credit is to be entered into STAG.

A week before the end of the examination period the departmental secretaries are to ascertain whether the grades and credits for all subjects which the given workplace ensured have been entered.

In the event of the grades and credits for some subjects not being entered they are to inform the head of department who is to ensure the entry of the grade. For subjects not provided by individual workplaces, this check will be performed by the Vice-Dean and the Vice-Dean for Doctoral Studies in cooperation with the study officers.

The head of the workplace is to ensure the qualificational substitutability of the secretaries in the event of sudden absence, especially in the critical end of semester period [4].

A student who has enrolled for a subject provided by another faculty and who discovers that the credit/grade for that subject has not been entered in STAG is to inform the course teacher.

Organisational information:

After receiving the logging-in information for STAG, students of the first year of Bachelor’s study are to enter compulsory subjects themselves into STAG according to their study plans within the period given during enrollment.

Upon enrolling in the first year of the subsequent Master's degree programme, students will find information on the subjects in the study plan of the relevant study programme in STAG. Enrollment is to be done in person at the Department of Student Affairs of the faculty within the deadline given by the academic calendar.

Enrolment for study from the second semester of study:

Students are to enrol on STAG within the period set by the academic calendar (June, January).

In order to confirm enrollment without changes, the student is to deliver their signed Enrollment Form B to the Department of Student Affairs by the deadline set for the confirmation of enrollment. Delivery may be in person or by email. In the latter case, the student is to attach to the report an Enrollment Form B bearing their handwritten signature or a signed qualified certificate.

If during the confirmation of enrollment the student wishes to make any change in comparison to their pre-enrollment (enroll for another course or disenroll from any of the enrolled-for courses), they are to make these changes to the enrollment form and sign it before presenting themselves at the Department of Student Affairs. The student officers are to perform the appropriate correction in STAG and file the signed enrollment form with the student’s documents.

Enrollment in or disenrollment from subjects in the first 3 weeks of the semester:
In the first 3 weeks of the semester the student is to present themselves with a confirmation of fee payment and the subject guarantor's opinion to the Department of Student Affairs where the appropriate changes will be made. The confirmation of payment with the changes marked will be filed in the student’s file. Disenrollment of subjects under Article 21, paragraph 8,  section b (creation or modification of the schedule after enrollment) is free of charge.

Late enrollment for selective excursions:
Regarding selective excursions, the excursion guarantor is to send a document including the code of the excursion, the date of the excursion, and the final list of excursion participants to the Department of Student Affairs no later than three days before the beginning of the excursion. The study officer is to forward the list without delay to the addresses of all listed participants/students and enroll all listed students for the subject. In the event of the name of a student being included in the list by mistake, such a student is to inform the Department of Student Affairs within fifteen days of receiving the email with the notification; in such an event, the officer is also to carry out the appropriate correction in STAG.

Late enrollment and cancellation of block courses (other than excursions):
The student may enrol for a block course or cancel their enrolment only before the beginning of such a course and on the basis of a request (without fee in the case of a timetable clash of block courses); the date of the course confirmed by the course guarantor is to be included in the request.

Checking of study results:
The student is to present themselves to the Department of Student Affairs after having themselves checked their own results for the given period (for all types of study: after the first semester  and then at the end of each year, for Doctoral study: even after the end of the first year). At the Department of Student Affairs they are to be provided with a document with their study results for the given academic year. This document is to be signed by the student, the student so doing confirms that they agree with the facts archived in their student file.

In the event of the student, during the checking of their results, discovering that certain information is incorrect, they may without delay submit without fee a request to the Vice-Dean for Study for an investigation of the error. The Vice-Dean for Study is to send a request to the appropriate course guarantor for documentation, according to which the veracity of the student’s request will be judged.

 Checking of study results before the state final examinations:
A student who is to take an examination in a subject in the last semester before the state final examinations is obliged to inform the examining member of staff that it is necessary to enter the grade for the examination of the subject immediately after the examination is taken, or prioritise the correcting of a written examination in order to allow the student to present themselves for the checking of study before the SFE no later than three days before the SFE takes place, the teacher is obliged to do this.

Prof. Ing. Hana Šantrůčková, CSc.
Dean of the Faculty of Science USB

[1] An exception is the English Master’s Exam (OJZ 930), where a period of 13 days is allowed for external evaluation of the TOEFL test.

[2] Course guarantors and the secretaries of workplaces do not have access to the insertion of marks into STAG  after the examination period.

[3] These courses are divided into individual study boards, eg Literary Research KZO 806, KBO 806,…   or Doctoral Seminar KZO 805, KBO 805……

[4] The head of the department is authorized to enter grades from subjects belonging to the given workplace. An alternative is that two people may have the right of secretary access at one workplace.