Rules for Rigorous Proceedings at the Faculty of Science University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice

Article 1. General provisions

1. These rules are based on the valid wording of Act No. 111/1998 Coll. on Universities and on Amendments to Other Acts (hereinafter referred to as the “Act”) as amended by later regulations and from the Regulations for Study and Examination of University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice and specifies the conditions for holding rigorous proceedings at FSci USB.
2. Successful graduates of the rigorous proceedings are awarded the academic title of "Doctor of Natural Sciences" (abbreviated to "RNDr." placed before the name).
3. The fields in which rigorous proceedings can be held at the Faculty of Science of University of South Bohemia are listed in Annex 1 of these Rules.
4. The professional level of the state rigorous examination is guaranteed by the Field Board of the corresponding field of Doctoral study; organizationally, the examination is provided by the relevant workplace of FSci USB.

Article 2. Submission of an application for a rigorous examination

1. A candidate who meets the condition of § 46, Paragraph 5 of the Act, i.e. has obtained, or obtains the before the rigorous examination, the academic title of "Master", is to submit an application for the state rigorous examination to the Department of Student Affairs. The application is to be submitted on the form which is Annex 2 of these Rules and is available at the Department of Student Affairs and on the Faculty's website. Along with other requisites, the candidate is to state in the application the field in which he/she will take the rigorous examination.
2. Before submitting the application, the candidate is to submit the rigorous thesis by sending it by e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or via the online repository. Transmission via physical media is not permitted.
3. Simultaneously with the application the candidate is to submit a certified copy of the document on successful completion of his/her Master's studies[1], relevant documents listed in Article 2 of the Provision of the Vice-Dean for Study P 5 and a copy of the document on payment of the rigorous procedure fee according to the Provision of the Dean D 78 as amended. If the candidate is to pass the state rigorous examination at the same time as the Master's state examination, he/she is to also to attach a copy of the Master's diploma certificate to the application made to the Department of Student Affairs.
4. If the submitted Master's thesis of the graduating student of a Master's field at FSci USB meets all of the requirements for a rigorous thesis (thus significantly exceeding the requirements for a Master's thesis), the student may submit it simultaneously as a rigorous thesis. This does not affect the obligation to submit an application for a state rigorous examination pursuant to Article 2, paragraph 2 of these Rules.

Article 3. Rigorous thesis

1. A rigorous thesis at FSci USB is considered to be an original scientific work dealing with issues related to the given field (i.e. the field in which the applicant has applied to take the state rigourous examination). The work must be based on at least one article that has been published or demonstrably accepted for publication (evidenced by the opinion of the journal) in a scientific or peer-reviewed journal or book.
2. If the article in question has been published in a journal that has achieved an impact factor of 0.3 or higher at least once in the last 4 years, the opponent's opposition to this work is to be waived. In the case of another professional publication, the thesis is to be submitted to one opponent. The opponent is appointed by the Dean on the basis of the recommendation of the Chairperson of the Field Board.
3. In the case of several authors, the candidate must not necessarily be the first author of the work; however, his share in the publication must be significant and is to be evidenced by the signed opinion of at least one co-author with a dominant author's share in the article (usually the first or corresponding author). The candidate's share of the multi-author publication must always be stated in percentages accompanied by a verbal statement. The candidate's personal contribution to the submitted publication is to be further assessed by the examination commitee.
4. The rigorous thesis is to be submitted in Czech or English in the form defined by the Provision of the Vice-Dean for Study P 5.

Article 4. Guaranteeing of the state rigorous examination

1. If the candidate applies for the state rigorous examination in the areas falling within the competence of a Field Board of programmes with specialisations, the Dean is to decide on the particular afiliation of the candidate to a Field Board on the proposal of the Chairperson of the potentially relevant Field Board; at the same time, a guaranteeing department is to be established.
2. Upon receipt of the documents pursuant to Article 2 of these Rules the Department of Student Affairs shall inform the Chairperson of the relevant Field Board.
3. The state rigorous examination is to have two parts – a knowledge examination and the defense of the rigorous thesis.
4. The Field Board is to propose the composition of the committee and the chairperson of the committee for the state rigorous examination. The defense committee is usually to be the same as the knowledge test committee; if the thesis is subject to opposition proceedings, the commission is extended by 1 opponent with the right to vote. Only professors, associate professors, and experts approved by the Scientific Board of the Faculty may be members of the state examination committee. Co-authorship of publications that are part of the submitted rigorous thesis is incompatible with membership of the committee. The committee is to have 5-9 members, of which at least 1 is to be other than an employee of USB. The Field Board is to submit the proposal well in advance of the expected date of the state examination and arrange membership of the committee with the proposed member in advance; the date and place of the examination is to be set by the Field Board at the same time as the submission of the proposal for the composition of the committee. Based on the proposal of the Field Board, the Dean is to appoint the members and the chairperson of the committee for the state rigorous examination. He/she is to inform the Chairperson of the Field Board about his/her decision. According to the dispositions of the Chairperson of the Field Board (or the chairperson of the examination committee), the Department of Student Affairs is to inform the members of the committee about their appointment and the candidate about the composition of the examination committee and the date and place of the examination (no later than two weeks before the examination).
5. The state rigorous examination is administratively provided by the Department of Student Affairs (registration of the application, distribution of appointment letters, and other administrative acts according to the dispositions of the Chairperson of the Field Board). Organisationally and technically (room and other requisites), the examination is provided by the department relevant to the field of the rigorous examination and the focus of the rigorous thesis in cooperation with the relevant Field Board and the committee for the state examination. Before the examination itself, the chairperson of the committee will request a report form from the Department of Student Affairs for recording the course and result of the state examination.
6. In the event that a rigorous thesis is subject to opposition proceedings, the opponent's opinion is to focus mainly on the assessment of the overall significance and benefit of the thesis, and in the case of a multi-author publication on the declared contribution of the candidate. The opponent's report may take the form of a completed questionnaire approved for this purpose by the Field Board.

