FAQ | Gdańsk University of Technology

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FAQ

1. What is the monthly salary for PhD student admitted in standart admission?

The amount of doctoral scholarship depends on the status of doctoral student and the source of its funding. More information in the tab > PhD Students > Scholarships for PhD Students

2. Is the monthly salary free of tax?

The scholarship paid to the PhD student as part of the subsidy is tax-free, but subject to social (ZUS - Social Insurance Institution) contributions. More information in the tabPhD Students > Scholarships for PhD Students

3. How many teaching hours PhD student have to work each year?

The dimension of the compulsory professional practice of PhD student depends on the year of training at the Doctoral Dchool and the Dean of the faculty conducting the discipline. More information in the tab > PhD Students > Training > Teaching practice

4. How many hours of courses does the PhD student have to take each year?

Training at school is interdisciplinary and takes place based on the modules defined in the doctoral training programme. The number of hours of compulsory and optional courses depends on the discipline. More information in the ->PhD Students > Training > Programme of study and its sub-tabs related to the individual disciplines. Training programmes for individual disciplines are approved by the School Council - they will appear on our website successively. Please remain patient.

5. How long does PhD training last?

PhD training at the Doctoral School at the Gdańsk University of Technology lasts 4 years and ends with the submission of a doctoral dissertation.

In justified cases indicated in the school's regulations, the deadline for submitting the doctoral dissertation and the resulting period of training at the Doctoral School may be extended at the request of a PhD student, but not longer than for a total of 2 years. This applies in particular to:

  1. the need for the doctoral student to carry out additional research
  2. delay due to failure of test equipment, 
  3. temporary lack of materials for experimental work, 
  4. long-lasting procurement procedures,
  5. scientific internship,
  6. work on the preparation of a significant publication,
  7. doctoral thesis editing,
  8. temporary inability to work, documented by dismissal or a medical certificate,
  9. taking personal care of a sick family member, a child up to the age of four, or a child with a certified disability,
  10. having a disability certificate

- - the deadline for submission of the dissertation and the corresponding period of training at the Doctoral School may be extended at the PhD student's request

Training, at the request of a PhD student, may also be suspended for a period corresponding to the duration of maternity leave, leave on the conditions of maternity leave, paternity leave and parental leave.

The rules for extending and suspending training are regulated by the school's regulations.

6. How is a supervisior assigned to a PhD student?

A candidate applying for admission to the Doctoral School at the Gdańsk University of Technology prior to registration in the electronic system during recruitment to the school is obliged to select a prospective supervisor from among those on the supervisors lists published for given disciplines, contact him and obtain permission to undertake him supervising. More information on this subject is in the section -> Candidates > Standard admission for AY 2023/2024

After admission to school, within 3 months from started of PhD training, the school director appoints a PhD student to the supervisor, checking whether the candidate for the supervisor submitted by the PhD student at the admission stage, who has agreed to undertake the supervisor care, meets the school's quality requirements regarding the publishing output and the resulting the limit of PhD students he can look after:

  • 10 PhD students - with at least 5 publications
  • 5 PhD students - with at least 3 publications
  • 2 PhD students - with 2 publications
    - whereas a prospective supervisor can declare to supervise up to 3 candidates during one recruitment process, including up to 2 foreigners.

The maximum number of PhD students that a supervisor may supervise at the same time in the Doctoral School depends on his/her publication activity in the last two calendar years preceding enrollment, measured by the number of publications, indicated in the prospective supervisor's questionnaire, with a value of at least 70 points each, constituting an achievement, with the scoring given in the current List of Monographs, Journals and International Conferences being used to determine the value of the achievement.

7. What criteria does a student have to meet in order to be admitted to the school?

Students applying for admission to the doctoral school as part of standard admission undergo three stages of assessment: formal verification of documents, substantive evaluation of documents, interview in English. More information can be found in the -> Candidate > Admissions process 

8. Are there any other important aspects and information that I should pass on to the potential PhD student / which the candidate should read?

All information for candidates for our doctoral school is published on the school website, in particular in the tab -> Candidates and its subpages. A prospective PhD student (with a few exceptions), apart from documents confirming his/her education, should  hold an English language certificate at least at B2 level (from the list of certificates attached to the recruitment resolution) because PhD training is conducted in English.

Each prospective PhD student and his supervisor should be familiar with the school's regulations and the curriculum, as well as the recruitment rules. These documents are available in the tab -> Formalities We also encourage you to follow the new entries posted in -> News

Our site is available in both Polish and English versions.

9. How can foreign candidates take the English language test nowadays due to epidemic situation - is it possible to sit an online exam?