Article 5. The course of the state rigorous examination

1. The state examination and the announcement of the result are to be public. The course of the state rigorous examination is to be managed by the chairperson of the examination committee.
2. The state rigorous examination may be directly related to the state Master's examination. Upon successful completion of the oral part of the state Master's examination, i.e. the examination in subject areas and the defense of the Master's thesis, candidates are to be asked separate questions pertaining to the rigorous state examination, while the committee is to assesse whether the submitted work meets the requirements for a rigorous thesis. An candidate may take a rigorous state examination only if he/she has successfully passed the Master's state examination.
3. The knowledge part presupposes a deeper knowledge of the candidate in the field of the state examination and its broader scientific basis. In verifying and assessing the candidate's knowledge, the committee is to take into account his/her factual knowledge, capacity for invention, and ability to work creatively. The result of the examination is to be decided by secret ballot. The participation of at least 5 members of the committee are required and a simple majority of votes is to apply. In the event of a tie, the chairperson of the committee is to have the casting vote. The test is classified as "passed" or "failed".
4. At least 5 members of the committee and a possible opponent must be present at the defense. The participation of the latter is necessary in the event of a negative evaluation of a rigorous thesis. The chairperson of the committee is to present the candidate, who will then summarize the results of his/her thesis within a maximum of 20 minutes. The opponent is to comment on the thesis (if appointed); the candidate may respond to the comments individually or in aggregate. If written observations have been received from other persons, they are to be presented by the chairperson of the committee. There is then to be a discussion. This is to be followed by a closed meeting of the committee, in which the opponent is also to participate with the right to vote. The success of the defense is to be decided by secret ballot in which a simple majority of votes applies. In the event of a tie, the chairperson of the committee is to have the casting vote. The defense of a rigorous thesis is to be classified as "passed" or "failed".
5. All documentation, especially the protocol on the course and result of the knowledge part of the examination and defense of the rigorous thesis, duly completed and signed by all present members of the committee, are to be submitted by the chairperson of the committee to the Department of Student Affairs.
6. An unsuccessful examination may be repeated once in the same field. If one part of the rigorous state examination is not successfully passed and the other part is, only the part which the candidate did not pass is top be repeated. During the repeated examination, at least two members of the commission must be changed, and in the case of repetition due to failure to defend the opposed rigorous thesis, also the opponent. Otherwise, the repeated examination is to proceed in the same manner as the first examination.
7. The candidate is considered to have passed the state rigorous examination when he/she has obtained the classification "passed" in both parts of the rigorous state examination.
8. The diploma certificate for the award of the academic title "RNDr." is to be issued within one month of successfully passing the state rigorous examination.

Article 6. Effectiveness

1. The Provision of the Dean D 63 is hereby repealed.
2. Subsequent updates to the annexes to these Rules shall take effect on the day of their publication on the Faculty's website.
3. These Rules were approved by the Academic Senate of the Faculty of Science of University of South Bohemia on 17 May 2021 and take effect on 15 May 2021.

prof. Ing. Hana Šantrůčková, CSc.                      RNDr. Petr Nguyen, Ph.D.

                    Dean                                             Chairperson of the Academic Senate

Annexes:
- Annex 1 - list of the fields in which rigorous proceedings can be conducted
- Annex 2 - application for rigorous proceedings
 

Rules for Rigorous Proceedings
at the Faculty of Science
University of South Bohemia in České Budějovice
Annex 1

List of fields in which rigorous proceedings can be held at the Faculty of Science of University of South Bohemia valid from 1. 11. 2022:

• Biochemistry,
• Biology of ecosystems
• Botany
• Molecular and cell biology and genetics
• Physiology and cell biology of plants
• Clinical biology
• Parasitology
• Zoology

[1] A candidate who is a graduate of a Master's degree programme at FSci USB does not have to prove his/her education.