The candidate should check whether the examination centres in his or her country are open and conduct examinations for a given examination recognised by the Doctoral School (Annexe No. 4. to the Admissions Resolution). Please note that not all of them are closed. A candidate who does not hold a valid certificate at the moment of the admissions process will be able to pass the procedure conditionally, however by the time of submitting the certificate recognised by the Doctoral School will not be able to receive a final acceptance and Confirmation Letter for visa and travel purposes. The online exam held outside the examinations centres should be treated as the last resort and provided that it is confirmed by one of the recognised certificates. Therefore we encourage you to wait  until the opening of the examination centres and take the exam even in September.

10. Can I apply for a refund of an application fee?

Yes. You can apply for a refund in two cases:
a. when the PhD programme in your discipline hasn't been launched
b. if more than one application fee was paid for the same type and mode of study

More information on our website in the tab --> Payment of the enrollment fee and sending scans

11. When can "new" PhD students apply for a place in dormitory?

Information will be published soon.

12. What is the way to proceed with the curriculum differences for PhD students who have completed their studies in other fields than the discipline of the doctorate?

Curriculum differences should be determined by the coordinator (with the consent of the discipline's representative of the Doctoral School Council) individually for each student. Such a need should be reported by the supervisor. 

Moreover, according to the Training Programme:

  • Module 6ZU: "The module of supplementary courses for doctoral students who have completed Master studies in a field other than the one covered by the discipline in which the doctoral training is conducted and the Ph.D. degree conferment procedure shall be conducted, organised individually for doctoral students of particular disciplines (courses from the second-cycle studies)" - max. 210 hours on I and II year.
  • "The amount of compensatory subjects, required teaching hours and selection rules for individual doctoral students are determined in the doctoral school regulations. Supplementary subjects along with their teaching load are incorporated in the individual research plan."

§38 point 6 Regulations of the Doctoral School:
"If, in accordance with the curriculum, a doctoral student is obliged to complete courses compensating for curricula differences, they shall be required to complete them within the prescribed time limit. It shall not be necessary to include them in the list referred to in para. 3. The number of compensatory courses and their teaching load shall be determined individually for a doctoral student by the supervisor and the Coordinator, acting together."

13. How are points calculated for publications in journals included in the ministerial list? Are the points for a given publication divided among authors or does each author have a full number of points assigned?

Regarding the fulfilment of the obligation to publish by PhD students of the Doctoral School (min. 80 points - 2nd-year PhD students or min. 130 points - 1st-year PhD students), the points for publications are not divided by the number of authors and the total of points is assigned to the PhD student (assuming, of course, that among the authors there is only one PhD student of the Doctoral School).
The current list of scoring journals and publishers publishing peer-reviewed scientific monographs can be found on the website of the Scientific Affairs Office.
For the purposes of other regulations/competitions (e.g. awarding bonuses from the University's fund), other rules will apply, concerning the division of points into the number of authors, for the same publication.

14. How is the compulsory teaching practice counted and reported? Is it enough to make e.g. 30 hours during the entire academic year, no matter which semester, or should I take 15 hours in the winter semester, and then 15 hours in the summer semester?

Information about the teaching practice can be found on our website in the tab > Teaching practice and its subtabs. The number of hours of practice is settled annually - it does not matter how many hours will be completed in the winter semester, and how many in the summer, it is important that 30 hours are completed annually.

15. Where should a PhD student look for information on the minimum number of hours of educational classes (lectures, exercises) in which the PhD  student should participate?

Information about this can be found in the Curriculum of the Doctoral Training Programme, published on our website and specified in terms of completion, in the tabs of individual disciplines.

According to the information published on our website:
  • in the case of elective courses, the doctoral student presents a list of courses from the didactic offer of the Doctoral School or other entities, approved by the supervisor. In the case of choosing courses which have not been included in the educational offer of the Doctoral School, a consent of the School Director or an authorized Coordinator is required.

 &38 point 3 and 4 Regulations of the Doctoral School:

  • In the case of elective courses, a doctoral student shall present a list of courses from the teaching offer of the Doctoral School or other entities, approved by the supervisor. In the case of courses which have not been included in the offer of the Doctoral School, the consent of the School Director or an authorised Coordinator is required
  • A doctoral student may change the list referred to in para. 3 during a semester, in particular if it is related to an extension of the teaching offer or important circumstances that make it impossible to participate in classes unless it prevents from completing the courses required by the curriculum in due time. 

16. Are PhD students entitled to a funding for the purchase of corrective glasses?

Unfortunately not. PhD students not employed at the Gdańsk University of Technology are not covered by the Company Social Benefits Fund.